Quick & Easy Bridge Pickup Add-in Wiring Mod

[duhvoodooman***]

Here's a very simple and quick modification that can be done on a 3-pickup guitar like a Strat or Nashville Tele to enable you to add the bridge p'up in parallel to any pickup combination selected through the main p'up selector switch. The diagram shown is one I put together for my Nashville Tele, which has fairly standard Strat-style wiring and the usual Strat 5-way selector switch. It requires adding a single switch to the guitar. The diagram shows a DPDT style switch, which is what most push/pull pots have. But, as you'll see, only a quarter of the switch is used, so a SPDT or even a SPST switch will work fine. While I'd recommend a push/pull pot to avoid changing the guitar's appearance, a simple toggle switch could also be used and mounted through the pickguard (Strat-style) or control plate (Tele-style).

In functional terms, making this modification gives you two new pickup combinations: (1) The neck-bridge combo, and (2) all three p'ups at once. I've always liked the neck-bridge combo on a Tele and didn't want to lose that with my Nashville model, so that was the motivation for doing this. Initially, I was looking at a cross-wired DPDT switch that, when activated, would switch the positions of the middle and bridge pickups on the 5-way selector switch. However, this solution only adds the neck-bridge combo as a new choice. Using the alternative shown in the diagram is not only a bit simpler to wire, but gives the additional all-three-at-once pickup selection option.

In physical terms, what the mod does is to splice the common (middle) connector of the switch into the "hot" wire from the bridge pickup and then wire one of the switchable connectors directly to the pickup selector switch's output connector to the volume pot. When the add-in switch is activated (mine is a push/pull that activates by pulling it up), it bypasses the pickup selector switch and runs the bridge p'up signal directly to the volume pot. When activated, this connection is then in parallel with any other pickup signals coming though the 5-way switch. So with the 5-way set at position 5 (neck), you get the neck and bridge in parallel (same as the middle position of a Tele selector switch), and at position 4, you get all three pickups in parallel. The remaining three p'up selector switch positions are redundant with choices already available with the stock wiring.

One note: Because most 3-pickup guitars have the middle pickup with reversed polarity vs. the neck and bridge, that means that the neck-bridge combo will not be hum cancelling, since both p'ups are the same polarity. The all-3 combo does have hum cancellation properties, though.

[M29]

Hello duhvoodooman,

Thank you for the info, I am getting ready to change all my pots and fiveway switch on my Squier Strat once my fairly new strings get old and this will be a fun mod to do while I am elbows and kneebones into my pickguard.

Have you heard anything on how the push button volume controls are holding up on the new Fenders? I like the way they work with the button in the middle of the volume control. I am however concerned about how reliable this switch is being turned allot with the volume all the time. I would like to incorporate that into my Strat. Any idea where to get that switch, somewhere besides Fender?

Thanks again for your time and help.

M29

[duhvoodooman***]

Have you heard anything on how the push button volume controls are holding up on the new Fenders? I like the way they work with the button in the middle of the volume control. I am however concerned about how reliable this switch is being turned allot with the volume all the time. I would like to incorporate that into my Strat. Any idea where to get that switch, somewhere besides Fender?

Not familiar with that switch, M29, but I'd like to check it out! Do you have a Fender part number or know which model(s) they come on?

[ShortBuSX]

Have you heard anything on how the push button volume controls are holding up on the new Fenders? I like the way they work with the button in the middle of the volume control. I am however concerned about how reliable this switch is being turned allot with the volume all the time. I would like to incorporate that into my Strat. Any idea where to get that switch, somewhere besides Fender?

Youre just talking about a regular ol' push/pull pot, right?

http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/CPM500P
There are other sources, other brands...thats just what I was able to post quickly....but Id look for CTS pots.

[duhvoodooman***]

Youre just talking about a regular ol' push/pull pot, right?

No, I think he's referrring to THESE.

[M29]

Thats it duhvoodooman, I wasn't sure which they came on as I only seen them once at a Guitar Center but liked what I saw. Yes that is it the S1 switching system. I am hesitant when something new comes out and wondered about the reliability of this switch. I like the idea of (pushing) a button instead of (pushing and pulling). My concern was with it rotating as much as a volume control does it might be troublesome after a while.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

M29

[sunvalleylaw]

Thats it duhvoodooman, I wasn't sure which they came on as I only seen them once at a Guitar Center but liked what I saw. Yes that is it the S1 switching system. I am hesitant when something new comes out and wondered about the reliability of this switch. I like the idea of (pushing) a button instead of (pushing and pulling). My concern was with it rotating as much as a volume control does it might be troublesome after a while.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

M29

No info on reliability here. But when I was shopping for my first electric this summer, I was originally thinking fat strat, and became interested in the S1 switch. It seemed to come on American fat strats only in the strat line. Then I ended up going SSS anyway.

[ShortBuSX]

So then is that called a push/push pot?

I found these:
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/e...shpushpots.htm

And to answer your other question about longevity, I found this:
http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.htm...-08-0809:30:00
http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.htm...-04-2613:25:34

[snarph]

So then is that called a push/push pot?

I found these:
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/e...shpushpots.htm

And to answer your other question about longevity, I found this:
http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.htm...-08-0809:30:00
http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.htm...-04-2613:25:34

I think the push/push pots are a lot better idea

heres another source

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/EP296.htm

[duhvoodooman***]

Well, comments about reliability aside, one of those threads states that Fender won't sell you an S1 switch on an aftermarket basis--warranty replacements through authorized Fender service providers only--so the whole point is kind of moot. It does look like a pretty nifty switching system, so I have to believe that somebody in the Far East will come out with a knock-off pretty soon.

I was hoping Fender offered something in a push/pull pot that was a direct replacement for the nice CTS pots that came in my Nashville Tele. These are full-size (24mm) pots with a short, solid shaft for set-screw type dome knobs. The only push/pulls I've ever been able to find are the 16mm mini-pots with a somewhat longer shaft length and a split knurled end. Also, the threaded portion of the shaft is a smaller diameter, so they don't fit snugly in the stock Tele control plate holes. None of these are serious problems, but it would be nice to be able to match up a push/pull pot with the original equipment configuration on a Tele.

[duhvoodooman***]

I think the push/push pots are a lot better idea

heres another source

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/EP296.htm

Just a note--those are 500K pots, generally used on humbuckers. Single coils usually use 250K.

[marnold***]

I haven't heard of push-push pots before. Do they work like a push-pull pot as far as wiring and uses go? The advantage of a push-pull would seem to be the you can tell at a glance what "mode" you're in.

[snarph]

here is a go around you might consider

http://home.earthlink.net/~tfntech/id20.html

[snarph]

also this is some pre wired harness styles from the same guy

http://home.earthlink.net/~tfntech/id28.html

[ronh]

This might be simpler. Swap the bridge and middle pickups on a 5-way switch. You get bass, bass and treble, treble, treble and middle and then middle.
Courtesy from Mark Hammer.