5-way wiring question for h-s-h

gkelm · #1 04-25-2002, 12:15 PM

Can the standard Ibanez 5-way on a h-s-h (S2540) guitar be wired so the the middle position is split coil neck/bridge rather than the middle pup alone?
Greg

bammbamm · #2 04-25-2002, 12:35 PM

Sure, do you want to use the middle pickup at all at that point?
Bamm

gkelm · #3 04-25-2002, 12:51 PM

No...I only like the middle used with the 3 & 4 positions. *

For the middle position, not sure if I'd want the inner coils or outer coils...open for suggestions on that (kinda looking for more of a telel config). Thanks.

bammbamm · #4 04-26-2002, 01:18 PM

3 and 4 or 2 and 4 like a strat?
Bamm

kennydoe · #5 04-26-2002, 01:24 PM

That's an interesting idea.

Please let me know how it turns out - I'd be interested in trying that out.
I suppose you'd also have to let me know how to do it too.

~Kenny

gkelm · #6 04-26-2002, 05:34 PM

Ah, my typo....2 & 4 like a strat...3 in the middle for split buckers.

toshiro · #7 04-27-2002, 03:12 AM

I have a wiring diagram for this on a megaswitch, don't know if it can be done with the stock one..

Here's the diagram(I got this from someone on the old Jemsite forum, share the wealth):

You can switch to the outside(more tele-like) by reverseing the pickups in the diagram(wire the bridge the way it says for the neck, etc.) then putting the switch in the opposite way.

Only trouble is, for this to get inside(or outside) coils on the humbuckers, they must be physically put in the same way. Jems have the neck pickup in backwards, to move the tapped coil closer to the middle pickup. This wiring needs that coil to be on the fretboard side of that pickup.. It messes with the way the Neck(tapped)+middle position sounds..

*

I have my RG570 wired like in the diagram, and I use the middle position a lot more than I ever did when it was stock.. :biggrin:

gkelm · #8 04-28-2002, 02:49 PM

Thanks Toshiro...I'll have to find out if a Megaswitch will work in an S. *I thought the S used a special switch, but I hope I'm wrong.
Greg

Scott of Actual Time · #9 05-01-2002, 12:21 PM

Toshiro's diagram looks like one for a 24 pole switch - DiMarzio [and Ibanez in the Double Edge guitars] have switches like that, and Stew Mac sells a plastic Yamaha 24 pole switch that works the same way.

the "Megaswitches" are made by Schaller and have only 8 poles, but internal connections to give specific coil cut combinations. check out the Stew Mac catalog for mroe info, but the "E" model is stock Strat switching with bridge coil cut + neck coil cut in position 3 [sounds like what you want], and the "P" model gives the same combinations from 2 humbuckers as the rotary switch on PRS guitars.

you can make a 24 pole switch do any of these combinations and much more, but you have to use wire jumpers to connect different switch poles, like they show in Toshiro's diagram, since there are no "default" or "preset" internal connections in the switch to do that.

the problem with the Saber guitars is that the control cavity is very shallow depth, and the plastic "bump" or "blister" thing that the switch is bolted to means you can't install a very wide 5 way switch because it won't fit through the hole in the guitar body. i got a megaswitch into one of my 540S7s, but i had to bend the wiring lugs on the switch down because the switch was just barely too deep, and i had to fiddle with it to cram it in the narrow slot in the guitar. the DiMarzio 24 pole is even wider, i don't think there is any way it would fit.

and like Toshiro says, after all that you still have to have the pickup magents with the right opposing polarities, and the humbuckers with the right opposing winding directions. it can be confusing.

it does sound great - i have the bridge coil cut + neck coil cut in position 3 wired in all my guitars, for that pseudo-Tele sound. if you decide to cram a Megaswitch into your Saber, you can e-mail me and i can try and describe more what i did.

toshiro · #10 05-01-2002, 08:35 PM

Yeah Dimarzio's switch has a very long throw, longer than any 5-way I've come across..

Sorry about confusing everybody with the 'Megaswitch' naming, I've gotten in the (bad)habit of calling it that just because it sounds cool..

Fender manufacters a switch similar to the Dimarzio one, though the lugs are not in the same places on the bottom(a few are moved around).. It would make things more dificult to wire using that diagram, because of this.. Though, it has a standard 5-way throw, and fits just about anything. This is the switch I use, because I don't want to cut my guitars for Dimarzio's 5-way to fit/work.

Still, I've never owned a S-Series guitar, so I have no idea if the Fender switch will fit well, or not.

Vaibanez · #11 05-01-2002, 09:12 PM

The stock Ibanez 5-way switch can NOT be wired like this.
The way the switch works is by sending the signal of one of the coils directly to ground (postions 2 and 4).

If you are using the stock pickups, it can't be done at all.
You will need 4 conductor pups and a switch that can allow the special wiring (like the one posted).

I have wired a standard 3-way with the inner 2 coils on in position 2 for a Hum-Hum config. That one is pretty easy.

gkelm · #12 05-01-2002, 11:40 PM

Thanks Scott...sounds like a Stew Mac switch is the best possible option, if any. One of these days I'll place an order.

Jim, I believe the F1 & F2 are 4-conductor.
Greg

Shred19 · #13 08-15-2006, 07:54 AM

Hi,
I have got a megaswitch for my Jem 7V and want the center position to be the outside neck and bridge pups. I am having problems following the instructions that came with my switch (my electronic knowledge is pretty limited). Can anyone give me a wiring diagram for this?