I'm answering my own question.
I did a little digging on the net and got some help from some e-friends.
It seems that the wiring above doesn't do what I want to do. All it does is putting the middle pickup in-phase and out-of-phase.

I'm considering the possibility to try putting the pickups in serial when the switch is on positions 1 and 5, but still haven't come up with something.

Any ideas?

_________________
Alexander
AMSTD Strat RW Candy Cola +Callaham + Texas Specials +Tortoise shell pickguard/Fender Blues Junior III SN FSR
Salonica-Greece


Macedonia IS GREECE the last 2500 years

I think (....not still sure) that I got it.




When the switch is in Bridge or Neck and the pot pushed I will be having the classic setup, with all the ground wires connected.
When the switch is in Bridge or Neck and the pot pulled, the ground of the Neck(or)Bridge will be connected with the HOT of the middle and become in-series.

I just think that with the pot pulled, when in positions 2 or 4 the guitar will be muted. But that may be a usefull effect. Maybe with a rapid switching between 5 and 4 I will have the effect demonstrated on Kirk Hammets solo in "To Live Is To Die"....

What do you think about this one?

_________________
Alexander
AMSTD Strat RW Candy Cola +Callaham + Texas Specials +Tortoise shell pickguard/Fender Blues Junior III SN FSR
Salonica-Greece


Macedonia IS GREECE the last 2500 years

I think that SCN pickups use 3 wires. One hot and two grounds. Maybe start with a american deluxe wiring schematic and adapt it to your requirements. I'm sorry i cant advise you on how to do the job, you seem to know way more about wiring than I.

Heres the wiring schematic for that guitar.
http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/stratocaster/0112004803A/SD0112004803APg2.pdf

Bit of a bowl of spaghetti under the hood. Note the use of a mega-switch too.
Once again sorry i cant be of more help.

_________________
No no and no

Hi Alex_Under: until Niki (above) there's been a bit of a deafening silence on this thread. That's because serial wiring of Strat pickups is something few of us do: the quacky sound of two single coils connected in parallel in positions two and four is a big part of the point of the instrument for many of us.

Also, unless I'm paddling up the wrong creek, I think you need extra hardware to achieve series wiring: I don't believe it can be done with a regular Strat harness. I have a Strat where the S1 switch is used to achieve series wiring in one or two positions - but that's a fiendishly complicated little gizmo. I certainly couldn't tell you how to wire one.

But just so's you know you haven't been talking into a vacuum I've been doing some checking around since yesterday. However, wiring diagrams from the usual sources aren't helping, I'm afraid.

Niki mentioned the Mega Switch: I don't know if that would work but I have also been looking at the Super Switch (similar name, different item). This page mentions series/parallel options - but doesn't seem to say how to achieve them, far as I can see...:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics ... ml#details

That don't get us very far, does it?

Hopefully Forum user Martian might look in: he's one of the wiring gurus round here...

Good luck - C

Ceri, thank you! I just saw this thread.

"And away we go!"

Alex,

Your first diagram shows a phase reversal wiring so that's out.

Actually, there are several ways to achieve what you are trying to do but the way you have it in your second diagram appears to be incorrect. Provided that the SCNs have a "floating" ground, that is, the ground wire from the pickup is independent of the pickup's negative and positive leads, here's how I'd do it:

Here's the terminals and numbers I've assigned them:

#1 0 0 #4

#2 0 0 #5

#3 0 0 #6


Wire the middle pickup's negative wire to Terminal #1 and jump it to terminal #5.

Wire the neck pickup's positive wire to Terminal #2.

Wire from the neck pickup's terminal on the pickup selector switch to Terminal #3.

Terminal #4 is not used.

Wire Terminal #6 to ground.

The neck pickup's negative lead also gets wired to ground.

As to the pot values, as you know, 250K is standard but when you flip the switch to series, 500K from an electronics standpoint would be more logical. However, unless you get into resistors and more switches, etc, you're better off with the 250Ks.

As to the value of the cap, I'd go with a .047mF.

Enjoy and welcome!

_________________
You dig?

Dear Martian

First of all, thanks for the help. Much appreciated.
I sketched what you described and I think it's that (correct me if I am wrong)



The diagram seems (to my amateur eyes) to be working.... but only half way.

What I mean is that as I see it (and correct me AGAIN if I'm thinking wrong) with that schematic I get Serial/parallel wiring ONLY for the middle and neck pickups and on selector position 2.

What about the middle and bridge Serial/Parallel wiring? Are you implying that I must use 2 Push/Pull switches, one for Neck/Middle and one for the Middle/Bridge?

Could you please tell me what is incorrect about my 2nd diagram, considering that I'm trying to get what I want in positions 1 and 5 of the switch (and not at 2 and 4) and with only one push/pull?

Thank you in advance.

_________________
Alexander
AMSTD Strat RW Candy Cola +Callaham + Texas Specials +Tortoise shell pickguard/Fender Blues Junior III SN FSR
Salonica-Greece


Macedonia IS GREECE the last 2500 years

You're quite welcome.

The word, "serial" which you keep using should be, "series".

The diagram you've made of my wiring is correct.

I might be having trouble interpreting what you are trying to do. If you're somehow trying to run all 3 pickups in series together by using one push/pull pot switch in conjunction with a given position on the pickup selector switch, it won't work as the pickup selector switch links pickups in parallel, not series. Remember too, that the middle terminals on either side of the push/pull pot's switch are the 'common' ones. And not to confuse the issue, but on some of these switches, half of the switch works opposite of the other half in the same switch position. Consequently, you are much better off for at the very least, the first reason why you should use two push/pull pots to achieve your goal.

_________________
You dig?

Look at my signature dude... English is not my mother tongue



Let me put it this way. Maybe my English isn't that good to explain what I want.


Switch__Push/Pull___Result
_________________________________________
__1____Down______Neck____________________
__1____Up________Neck - Middle in SERIES____
__2____-__________Neck - Middle parallel______
__3____-__________Middle___________________
__4____-__________Middle - Bridge parallel_____
__5____Down______Bridge___________________
__5____Up_________Middle - Bridge in SERIES___





No, I DON'T want all 3 pickups together



The switch I bought is quite regular. I've checked it with a multimeter.



Call me stuborn, but I still believe that I can achieve it with only one push/pull.

And as we say here in Greece "The autopsy will give us the answer"

Thanks again for taking the time to answer.

_________________
Alexander
AMSTD Strat RW Candy Cola +Callaham + Texas Specials +Tortoise shell pickguard/Fender Blues Junior III SN FSR
Salonica-Greece


Macedonia IS GREECE the last 2500 years

the plan was executed and was 100% successful.

* Push/Pull down -> 5 classic Strat sounds

* Push/Pull up -> (1. Neck+Middle in Series) - (2. Middle) - (3. Middle) - (4. Middle) - (5. Middle+Bridge in Series)

...as seen below


There was only one tiny thing that troubled me in the begining.
The Bridge pu was completely muted. Not a sound, nothing.
I assumed that there was some kind of short-circuit and started checking the solderings. And then it caught my eye. There was nothing wrong with my wiring (how could it be, hehehe)...

From the farther right pu poll (when looking it upside down) a tiny piece of pickup wiring coil was sticking out and touching the nut. The coil wasn't thicker than a human hair (even thinner). It was bearly noticeable and I might have been troubling myself for hours.

I cut it out and voila, everything in perfect shape.

Photos will be posted soon.

_________________
Alexander
AMSTD Strat RW Candy Cola +Callaham + Texas Specials +Tortoise shell pickguard/Fender Blues Junior III SN FSR
Salonica-Greece


Macedonia IS GREECE the last 2500 years

Neat!

Now if we can just bookmark this thread we'll know where to send folks next time the question is asked.

And another winning run from Mr Martian!

Good work, Alex_Under. Enjoy that harness!

Cheers - C