Would like to have middle position on switch have all 3 pickups on
Anyone done this?
How about wiring diagram?
Thanks

This discussion might be enlightening:

What would all 3 single-coils sound like together?
http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/pickup- ... ether.html

great link
I enjoyed listening to Johnny H
I would llike to wire the switch for all 3 pickups to be on in the #3 middle position
I would loose the middle only pickup, but that would be OK, I think
If I didn't like it, I could change it back

Howdy!

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure you will need to replace your switch with 5 way Super Switch.

However….

There are many alternate ways to get all 3 pickups on. Turning your lower tone pot in to a Blend Pot or replacing it with a push/pull pot are two of the more popular methods. Of course both of those mods will give you 7 pickup combinations (5 standard Strat combos plus, Neck and Bridge (in parallel) and All 3 (again in parallel).

If this is something you’d be interested in let me know what brand/type of pickups you are currently using and I’ll draw you up a couple of diagrams.

Hope this helps

Andy

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Pending Greatness

I use the Kinman K9 switch on one of my Strats. It allows you to run all three pups and a whole lot more. Read about it here:
http://www.kinman.com/guitar-pickups/harnesses/harness-stratocaster/
I should add this system is just that, a system. It's not just a switch. You get all three pots as well since they are a part of the system and the switch would not be able to work it's magic without them.

Using this switch without also buying their pickups will require you to fabricate some custom wiring connectors but it will be well worth it. I fully intend to get another switch for my other Strat and I wouldn't ever want another Strat that didn't have this switch. Yes, it's that amazing.



You can see the three black insulated wires coming from the pups and plugging into the switch. The top one has a blue sheath, the next one has a white and the bottom has a red sheath. That's just Kinman's way of colour coding the pieces so even an idiot can wire it up correctly.



You can fabricate your own plug connectors with the two parts you see here which are available at any electronics supply. Snap off a pair of pins, slip a shorth length of heat shrink over the wires on the pup, solder your pup wires to the short ends of the pins, shrink the heat shrink and plug it in. Don't over cook your heat shrink as you can see I did here. I couldn't find my little butane torch and I was impatient and used a BBQ lighter instead.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Hi BMW-KTM,

Nice pic's mate! I may well have to have a more serious look at Kinman's offerings...

Cheers!

Andy

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Pending Greatness

The Gilmour strat has a mini switch that allows you to have all 3 pickups on at the same time. There are a lot of diagrams on the net for such a setup. Just goggle it or go to http://www.gilmourish.com, I think there is some good info there. Good luck!


I see Andy has offered to draw you something up if you wanted him to. He knows what he's talking about and would be a good resource.

In my experience, the biggest problem with Kinman is that they try to hide the fact that they are based out of Austrailia. They charge USA dollars and you will get messages and notifications from Los Angeles but the stuff is made in Austrailia. Not that there's anything intrinsically wrong with that but it can take weeks and weeks to receive your order and ordering is the only way to get the stuff. They don't have any retailers. Direct sales only. There also those nasty international shipping and brokerage fees and hidden costs associated with buying from overseas. You'll pull your hair out during the process but once you have the stuff inside your guitar and you've had some time to forget how much you paid for it by the time it was all over, you'll be really happy with the product.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Hi Rxtele,

I don't have a wiring diagram to hand, but have found a number on Google. I have had this feature on my Strat for over 20 years, and I must admit I hate the sound of all three p/ups on simultaneously - to my ears, the sound lacks definition and is quite 'muddy' (even with the mid 80s USA re-issue p/ups on my guitar). Back in the 80s, I got my dad to take my Strat to his work place as they could strip the poly finish off the body. When the guitar was returned to me, it had a mini-toggle switch added between the volume and first tone knob which added the neck p/up to any position on the standard 5-way switch. At first I was annoyed that this had been done, but once I heard the sound of the neck & bridge p/ups on together... I was bowled over! It has been my favourite sound for clean(ish) rhythm ever since. It's similar to a Tele with both p/ups on, but somehow different - I just love it!! I also love the 'how is he getting that tone' look on the faces of other Strat players!

All 3 pickups on?

Well it's certainly not the holy grail of tones I can promise you. It all fairly mellow - the neck p/up dominates. It's thick and a bit indistinct. At least it is on my Burns guitar anyway, which has a pull switch to add the neck p/up to any position. And the Burns has very bright Rezzo s/c pickups too, so it would probably be even woolier sounding on a typical strat.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

Have to agree on that point. Dark and muddy would best describe it in most situations but that doesn't mean it's without any useful purpose. Remove all F/X and dial the amp to a nice chimey clean sound that does not even hint at breakup and you can get some very jazzy tones with all three running. Full and thick and almost as dark and warm as a full-on Jazz rig. Add a touch of 'verb and just a slight hint of trem ... I start breaking out all the minor ninths and diminished and augmented chords and major sevenths and Vic Fontaine, here I come.

The reason I like the K9 is because it gives me the ability to slowly dial in the neck pup (infinitely variable so you can adjust how loud the neck is) as well as change the wiring from parallel to series. It's much more versatile than just a push switch that turns on the neck pup.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I've wired custom shop pickups (no RWRP) and an S1 to give a variety of tones including all pickups on. Gives a great sound with the switch in mid and the S1 in the down position so thats another option.

The Kinman system is great, I've had the K7 harness in my US Deluxe for about the last 10 years, and love it. Not quite as many options as the K9 but still gives an extra 2 options over a traditional Strat. (neck+ bridge and All three together), plus a Master Tone and Blend control for the Neck pickup.


Snowy.

So maybe it's not such a great idea.......
the way everyone describes the muddy tone, maybe inviting trouble?
Gotta think about this a little more

Truth be told, you're not missing all that much. I could easily have been happy with the K7. I rarely use the series/parallel switch and could live without it happily. The only time I use it is in the brdge-middle position (2 or 4 depending on who's diagram you look at) when I want to lose some of the quack and bring in a little heavier grind. It's that neck pup thing I really love. With the switch in the bridge position I roll back the bottom tone control slowly bringing the neck pup into play and pretty soon I'm almost in Telecaster territory.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.