Im going to feel like an idiot asking this but I've been doing a lot of research and I still can't find any clear answers. I'm looking to but a new Fender strat, but I don't understand what the S1 switch does exactly, so I have a few questions.

Does the S1 switch replace the sound of a humbucker? Or does it just make the sound close to a humbucker?

What does the S1 switch like actually do in general? My last question was basically all of my understanding of it. I've been a les Paul kind of guy for a while, but when I tried a strat I knew I had to get one, they're so nice! But I don't understand the S1. What happens if the strat has the S1 with a humbucker? I'm so confused on how it works and what it actually does. Help me out guys! Thanks

The S1 switch changes the wiring of the guitar, and what the different wiring patterns are depends on if the guitar has HSS or SSS pickups. When the switch is up, you get the normal 5-way wiring and settings - these were accurate for the 2004-2009 American Deluxes:

SSS switch Up:
1. bridge pickup
2. bridge + middle in parallel
3. middle pickup
4. middle + neck in parallel
5. neck pickup

SSS switch down:
1. bridge + middle in series
2. bridge with a different tone capacitor + middle in series
3.all 3 pickups, but it is (bridge + neck in parallel) + middle in series to the bridge+neck combo
4. middle + neck with a different tone capacitor in series
5. middle + neck in series

HSS switch Up (bridge humbucker is not split unless noted):
1. bridge pickup
2. bridge + middle in parallel and the humbucker is automatically split
3. middle pickup
4. middle + neck in parallel
5. neck pickup

HSS switch down:
1. bridge pickup
2. bridge + middle in parallel but the humbucker is not split
3.all 3 pickups, but it is (neck + middle in series) + bridge in parallel to the neck+middle combo
4. all 3 pickups, but it is (bridge humbucker split + neck in series) + middle in parallel to the bridge+neck combo
5. middle + neck in series

This info is on the Fender website under "Support" - go to "Service Diagrams", select the model, then go to the last page of the diagram for the S-1 switching. Fender hasn't updated these diagrams for the current model American Deluxe HSS Strats with that "Passing Lane" button that gives you the humbucker at full volume with the tone control bypassed so I don't know if they changed any of the settings on the S-1 for it. I don't think they would have made changes to the SSS wiring at all.

Here is the link to the Fender Support Stratocaster diagram page:
http://www.fender.com/support/articles/stratocaster-service-diagrams

Thanks man!

I have an HSS with the S1 and I only play with it up. I never knew what was going on when it was pressed in, so I didn't use it. Call me old school. Do you guys that have the S1 use it much?

I don't!
It sounds muddy and undefined, with much reduced treble. I don't like it and don't use it.
The sound without activated S1 switch is great though.

I would prefer the mid boost (Clapton/Buddy Guy) over the S1 switching ANYTIME!!!
I like the bridge/neck combination of the S1 switching, though. It's kinda tele in a strat.
But I really hardly use it. To me, the S1 switching is something I don't need. A strat delivers such great tone variety that I don't need an additional "almost-tele-sound".

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My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

A different opinion: My '11 Am Dlx HSS has the S1. When I'm learning a song and I'm rotating through switch positions to find what sounds best for that song, I'd say 75% of the time I pick a setting with the S1 engaged. It just sounds better to me!

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

Howdy!

+1 on all that good stuff John C wrote!


I have a couple of Parts-casters with the pre-2011 S-1 Switching and use it a fair bit. It's a nice feature to have for recording. An extra 5 settings to see what works best in the mix is handy.

If you don't use the stock S-1 sounds you could always re-wire it to your liking. Maybe as a switch to turn the Bridge pickup on for Tele-type sounds.

Andy

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Pending Greatness

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Thanks - slow day at work yesterday

The TBX doesn't do anything to the switching of a guitar - it's just a type of tone control Fender used on many models in the 1980s and 1990s (and still uses on the production line and CS Team Built Clapton Strats). There was a good article on the TBX in Premier Guitar magazine in either late 2010 or early 2011; basically the TBX is two tone pots sharing the same post - if I'm remembering correctly one is a 250k pot and the other is a 1m pot. That "detent" you feel at about "5" is sweep of the post moving from the normal (for single coil pickups) 250k pot to the 1m pot - the 1m pot being much brighter than the normal 250k pot so you get enhanced highs.

Usually on a Strat the TBX would be wired to work on the middle and bridge pickups, the exceptions being the Clapton and the CBS-era Elites where it was used as a master tone control (since those guitars also used the active mid boost in place of the second tone control).

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If I purchase a strat deluxe, it'll be all single coils. I tried one at a nearby Guitar Center today and some of the S1 tones sound like a P-90 to me and I love the sound of a P-90 and the N3's. It seems like the perfect guitar for me, I also tried one with a humbucker and with the selector switch I don't think the S1 makes as big of a difference on an HSS strat as it would with an SSS. Thanks for the help John! You cleared things up for me man

+1
I agree to a point. The humbucker is strong and overpowering
but there'll be some "tone" differences.

On an HSS, switch positions #3 #4 #5 will have more ability to be influenced
by changes in tone. I've several Strats with in/out phase switches and
push/pull boosters. On some Strats it is harder to hear the differences
than on other Strats, some with and some without humbuckers. Toppscore

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