Month: July 2015

Ultimate Strat / Gibson 5 Way Pickup Switch Wiring

This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while, my ultimate 5 way pickup switch wiring. They both require the 5 way double XL super switch, 4 poles, double wafer. They’re done in such a way that both a 2 humbucker guitar and a strat style guitar (SSS or SSH) sound as close as possible in each position. I like a 5 way because its faster than having to switch your main pickup selector and a coil tap at the same time.

Strat Style 2 Humbucker
1) Bridge Pickup Bridge Humbucker
2) Bridge/Neck Bridge/Neck Humbucker
3) Neck/Middle Series Neck Humbucker
4) Neck/Middle Parallel Neck/Bridge Coil Tap
5) Neck Neck Coil Tap
humbucker_super

strat_super

Notes:
– The humbucker coil taps work best with something like a Lindy Fralin Unbucker.
– On the Strat style I recommend a bridge humbucker or hot single coil
– The single coils in series is an interesting mod to approximate a humbucker. I’ve also thought about adding a 1M trim pot (with treble bleed) if the increased output is too big compared to the single coils on their own, but realised a series capacitor would probably do the same thing:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-tone-garage/mod-squad-muddy-sounding-neck-pickup

You can get a taste of what the series pickups sound like sounds like here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTNlbJksTu8

Pedaltrain Mini/Nano/Metro Power Supply Options

Cioks DC5 This is the first isolated power supply design to fit under a Pedaltrain Mini (or nano or metro).
True Tone One Spot I had one of these, but I found it passed noise back when my computer was on the same power supply.
Diago Micropower9 I currently daisy chain with one of these. The cable is starting to wear already though, so I may go back to a One Spot. They also have the Diago Powerstation which can output 3000mA! This might even fit under a pedaltrain mini, will try and let you know:
http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=817771&sid=2beb643e8b9aeaa4bd06ae85ecef3a02
Diago Isolator If you’re daisy chaining and need just one or two pedals isolated, this can be a cheap addition.
Mooer PDNW/PDNT Similar to the Diago, I haven’t tried one yet, so I don’t know how good it is.
Mooer Micro Power 93.5×42×36 (mm) These outputs are independently filtered outputs, but not transformer isolated I believe. Here’a a pic on a Pedaltrain Nano: https://osiamo.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/bruceb_mooerboard.jpg
Mosky DC-Tank 95×38×29 (mm) Overall slightly smaller than the mooer, and according to the manufacturer isolated outputs. Super cheap at US$35.
Mosky Nano Power Station 93×38×31 (mm) Pretty much the same size as the DC-Tank, but doesn’t say the outputs are isolated.
One Control Micro Distro 98x48x35 (mm) Another non-isolated solution. I’ve seen people fit these into Pedaltrain boards here and here. It’s not isolated though: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/new-mini-power-supply-for-pedaltrain-mini.1177229/
Pedaltrain Volto Battery powered solution that fits under newer Pedaltrain Minis and original ones if you’re willing to cut away part of the bottom.
T-Rex Fueltank Junior Pretty much the largest that’s worth considering. Takes up quite a lot of space on top, but you can fit it underneath if you cut away and added higher feet: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box/296043-pedaltrain-mini-has-no-room-power-supply.html
Rockboard Power Lt XL A similar idea to the Pedaltain Volto, but cheaper, adds a 5V USB output in addition to 2 standard 9V outputs, and at only 5.8cm wide is small enough to fit under the older Pedaltrain Minis (made before summer 2012) which cannot fit the Volto or Cioks DC-5
Mouse Electronics 6×9 Another small isolated power supply, not quite small enough to fit under a mini or nano without riser feet