MOD GARAGE
DIRK WACKER
The Anatomy of the Stratocaster 5-way Switch
Part I: The Basics
Hello and welcome back to “Mod Garage.”
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. This
month, we’ll start to talk about the anatomy of the Stratocaster 5-way pickup selector switch. I know some of you may not
find this topic completely fascinating, but
believe me: it’s important to understand
the basics of this switch, and it’s not as difficult as you might think. You’ll see at the
end that you’ll be able to develop your own
mods with this knowledge, and it will help
you further your understanding of all kinds
of guitar wirings in general.
I’ll split this treatment into three pieces:
this month we’ll talk about the basics of the
switch, and over the next two months I’ll
show you how to install a switch, and discuss
its individual lugs and how to transfer these
basics to other switches. So put on your
white lab coat and pull out your dissecting
case, and we’ll start.
First of all, as you know there are several
companies producing guitar switches, such
as Central Lab (CRL), OAK/Grigsby (acquired
by Electroswitch), Neutrik, Schaller, Eyb and
Stewmac, just to name a few. And you may
know from experience with other types of
products, these switches are all different,
even though they all do the same thing! We
have to set a standard before we start, so
I’ve decided to use the Central Lab (CRL)
switch. It’s the most common switch of this
type around the world, and you can see this
switch configuration on almost all kinds of
wiring diagrams (Seymour Duncan also uses
it as the standard).
You can divide all these switches into two main
groups: closed ones and open ones. The open
switches, like the CRL, Stewmac and OAK,
offer very good quality—plus the benefit of
seeing what the switch is doing in certain positions makes it much easier to understand.
Here you can see the classic CRL 5-way
switch from both sides.
For comparison, here a closed 5-way budget
switch from the far-east.
Some switches, like the Eyb or the Schaller,
fall somewhere between the two main types,
offering an open PCB-based construction,
like the one shown above.
There is a never-ending debate about which
switch is the best. Some prefer the open
ones; others the closed ones. As for myself,
I can only say that I’ve never had a problem
with an open switch, but I’ve seen and serviced countless guitars with faulty and noisy
closed switches. One argument you can read
frequently is that the closed switches offer
protection against dust, humidity and moisture. This may be true, but is it an important
factor? Have a look at your Strat. The switch
is mounted underneath the pickguard—an
area already protected against dust and
moisture. I have never seen a rusty or dusty
open switch on a Strat pickguard. The best
way to pamper your switches (both closed
and open) to protect them from dust and
debris is to use them often. This will keep all
the contacts clean, and will assure years of
trouble-free operation.
There are also people who maintain that
the open switches sound different from the
closed ones. I’ve never heard a difference,
but maybe it’s just my ears. If you can hear
the difference, you should certainly experiment with different switches to fine-tune
your tone. Personally, I use the open CRL
and OAK switches in all of my guitars, and
they’ve never let me down.
Next month we’ll continue on to installing a
new 5-way switch, and talk about its single
lugs. So stay tuned and keep on modding!
Dirk Wacker
Dirk Wacker lives in Germany and has been addicted to
all kinds of guitars since the age of five. He is fascinated
by anything that has something to do with old Fender
guitars and amps. He hates short scales and Telecaster
neck pickups, but loves twang. In his spare time he plays
country, rockabilly, surf and Nashville styles in two bands,
works as a studio musician for a local studio and writes
for several guitar mags. He is also a confessed hardcore
DIY guy for guitars, amps and stompboxes and runs an
extensive webpage about these things. singlecoil.com
