Alternative to Mustang 3-position pickup switches?

dren68 · Post by **dren68** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:16 pm

I'll be starting a Mustang project soon and it's basically going to be a Mustang with a Jaguar trem. I'm having the body built by Cooterfinger, which means I can have it routed any way I choose, so I've also been considering an alternative to the traditional Mustang switches and was wondering if there's a way to simplify the pickup switching system. I don't really care about the phase in/out options, so I'd like to have a way that I can turn each pickup either on/off, as well as having an option of having them both on at the same time.

Keep in mind, I have NO experience with electronics, so I don't really know how to go about doing this, but wouldn't a 3-way toggle switch like this (LINK) be the easiest solution? Also, some sort of low profile push button or rocker switches would be cool, too, but I'm not sure if those would work and what kind I would need. Has anyone done anything like this before? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

chemistforhire · Post by **chemistforhire** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:48 pm

Any 3 way switch should work. I prefer the les paul type 3 way toggle switches.

Johnny Noir · Post by **Johnny Noir** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:11 am

i did that on my 2 mustangs but i keep one stock switch and i lowered it.

dren68 · Post by **dren68** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:59 pm

Johnny Noir wrote:i did that on my 2 mustangs but i keep one stock switch and i lowered it.

Yeah, I thought about that, too. Is there a diagram for it anywhere? I know it's probably pretty simple, but like I said, I have no wiring experience whatsoever.

Johnny Noir · Post by **Johnny Noir** » Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:45 pm

easy,
you can solve all the ground wires on the side of the switch; less messy

MMPicker · Post by **MMPicker** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:08 am

When I added a second pickup to my Musicmaster II, like you I didn't want the Mustang switches.
So I had a Les Paul type toggle switch put in instead, in the old Duosonic toggle position on the lower horn.

If you do likewise, my one suggestion is make sure the switch is really far up the horn. Otherwise it is possible to hit it when you strum hard and carelessly, depending on your particular geometry and mechanics.

Maybe put a little sticker where the prospective toggle placement would be, then do some shadow-strumming to make sure that prospective location would in fact work well for you.

dren68 · Post by **dren68** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:27 pm

Johnny Noir wrote:easy,
you can solve all the ground wires on the side of the switch; less messy

Great, thanks for that! So, are the 3 wires on the side of the switch all soldered together?

MMPicker wrote:When I added a second pickup to my Musicmaster II, like you I didn't want the Mustang switches.
So I had a Les Paul type toggle switch put in instead, in the old Duosonic toggle position on the lower horn.

If you do likewise, my one suggestion is make sure the switch is really far up the horn. Otherwise it is possible to hit it when you strum hard and carelessly, depending on your particular geometry and mechanics.

Maybe put a little sticker where the prospective toggle placement would be, then do some shadow-strumming to make sure that prospective location would in fact work well for you.

Right now, I'm trying to decide between a toggle switch and just using one of the Mustang switches with the simpler BRIDGE-ON/BOTH-ON/NECK-ON wiring scheme, but that's a good idea. I have a Jaguar and I haven't had a problem hitting any of the pickup switches on it, so maybe I'll use that as a guide if I go with a toggle switch. Thanks!

Johnny Noir · Post by **Johnny Noir** » Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:32 pm

dren68 wrote:
Johnny Noir wrote:easy,
you can solve all the ground wires on the side of the switch; less messy

Great, thanks for that! So, are the 3 wires on the side of the switch all soldered together?

I did like that but not necessary. The ground just needs to be well connected, i mean all the side of the switch is ground and you have a small tab too.

You can lowered your switch too, with adding a wire sheath on each screw between the guard and the switch. Take care to isolate your switch from the bottom of the cavity, because there is metallic painting (it's the ground too and the white wires have nothing to do with). I did it with a piece of plastic (you know that small plastic bags where you store your screws for exemple).

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 6:07 am

MMPicker · Post by **MMPicker** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:28 pm

http://www.marcelroy.com/59_64/61mbdsjg/
(see switch placement)

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 11:21 am

I dislike the standard three way switch because it doesn't really play nicely with other fancy wiring options I like to do. Those 3-ways for 3-pickup guitars that are true DPDT switches work a lot better, IMO. (Of course, they suck at actually giving you meaningful tonal options on a 3-pickup guitar, but what do you expect from Gibson?)

The best switches you can get on a two pickup-guitar, IMO, is a 4-way blade switch, as found in hot-rodded Telecasters and Johnny Marr Jaguars. I really can't do without a series option on my Mustang. I don't use a blade switch, though, I have my own setup, but series option is very, very useful, I'm probably in it half the time.

Anyway, I do think that the body shape of a Mustang makes the lower right area a poor place for a switch, since I find it a relatively busy area where I'm likely to hit it accidentally. One of the reasons why I have my wiring set up the way I do on the Mustang is that there is absolutely no way in hell I can accidentally hit controls with my current setup. I like it that way. I set up my wiring with no controls at all on the pickguard, everything is controlled with a DPDT mini-toggle and push-pull tone knob.

Johnny Noir · Post by **Johnny Noir** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:59 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:

can we see a picture of the whole guitar? I'm curious, she seems to be gorgeous.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:01 pm

The more and more I think about it, the more and more I think that the only place on a Mustang that truly makes sense for a pickup switch is the upper contour, i.e. the Les Paul switch placement. Oh well, most people will disagree.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 8:48 pm

I do like the idea of a switch on the lower bout mainly because that's where the pickguard goes so it would be easier to fit, but I've found that on my Jazzmaster I flip the pickup selector towards the middle or neck positions with my left leg when playing sitting down. It's handy when I *want* to do that, but a minor nuisance when I don't. Most people seem to prefer playing while standing, so I guess it's not a common issue with everyone else.

dren68 · Post by **dren68** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 1:27 pm

honeyiscool wrote:I dislike the standard three way switch because it doesn't really play nicely with other fancy wiring options I like to do. Those 3-ways for 3-pickup guitars that are true DPDT switches work a lot better, IMO. (Of course, they suck at actually giving you meaningful tonal options on a 3-pickup guitar, but what do you expect from Gibson?)

The best switches you can get on a two pickup-guitar, IMO, is a 4-way blade switch, as found in hot-rodded Telecasters and Johnny Marr Jaguars. I really can't do without a series option on my Mustang. I don't use a blade switch, though, I have my own setup, but series option is very, very useful, I'm probably in it half the time.

Anyway, I do think that the body shape of a Mustang makes the lower right area a poor place for a switch, since I find it a relatively busy area where I'm likely to hit it accidentally. One of the reasons why I have my wiring set up the way I do on the Mustang is that there is absolutely no way in hell I can accidentally hit controls with my current setup. I like it that way. I set up my wiring with no controls at all on the pickguard, everything is controlled with a DPDT mini-toggle and push-pull tone knob.

That's a great solution, and I'd love to do something like that eventually. For now, though, since I'm very inexperienced with wiring, I was kind of looking for an easier way to wire it which would keep things simple for me - at least until I have a chance to work on my soldering skills. It's definitely a cool idea, though.

dren68 · Post by **dren68** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 1:34 pm

honeyiscool wrote:The more and more I think about it, the more and more I think that the only place on a Mustang that truly makes sense for a pickup switch is the upper contour, i.e. the Les Paul switch placement. Oh well, most people will disagree.

Concretebadger wrote:I do like the idea of a switch on the lower bout mainly because that's where the pickguard goes so it would be easier to fit, but I've found that on my Jazzmaster I flip the pickup selector towards the middle or neck positions with my left leg when playing sitting down. It's handy when I *want* to do that, but a minor nuisance when I don't. Most people seem to prefer playing while standing, so I guess it's not a common issue with everyone else.

I like the 3-way switch the best, too. It does seem like it would be easy to accidentally hit while you're playing, though. Has anyone ever tried those rocker switches or some type of switch that's the push-button type? That was another thing I was considering, since it might be harder to accidentally hit them and turn something off. I know Rockett Tone uses those, and I think they look cool, too. I just wasn't sure which kind would work or how they'd need to be wired.

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:50 pm

If inexperience is a factor, consider that if someone else is building the body for you, you can more easily ask for things like a blade switch in the Les Paul position.

MMPicker · Post by **MMPicker** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:33 pm

honeyiscool wrote:The more and more I think about it, the more and more I think that the only place on a Mustang that truly makes sense for a pickup switch is the upper contour, i.e. the Les Paul switch placement. Oh well, most people will disagree.

Actually I switched to my Musicmaster from previously playing a Les Paul, which is why I felt more comfortable putting in a toggle than Mustang sliders.

I definitely would have been interested in putting the switch in the Les Paul position, after all I had no problems whatsoever using the switch in that position on the Les Paul.

But the existing Musicmaster pickguard woud not cover a switch there, and I was too aesthetically challenged to be comfortable creating a new pickguard design that would cover the requisite area and I was sure would look good. And then I looked at pictures and saw that the pre-1965 Duosonics actually did have a toggle, and they put it in the lower horn. As they did for the Jazzmaster as well. I decided Fender probably knew what they were doing back then, why reinvent the wheel. A bit wishful thinking on my part, I have to say. Not that it's horrible there. But I do think the Les Paul position would be safer if a goal is to absolutely minimize accidental hits.