2 Single Coils, 5 Way Switch

[Tony Enamel]

Hey all,

I searched the forums and couldn't find the answer.

The question:

I have 2 p90's in a tele style guitar. I busted my 3way switch BUT I have a 5way switch. How do I wire this in a way to use all 5 positions? (Is it possible or will I end up with 2 dead positions?) Any suggestions?

[GregP]

I'm not sure if you can do out-of phase with a 5-way, but that opens up a few options. Without out-of phase, I can only think of 4 possibilities:

1. bridge

2. neck

3. both, in parallel

4. both, in series

With out-of phase (if it's possible), that gives:

5. both, parallel, out of phase

Sorry I'm not enough of a wiz to know about such things. I'm about to rewire my tele-style guitar and I had to get Lovekraft to hold my hand. The only thing I do know is that such trickery is usually only possible with a 'superswitch'. If it's a regular 5-way, you're probably looking at the option below.

If you only have 2 single-coils, I'd be tempted to get a new switch, instead. Even without a new switch, though, it's still possible to use the 5-way without actual 'dead' spots, though hard-wiring a 'kill' spot isn't such a horrible idea for certain sound effects.

Anyhow, you could theoretically still go:

1: bridge

2: bridge

3: both

4: neck

5: neck

Greg