Random Hero's Mod

Here is a reader-submitted modification sent in by "RandomHero" in the forums.

Keep in mind that I haven't tried this and haven't really had time to even check the schematic, so if you have any questions you should ask RandomHero himself in the forums.

Here is a description of the modifications in his own words...

It allows an S/S/S equipped Strat (or anything else) to simulate the neck
and bridge positions of a double-Fat strat. One limitation is that the
5-way must be on "1", "3", or "5" for it to operate as intended... it
does, however, get some interesting (but completely unintentional, and as
of yet unidentified) tones when the switch is on "2" and "4". It loses
none of the 5 stock positions and utilizes the middle coil as the "second
coil" of whichever pickup (neck or bridge) you turn into a humbucker. It
even kills the hum! Powerful-sounding! The kicker is that it maintains
stock appearance.

One of the DPDT switches acts as the "toggle" between 5-way and two-way
switching. One of the poles on this switch (switch 1 from now on) toggles
the wire coming from the output jack to either the "mixed" signal wire of
the 5-way switch, or the signal wires coming from two of the terminals of
the second DPDT. The other pole on switch one lifts the ground of the
middle pickup from the ground circuitry of the guitar and also sends it to
the second switch.

So with switch one on, the hot wire of the middle pickup is hard-wired to
the volume pot through a couple of switch connections. The second switch
is the actual pickup switch, or the "2-way"... switch 2 from now on. This
switch routes the hot wire (scabbed right off the terminals of the 5-way)
of either the neck or bridge pickup into the previously ungrounded ground
wire of the middle pickup; the neck and bridge are left grounded, and
connected in series with the middle, the middle pickup always coming last
in the chain.

I only have one set of poles to use to "disconnect" the 5-way from the
circuit. Since the hot leads of the pickups still go to the 5-way when the
2-way is activated, and the 5-way crosses "hot" wires in the 2 and 4
positions, one of two things (to my understanding) happens. If switch 2
(the "humbucker" switch) is set to "lead" (with the bridge and middle in
series) and the 5-way is on position 2, it shorts it to the stock two
position. If the switch is on 4, then it has the middle and neck pickups
in parallel, in series with the bridge. Interesting tone. The same is true
(but backwards) with the opposite configuration.

Of course with the 5-way on 1, 3, or 5, the hot wires of the pickups are
isolated to contacts that don't electrically "go" anywhere, so it keeps it
operating as I intended. Not to say the extra tones aren't a nice mistake
though! 

I only drew the terminals of the 5-way switch that mattered, that being
the output lug on top (to volume pot, normally) and the three "hot" wire
lugs from the pickups. All red wires are directly "hot" from the pickups,
all blue wires are ground. The far left set of lugs (on the two DPDTs) is
interesting in that it is actually what connects the ground of the middle
pickup to either the ground of the whole circuit, or turns the ground wire
into a "hot" wire. The connections made through the coils of the pickups
isn't apparent when looking at the switches, so be sure to keep that in
mind. (It hurt my brain-box a few times thinking about it.) The purple
wires are "blended" signals from either the 5-way or 2-way, ready to go to
the volume pot. I darkened the crossing points to make them clearer.

With the left switch (switch 1) "down" (I'm using push-pull pots, the pots
are oriented above the switch lugs shown in the drawing), it's in normal
operation, routing the blended signals from the 5-way to the volume pot
and the ground from the middle pickup to the ground, as normal. With it
"up," it does what is needed to go to switch 2, "down" uses bridge and
middle in series like a bridge 'bucker, and "up" uses middle and neck in
series like a neck 'bucker.

(Sorry this is so long and maybe repetitive. I scabbed it from where I
have previously posted it on a forum.)

Upon closer examination, I'm realizing that the left set of poles on the
right switch is being unnecissarily cluttered... I could just put the hot
lead of the middle pickup to thefirst switch where the other two wires are
going. That leaves me a new set of poles to play with! 

And here is the diagram he sent...