Members AlexJHolland Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Hey, I have a Les Paul studio and am very into pickup cuts, and as such have completely ruined my pickup selector. I heard Tom Morello say in an interview that he uses military grade switches, unless someone is far more helpful than the people who replied to my last post, could you please tell me the technical specification/name of what the switch would be to perform the task of switching 3 pickups, top quality audio, so i can locate a durable enough switch myself Thanks, AlexJHolland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BAM Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 thats BS that he uses "military grade" switches. is there such thing as military switches? a switch is a switch. Its just a standard 3-way SPDT switch. if you broke the one you have you can get a new one from radioshack or practically anywhere else. but if your doing it to a point that it breaks, especially on a les paul studio, you need to back off a bit on the pickup muting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Metro Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 I do the same thing with my Les Paul. I have just a regular switch and when it goes I take it out and centre the pin with a pair of needle nose pliers and pop it back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexJHolland Posted April 10, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 BAM - When you say 'BS', it may or may not be 'military grade', which I assume means they are supplied to the military, and therefore are expected to meet a certain standard and not crap out in the field, like that anything Gibson have anything to do with would do. The point is a standard Les Paul switch is NOT up to the task, I have done this on 2 guitars and it goes wobbly every time. Even my friend who doesn't cut, but changes pickups lots in his style has ruined his. Tom has definatly upgraded his, you can see its one of the mimimalist ones ive seen on some components, and it feels much tougher to use. This is an integral part of my style as I play with DJ's and MC's so I definatly need something tough, but thanks for telling me what type I'm looking for.. Johnny - Thanks for the tip, I'll take a look, but are we talking about the same thing? (The switch becoming so wobbly that it flops around, and crackles, sometimes switching pickups invariably, seemingly having worn down like a geriatrics hip joint?) Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lone Flanger Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 If you're going to be doing that, why not just replace the selector switch with a new one and install a momentary cutoff switch to take the strain off your pickup selector? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Metro Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Johnny - Thanks for the tip, I'll take a look, but are we talking about the same thing? (The switch becoming so wobbly that it flops around, and crackles, sometimes switching pickups invariably, seemingly having worn down like a geriatrics hip joint?) I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same thing. Sorry I'm not the best at explaining things... The pin is located where I drew the red arrow. You just line it up with the holes and pop it back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrSage Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Originally posted by Lone Flanger If you're going to be doing that, why not just replace the selector switch with a new one and install a momentary cutoff switch to take the strain off your pickup selector? I'd do that. Make yourself a pedal with a mute control on a momentary switch. It'll probably run you a grand total of $10 in parts and will last a lot longer than a switch. You could also get a tremolo pedal with a momentary switch on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bruno Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Originally posted by BAM thats BS that he uses "military grade" switches. is there such thing as military switches? a switch is a switch. Its just a standard 3-way SPDT switch. if you broke the one you have you can get a new one from radioshack or practically anywhere else. but if your doing it to a point that it breaks, especially on a les paul studio, you need to back off a bit on the pickup muting. I know that this is going to come off nuts.................but I work for an aerospace company and there are vendors that make military grade switches that have a greater MTBF ( mean time between failures ) This is often required so the Govt. does not have to replace items that wear out often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PFDarkside Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 I'm assuming he's perfected the style with a lot more speed and precision than you can do with a foot. Alex, I haven't read many Morello interviews post Rage but I remember in an interview around '99 he said he just keeps a stock of standard Gibson switches and replaces them when one breaks. It would seem to me that the Gibson style would be more tough than the type that Johnny posted. Maybe upgrade that pin and the way it's secured, I think the contacts are better on the large Gibson switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BAM Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Originally posted by Bruno I know that this is going to come off nuts.................but I work for an aerospace company and there are vendors that make military grade switches that have a greater MTBF ( mean time between failures ) This is often required so the Govt. does not have to replace items that wear out often. i'm not doubting theyre out there, im saying you cant walk into your local electronics store and just buy one. that being said, back to the main topic. I think your best bet would just to install a seperate momentary switch, a push button switch, something along these lines: http://www.nfauto.co.uk/images/november/push_button_switch1.jpg for lack of a better example. I've never taken apart a Les Paul, so i dont know if theres a lot of room to work with in there, but thatd be your best bet IMO. Saves you some money too. a momentary switch in pedal form would not suit what you want. a push button is small and can easily be concealed, plus wont break nearly as easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bruno Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Originally posted by BAM i'm not doubting theyre out there, im saying you cant walk into your local electronics store and just buy one. Yep I think that you can find someone online that has them though and this would be what he is looking for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dotlikeimpact Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 fwiw, buckethead uses a momentary switch set up as a button on his les paul for the same kind of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-4 Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 That self-contained toggle switch shown in an above post is some off shore job. Get a Switchcraft toggle that is used in the better LP's. Those are the only decent ones to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iAMboognish Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 I searched long and hard to find a 3way "insustrial grade" STDP switch and came up pretty much empty handed.... until I came full circle to ALLPARTS... THey sell a SUPER BOMBER switch that looks like an amp toggle or something! It's VERY ROBUST!! model no. "EP 4368-010 Danelectro Toggle" Check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrSage Posted April 10, 2006 Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Originally posted by PFDarkside I'm assuming he's perfected the style with a lot more speed and precision than you can do with a foot. Interesting assumption. I don't really have any basis to make assumptions about his technique or even what he's using this for...it just seems like either a momentary footswitch or a modded tremolo would probably do the trick. Tremolos can go quite fast, with damn good precision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexJHolland Posted April 10, 2006 Author Members Share Posted April 10, 2006 Wow, quite a bit to take in there, thanks very much though I thought about a momentary switch, but i would want to be able to make it turn the signal on when I push it in, otherwise it would be illogical to use, and I'd lose my groove, could I get a switch to 'activate' the circuit (cutting my signal), then whenever I push it in it allows the signal? That would be very precise. Altho I am looking for a square tooth tremolo (preferably tap tempo, any suggestions?!), as stated, this would not be a sensitive enough method for what I want to do. I went to allparts, and the one you were suggesting didn't seem to have a photo? However EP_4362-000 looks perfect, will a 4-Pole Toggle Switch (12 Terminals) be the right thing? - Basically my conclusion is, I still want to upgrade my toggle for one of those tough looking ones I listed above, on the basis of NO information whatsover lol I think it looks like it could take a hammering better, and it would be good to use. But I also want a momentary button, with a switch to activate the circuit so I can have signal when I push it in, is this possible? Will it degrade my sound? What do I need? Thanks very much again guys! AlexJHolland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.