Ernie Ball 3-Way Strat Switch Wiring Schematic

[johnnysaw]

I have a Dual Humbucker MM Axis Sport which originally came with a 5-Way Switch. I prefer a 3-Way Switch for my Dual Humbucking Guitars so I ordered Ernie Ball's "3-Way Strat Switch (P06371)". The switch did not include any wiring schematics and I cannot find any wiring schematics for this switch anywhere on either the Ernie Ball or Music Man sites.

If anyone has the schematic for the Ernie Ball "3-Way Strat Switch (P06371)" please let me know.


Thanks,
John

[email protected]

 

[Larry]

Shoot customer service and e-mail

[email protected]

 

[Lord Toneking]

http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/

go to schematics...that may be easier than an email


edit: sorry...those schematics are about worthless

 

[johnnysaw]

I agree the schematics posted there are more or less worthless.

But thanks for the effort.

 

[beej]

Hey man-

Shoot me your email address in a PM or email. I have copies of all of those diagrams.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Whilst people will shoot me down, I still maintain the 3-way circuit sounds better than the 5 way one.

 

[beej]

I don't see how. There's no adverse affect on the circuit from extra poles in the switch. And once a connection has been made, it's exactly the same thing regardless of whether you use the 3 or 5 way switch. Removing the tone pot, yep, but changing the switch, I don't see how that's possible.

 

[Astrofreq]

I totally prefer the 3 way toggle selector to the 5-way. Let me know how it turns out.

 

[Lord Toneking]

Can't you just post it here so others can have it? Or is it some sort of 'Top Secret' thing??

 

[geektard]

This is sorta like a Roserra Stone for 3-ways:

 

[johnnysaw]

First of all, Thank you to all of you who have contributed to helping me figure this out.

This forum and its members are truly fantastic.

Here is the situation... The Ernie Ball 3-Way Strat Style switch is unique, instead of having 8 solder points like a the Fender 3-Way switch (also in the Seymour Duncan image) the Ernie Ball has 16 solder points.

I tried a Fender 3-Way and I abolutely prefer the 3-Way switch over the 5-Way switch. However the Fender switch has a slightly shorter leg and the plastic cap does not stay on properly. When I spoke to Music Man they suggested I try the Ernie Ball switch. The Ernie Ball switch has a longer leg but all of the solder points are mysterious to me.

I have emailed Ernie Ball Customer Service. When they reply I will post the answer to this riddle for future use.

If anyone can beat EB Cust Svc to the answer please feel free.


Thanks again,
John

 

[beej]

16 ... wow. So it has 4 different sets of switches. Each one has three (bridge, both, neck) + wiper (the output connection).

It's not that tough to figure out if you have a multimeter ... but I don't know how the lugs are physically laid out so can't say.

I'd sit tight ... AJ or Dan should be able to get back to you in short order with a diagram. If you're really stuck you can post some pics and we can figure it out.

 

[geektard]

How do they cram those 16 terminals into that switch!? 2 rows on each side? Or use 2 wafers like a super switch? Got a picture?

 

[beej]

It's basically a semicircle, with 8 lugs on either side of the wheel. Not as bad as it sounds.

Johnny pointed out that it's the switch in the Axis MM90.

 

[geektard]

Johnny pointed out that it's the switch in the Axis MM90.

Huh? LOL! I own an ASS with MM90 I've been trying to resist the urge to open it up & screw with the wiring... Let me go take some pics inside of the cavity so you guys can figure out the lug assignment:

The pups goes through SC so it's a bit confusing. No idea how they color code those wires...

 

[ShaneV]

Back when I was learning to wire guitars I spent a lot of time looking at switches, flipping through their positions and looking at which terminals came in contact with the wiper at each position, this may be one of those times.

 

[johnnysaw]

Hello everybody,

I finally had the opportunity to install the EB/MM 3-Way Switch over the weekend. It works great.

Thanks to Beej here on the forum and AJ at EB/MM Customer Service for all of their help figuring this out.

Here is the deal... The EB/MM switch is essentially 2 separate switches in one. 8 contacts forward and 8 contacts back. There is a disconnect in the wiper between the 2 halves.

The pics of the MM90 Axis cavity shows the pickups, jumpers and hot lead all coming from one half while the other half is connected to the silent circuit. In my case with Humbuckers I have nothing connected to the silent circuit side of the switch.


Thanks again,
John

 

[Astrofreq]

Wow. that looks confusing. It's almost easier to become a rock star and just have EB design a signature guitar for you with a 3-way. Almost.

 

[johnnysaw]

I'm back...

After a few years with the 3-Way switch in my Axis. I think I'd like to experiment with the 5-Way again.

I cannot seem to locate the 5-Way switch wiring diagram on the web. Can anyone send a copy to me?


Thanks,
John