Was the original 5-way switching different?

[eclecticsynergy]

Saw a post over at TGP that referred to the early PRS switching and said that later ones don't have the "power out-of-phase" position, also that early ones use the two full humbuckers in parallel for middle position.

I LOVE the 5-way on my '87 and hadn't ever realized that they might not all be the same. Position 3 on this axe is fat but bright and sorta reminiscent of Tele middle tone, so I'd assumed it was using two individual coils. Now I'm wondering if maybe it's really both full hums, and the bright punchiness is due to the snappy nature of the T&B pickups. I also like the slightly snotty, almost quacky midrange in position 2 which is so totally different from the others and has to be what the poster was calling power-out-of-phase. (My other PRSs all have 3-way switching so I haven't had the chance to get intimately familiar with any other PRS 5-ways.)

Anyway, I want to convert another guitar to this configuration. I'd hoped to use a Megaswitch-P which claims to duplicate the PRS 5-way; here's the switching listed for it:

Now I'm worried that positions 2 & 3 on the Megaswitch might not actually match the rotary I've become so attached to. (Yes, I understand that humbuckers with a conventional slug coil won't act or sound like my T&Bs.)

So, two questions for the experts:

What exactly are the coil combinations for positions 2, 3, & 4 on my beloved '87?

And if the Megaswitch doesn't match up, is there another (blade type) aftermarket switch that could be used to duplicate them?

Thanks for your advice. I''m inquiring at a couple of other forums, but this would seem to be a good go-to source for all things PRS.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Okay, I have a somewhat better idea of what I want now. It took some searching (info about the old 5-way wiring isn't very readily available) but I was able to find this:

So the Megaswitch is indeed different from my 5-way, though it may be similar to more recent PRS versions. In middle position mine definitely uses both full humbuckers, and position 2 is the "power out-pf-phase" configuration. I suspect this may simply be the two full humbuckers out of phase with each other, but it definitely has lower output than middle position. Whether that's due merely to phase cancellation I can't tell. Does anybody here have definitive knowledge of the power out-of-phase position?

I'm assuming that position 3 on my 5-way (labeled "Strat" on the paper in the image, and it does indeed sound quite Stratty) involves either inside coils in parallel like the Megaswitch, or possibly the outside coils in parallel. Again, does anybody here know?

So it appears that three of the five positions I want (1-3 & 5) are perfectly conventional, then pos 2 would be both humbuckers on with one phase reversed, and pos 4 would be one coil of each pickup running in parallel with each other. This could be done with a SuperSwitch, yes?

Again, I appreciate any advice & info you can share on this.

 

[ADP]

Here's a link to slightly better schematics of the original wafer rotary switch. You might be able to use them to work out how to wire your super switch. I'm not sure how easy it would be to wire in an out-of-phase setting though, but you could consider a push-pull pot to do that and then have two single-coil positions - outer and inner maybe.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Here's a link to slightly better schematics of the original wafer rotary switch. You might be able to use them to work out how to wire your super switch. I'm not sure how easy it would be to wire in an out-of-phase setting though, but you could consider a push-pull pot to do that and then have two single-coil positions - outer and inner maybe.

Thanks ADP- that's handy to have.