5-way vs. 3-way with push'pull...... Opinions please????

[Adam O.]

So I have a Custom 22 with Dragon 2's and a 5-way rotary, and I'm thinking of switching it up. I'm thinking 57/08's with a 3-way and push/pull. Any input on this anyone??? Also.... What is your general opinion on the 5-way vs. the 3-way push pull? One more thing..... I have the 57/08's and the push/pull in my Mira, but that's a whole different animal. I'm mainly seeking opinions on this setup in a Custom 22. Thanks.

 

[prsrocker1988]

I can totally vouch for 57/08s with a 3 way switch and push pull. That's what I rock in my #1 (Custom 24).... I'm just used to that from years of playing that style of guitar (G). Incredibly vintage sounding. I can imagine a 22 fretter would be even moreso.

Sooo much better than rotary, and I still prefer it over a blade. For me it goes 3 way > blade > rotary. I don't find the other tones on the blade/rotary useful and I love the sound of a coil split no matter the pickup. I find I like them more than most, and find them to be incredibly realistic. I don't even hear a volume drop like some do (for instance David Grissom did and his coil splits are specially wired). I also need split-second pickup changes live and that was challenging at best with the rotary.

Also for me getting the rotary out of there was like taking a blanket off of my amp...everyone agreed that it was like all of my high end came back. Granted, I changed my other pots too but I doubt it would have made the difference.

 

[Tosca]

I like 3 way with 2 push pulls (for splitting either/both pickups)...for all 8 combinations...same functionally as a 408/Siggy...without the mini toggles (though I like them too).

 

[AP515]

I like the Rotary. The in between sounds are great and you cant get them on the 3 way w/push pull. Put the 57/08's in and try it before you move on the 3 way.

 

[jimistephen]

I ultimately prefer a 3 way with 2 mini DPDT which is on/on/on so I have Series/Single/Parallel Wiring options with both pickups. Given not wanting to drill 2 more holes in your guitar, I'd go 3 way with push pull. I hate having a 5 way with only 2 humbuckers.

 

[TroyBaer]

I'm not a huge fan of the 3-way+push/pull setup. It does work, but going from a neck single coil or neck+bridge single coils to bridge humbucker in the middle of a song takes a bit more fumbing about than I'd like. I'm also never going to use the bridge single coil by itself. So, what I've been doing on PRSes with a 3-way blade switch + push/pull setup is to replace the 3-way with a 5-way super-switch using this wiring scheme:

http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/2hum1vol1tone_ep1112MP.pdf

The only thing that doesn't do that I would want is neck+bridge HBs out of phase (the "Peter Green sound"). In principle, that should be possible using a push/pull switch, but I have yet to figure out a clean way to integrate it with the above wiring scheme.

(However, that doesn't really help in your situation, because the only drop-in replacement for a rotary switch is the 3-way toggle + push/pull.)

 

[Drew]

I do NOT like the middle positions on PRS 5 way rotary or blade setups. To my ears, the sounds are horrid. You get way more useful tones with the toggle and push-pull and you get true single coil sounds, which sound wonderful with the 57/08 pickups.

 

[gush]

3way is my least favorite. I like the tones of the 5way but I do have a 3way with push pulls on vol and tone and that is very nice too. As I understand it the 3way with 2 push pulls is like a 408. I would love to play a 408. My favorite would be a 5 way with a push pull on tone and vol pots if that's even possible.

 

[Tag]

Can someone tell me what the settings are on the 5 way? I remember really digging some of those tones, and I do not think they are the same as the 3 way plus push pull pots. I may want to convert one of mine to a 5 way. Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[Chitarrista scarso]

Many Custom 22 have a 5 way rotary switch with pre-fixed combinations, because the switch is soldered on a PCB not easily modificable.
In my 1997 Custom 22 with rotary and Dragons II the five positions are:
- Neck humbucker
- Neck and bridge single coils (inner coils)
- Neck and bridge inner coils in series (i'm with Drew, don't like at all!)
- Neck and bridge single coils (outer coils)
- Bridge humbucker.
If you want different combinations and keep the rotary switch, you could buy an aftermarket switch and realize a new wiring; if you like 3 way toggle switch and push-pull is not so different; in both cases, you have to choose which of coils is better for split. Sorry for my English, friends! :hello:

 

[AP515]

From the website:

ROTARY POSITIONS
Position 10: Treble pickup
Position 9: Outside coils- deep and clear - parallel
Position 8: Series single coils – Warm version of the "in between the treble and middle pickups"
Position 7: Parallel single coils – Crisp version of the "in between the treble and middle pickups"
Position 6: Bass pickup

And I like the middle position.

 

[Tag]

From the website:

ROTARY POSITIONS
Position 10: Treble pickup
Position 9: Outside coils- deep and clear - parallel
Position 8: Series single coils – Warm version of the "in between the treble and middle pickups"
Position 7: Parallel single coils – Crisp version of the "in between the treble and middle pickups"
Position 6: Bass pickup

And I like the middle position.

Thanks guys! I like the middle position too. Some very smooth fusion/blues overdriven tones there IMO. On the 3 way push pull, which single coils are you getting, inner or outer?

 

[Ron]

I have a Custom 22, now with 59/09's. Played it for a few years with the Dragon 2's and rotary. I tried the three way and push/pull once but changed it back. To my ears this combination did not give me the tonal characteristics that I had loved with the rotary. A friend recently gave me a set of the 59/09's and I absolutely love them. I love all the positions with the rotary, the bridge is killer. I have thought a few times about trying the 3 way again with the new pups. Never been a huge fan of the rotary but it works and I'm used to it. Not broke so....

Just a plug for the Custom 22 and the 59/09's. Love it.

 

[gush]

I have a Custom 22, now with 59/09's. Played it for a few years with the Dragon 2's and rotary. I tried the three way and push/pull once but changed it back. To my ears this combination did not give me the tonal characteristics that I had loved with the rotary. A friend recently gave me a set of the 59/09's and I absolutely love them. I love all the positions with the rotary, the bridge is killer. I have thought a few times about trying the 3 way again with the new pups. Never been a huge fan of the rotary but it works and I'm used to it. Not broke so....

Just a plug for the Custom 22 and the 59/09's. Love it.

I have a custom 24 with 5909s they are fabulous pickups. Mine has 5way blade and I want to send it to prs for the tone tap mod. It would be the perfect tool with the single coil options.

My ce22 has drag 1s with rotary and wonder if the tone push/pull mod is possible for it?

I would have a hard time parting with these two guitars while work us done. I always take ce22 with me to gigs.

 

[Herr Squid]

I love the simplicity and speed of the 3-way toggle with push/pull. Better still is the Paul's Guitar combo of 3-way plus mini switches as it's more versatile (if fussier-looking).

That combo doesn't give as many different tones as the 5-way, but I find the particular single coil-ish tones the 5-way offers aren't really to my tastes anyway.

 

[Rider1260]

Sounds like yo guys should check out the Freeway switch no push pull 6 settings lots of fun
and if you add push pulls the options are CRAZY


http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_...and_Parts/Switches/Free-Way_Ultra_Switch.html

 

[Tosca]

Sounds like yo guys should check out the Freeway switch.....

This definitely caught my eye in the latest Stew Mac Catalog, don't think I ever saw it before then. Has anyone here seen/tried one?

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Thanks guys! I like the middle position too. Some very smooth fusion/blues overdriven tones there IMO.

I just "discovered" the middle rotary position, and am now a huge fan - in fact, whereas I used to live in 6, 7 and 10, I find myself in 8 & 9 more often now.

I am getting to be a big fan of the ergonomics of the 5-way blade the more I use it - so I guess my ultimate would be a 5-way blade wired just like the old stock rotary.

 

[Hollis Prince]

The Stewmac Freeway Switch looks very promising. I like the sounds I get from the rotary switch in my Custom 22, but I'm not a fan of the switch itself. As a lifelong strat player, I'm in the habit of kinda back-hand slapping the 5-way blade switch from bridge to neck whilst soloing. Is there a such thing as a 5-way toggle switch (exactly like the 3-way toggle, but 5-way)? If not, I think I'll go with the 6-way Freeway Switch. I think I'd like it better anyways. With it I could have all the normal switching options from the rotary, plus a neck + bridge humbucker (like the middle position on a Gibson).
Also, I really like the new clear lampshade knobs. They are typically $30 for a set of 2, and I'd have to buy 2 sets($60!) for my rotary setup I have now.

My plan: find some 57/08's, change knobs to the new lampshade knobs, change rotary switch to the Freeway Switch and add the 2 humbucker option to the Normal rotary options.

What do you think?

 

[Boogie]

The 5-way is one of my favorite PRS innovations. So much so that I'm a bit sentimental about it. As much as I've switched things up in my Cu24, (currently has a Dimarzio Andy Timmons and Duncan Jazz in the neck with a 3-way and no splitting options), I'll eventually go back to the stock config. It just feels right. When I dropped 57/08s in, I had to go with the 3-way + push-pull because of pup wiring limitations. Didn't like that set of pups in this guitar at all, but if I got another set, I'd probably go with the 3-way. So, depending upon the pickups, I'd go either 5-way or 3-way, but sentimentally prefer the 5-way.