HSS 10 Way Strat Free Way Switch Wiring 

I can't imagine my self soldering with a camera in the way, and operating the camera! Hats off to Six String Supplies.

That's what I've needed! The parts are laying around for months but now..... Thank you for this.

Wow this worked great. Making sense of the HSS Scheme A 1v/2t diagram is much appreciated. Your instructions are clear and complete. My HSS with the 5b5-02 works and sounds wonderful.

Excellent tutorial. Thank you so, so much for taking the time to create this for the world. I'm about to wire a free-way switch; hopefully, ten different ways on an HSH strat, just out of curiosity. Thanks again. 😊

I used your video as a guide to add this 10-way switch to my HSS Dean S-type guitar and want to say thank you for the walkthrough. This was my first mod, including learning how to solder lol so I needed a detailed video like yours to follow. Thank you so much, your video really help me get it done and I could not be happier with how things turned out. I have yet to add the 470K resister, but will do that very soon as I did find the split coil positions a bit too twangy and trebly. But I am glad I took your advice and went without resisters at first to play through the positions and hear them all, really helped me decided where to put the resister, going with the NT option. Thanks again!

Your work is so clean you could eat right from that pickguard. Absolutely love your channel, last week I bought the 10-way SSS wiring set(pre-wired), can't wait to try it out! As a Strat body type enthusiast, I'll probably buy the same parts as explained in this video from your website and try to solder it myself for my Godin Session. You're truly a gifted and generous man.

Excellent howto and demo, thank you from Georgia USA.

Man, you are one hero :) Thanks for your video!

Great job 👍

Great. Cheers from Indonesia 🇮🇩

I was waiting for this one!! Thanks so much :)

My next project!

Hi, I have the 5b5-01 switch which is used for a traditional SSS configuration. I was wondering if I could use that switch with a push pull to split the Humbucker of my HSS and achieve the same results? Could there be a video for such a setup?

A useful video. Putting black and green or North and south start using Seymour Duncan colours to NT which I suppose means Neck Tap which is really a Coil Split seems a bit odd. Though I checked the Freeway diagram and it mentioned, Note: for outer coil split in positions 6, 7, 9 & 10 solder both finish wires to BT + NT, solder inner coil start wire to BH, solder outer coil start wire to back of vol pot - which would equate to red and white going to NT, black to BH and green to the back of the vol pot. Probably worth noting depending on if you want the screw or slug coil active when split as the pictures of which coils are active may not result in what folks may expect. A 4PDT switch which could be an S1 pot added to swap these around would mean you could select between these wirings for the bridge pickup which coil is active when split by the Freeway in positions 6,7, 9 & 10.

Looks like posting questions here is a 50/50 proposition, which is 100% understandable given the complexity of this device and the numerous possibilities. Nonetheless, here goes: TLPRA (too long, please read anyway) I am wanting to install a 5B5-02 into my MIM Fender Player Strat using HSS Scheme A 1V/2T. The guitar currently has a stock HSS configuration. The Freeway online schematics are easy to follow, however they do not address a few pertinent bits of information, namely: 1. Suggested Potentiometer, capacitor, and/or resistor values. I understand that all these values can be somewhat variable, but it’d be nice for a relative beginner with guitar electronics to have a starting point. 2. A guide for pickup polarity (if I am using this term incorrectly I apologize, but I believe you will understand my query after reading forward), AND a description of how tones may be affected compared to stock wiring. For example, my stock bridge humbucker pickup only splits in position 2 on the stock 5-way switch, but it gives me something very close to a regular Strat “quack” tone for that position, along with the hum canceling. Without knowing what polarity the Freeway switch is wired to “see”, I can’t determine if I’m going to get the expected behavior/sound from positions 7 and 10 on the Freeway. I know position 9 will be different based on polarity as well, but since I don’t currently have that capability (all three SC) I don’t know what to expect. For reference, my neck pickup is North, my middle is South RWRP, and I am replacing the stock pickup (Fender Mexico model Shawbucker, North inner coil) with a Seymour Duncan HB (same polarity as stock). I assume this will give me the expected tones with the Freeway installed. However, it is my understanding that the MIM Fender Player Strat pickups are unconventional in their orientation (Neck North, Middle South RWRP, Bridge HB North slug, South screw). Does this mean that the standard installation instructions defeat the hum canceling (in position 7 specifically), or is the Freeway designed to account for the usual “Neck=South, Middle=North RWRP” found on most Stratocaster models? I guess my question is: Given the above information, for the sounds the Freeway was designed to provide should I just wire everything according to the schematic, should I wire it differently (and how?), or should I swap my middle and neck pickups for the Freeway installation and then follow the standard schematic? Thanks for your amazing video regardless of whether you see this, and sorry if my questions are confusing.

I love this channel, and your work is so clean!👌 Do you have a video demonstrating your approach to ground the pots from the sides? Like, do you flip the whole thing on the side so you can work ''flat'' (side on top), or do you work with electronics on normal position? Also, do you first tin the side of the pots and ground wire, then solder the wire while adding more solder? Thanks!

Nice work again always proficient and detailed with the install and honest with options, I just got a fender superswitch 5 way looks like a satellite dish dpdt! I'm now wondering if I should get this one bit you're sold out online,, I'm not sure what to do I have a strat it's a self build parts bought seperate so not a cheap full kit, and want to wire it HSS with a cts push pull 500k audio taper on the bridge/humbucker and have a cts 500k normal tone pot in middle and 50k volume, reason not so much for coild splitting as it loses the umph when split so a push pull with "I dont know hoping you can point in the right direction as to what value caps and resistors so to have a boost or at least if can't add then not allow to lose the dynamic of one coil split off a humbucker, I've been looking EVERYWHERE I can think and I'm either ignorant of the right search crtherefore wiring diagram terminology (yes- highly probable) or there's just no way to do it with a cts push pull 500k as tone/audio taper, or I could use the audio taper 500k anyway use it in the middle or volume positioning on the pickguard. Would it really matter if I use an audio taper as a volume which would be linear and more responsive anyway all the way from 1-10 on the pot turn is there any reason why 500k linear pots can't be used for tone pots as well? As there's more control all the way from 1-10 on the knob and so better fior swells?. I'm also just looking for an HSS diagram with push pull and 5 way superswitch so the neck sees 250k same as middle the only unsure if possible preferences are once push pull up- split coil- but with boist or something to keep it from losing the volume or if its frequency hi mid low or at least mids. boost would require adding not taking away, so if there's a way to boost the humbuckers split coil drop that'd be awesome. Btw again I watch a lot of your content, great tutorials can't fault them, because im not as proficient in understanding i only did the furst year at college on electronic engineering as National Certificate so did not process but picked up a few essentials, decided plumber would be more my thing lol. Don't it's great pay but it's a crao job literally, don't bite your nails is a common thought in my day to day routine same as crap doesn't flow up hill and payday is on a friday- 3 rules of plumbing.

The 5B5-01 would work for HSS also, is that correct? Thank you for the great videos. Outstanding.

What do you think about skipping the resister trick and having 2 cap values on push/pull tone pots?

Beauty Mate...

Great videos, I'm learning a lot. I'd love to see you do the Gibson style 6 position with 3 humbucker (1V/1T), I've got a kit guitar in the works and would love to see if done by a PRO before I attempt it myself. Thanks!

very nice. quick question, could you wire this, but use a push pull 500k pot. then solder a 270k resister in on the switch, so push will e 500k, pull, 250k ( or about)

To use the 250K tone control for both middle and neck pickups, do I just need to connect the middle hot to the pot Input? Or is it already enabled?

Superb video as always! What temperature do you set your soldering iron to normally vs with smaller gauge solder?

Question: I just have 1 tone on my Strat (other one used for King Tone switch). Should I wire BH to my middle to the same tone pod?

Looking at the configuration chart @ 1:55 I see there's no option for a Les Paul type pickup config (2 humbuckers) this could be achieved by having the tapped pickup as humbucker#1 and using the remaining 2 pickups as humbucker#2. Is there a way of swapping out one config to give you this option instead?

That’s a lot of positions to remember. I setup my HSH strat style axe with DPDT switches for the hum buckets and a push/push chrome button for the middle pup. The toggles are on/off/on so up is humbuck or down is single coil. After a few minutes with this setup you’ll see it makes simple sense and gets you like 13 distinct tone differences. $7.00 invested!

hi...can i use pdt switch instead free switch?

Will the Free way switch 5B5-01 work the same as this one, for an HSS guitar?

Waaaahhhh! My Strat has got single coil/stacked 'buckers, a tapped 'n' stacked single coil and another Seymour Duncan Hot For Strat middle pup that seems to be discontinued and worse, there are no wiring diagrams for this SSL-3 mid position SD pup....!

I'm aware that this question don't relate to the video, but which pots do you recommend for stacked humbuckers (Fender N3) pickups? 250K or 500K?

The freeway switch doesn't fit in the cavity of the body of my guitar when its positioned in the way you're soddering it, but it does fit when its flipped to the other side.. if I were to flip the schematics, would it work as intended?

Instead of the 2nd Tone Knob, can you have Tone 1 as master tone for all pickups and then install a blender pot where the Tone 2 so you can blend in the bridge and neck pickups as much/little as you want for even more tonal options? I like blending in the bridge or neck pup as much or little as I need it, instead of full on