PowerShifter™

A Fender Stratocaster Supercharger Circuit from Gombrelli Guitars USA

Overview

Congrats, you got a popular winner. The PowerShifter is so crazy flexible with an easy to use and understand switching scheme.

It is based on 2 of GG USA’s popular circuits in one package:

• DUAL STRATBUCKER – A single switch action that turns an SSS Stratocaster into a HSH Stratocaster.
• SUPER SPANK – Which parallelizes the neck and bridge pickups.

The Basics

The first switch (which can be a push pull or micro switch) changes the Strat to be a HSH guitar (with a 3 way switch style). It connects the neck in series with the middle and the bridge in series with the middle pickup.  This will FATTEN up the neck and Bridge pickups and make them HUMBUCKING.   One of the side effects is that there are 3 positions now (effectively). The bridge is a bucker, the 3 middle positions are the middle pickup, and the neck is a BUCKER.

The 2nd switch (which also can be push pull or microswitch) changes the wiring of the bridge and neck pickups to be in PARALLEL with each other.  This has very fun ramifications. When turned on without the HSH switch on it gives a new sounds to the neck and bridge and positions 2 and 4.  It doesn’t not engage humbucking.  HOWEVER, when you also turn on the HSH Switch then now it takes those humbuckers and you get 2 humbuckers in parallel. This is a VERY sweet sound and you’ll enjoy that one.

Bruce’s Design Requirements

Some of the requirements I look for is:

• Always allow a Stratocaster to be able to run with Stock Switching
• Make it EASY to switch use while playing live
• Make it EASY to understand what sound it will make before you switch it
• Make it flexible in terms of ways it can be implemented
• Let there be NO dead spots in the switching
• Have the switches ALSO work well with each other.

I found myself going back to this design over and over and loving how it implements so well.

Implementation options:

• Two Micro Switches
• One Micro Switch and One Push Pull
• Two Push Pull Switches

Tone:

Any values of caps can be used for the tone controls so that’s in individual preference. I usually pick those based on what pickups and pots are in installed.

The wiring can be anything from

• Neck/Middle  & Bridge
• Neck & Middle/Bridge
• Neck and Middle
• Neck and Bridge (I rather like this one myself) – Center Speedway, pure tones from the middle pickup in position 3.

Pots

Any pot value will work but usually larger (500k) pots are often used for higher winding pickups to do more treble compensation with 250K being the standard otherwise.