M-3 - The Jersey Mod - Deaf Eddie

FAT-O-Caster Rotary Switch for Strat-type guitars
M-3 - The Jersey Mod
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What it is:
The M-3 is a custom model of a four-position FAT-O-Caster, the ROTARY switch that
expands the potential pickup combinations available in your Stratocaster or other "S-type" guitar.
It installs where one of your old tone controls was. FAT-O-Caster switches do NOT replace
your 5-way pickup selector switch - your 5-way still works just like it always did. FAT-O-
Casters work in conjunction WITH the 5-way to give you new combinations. You lose a tone
control, but gain a lot of tones!
The traditional Strat 5-way selector gives you only 5 of the seven parallel combinations possible,
and no series or out-of-phase connections. With the M-3, you can get all seven parallel
combinations, PLUS some series combos, for a total of ELEVEN different pickup combinations.
That's a lot of tones!
BEST OF ALL, NO NEW HOLES!
Just put your old tone knob back on the M-3 switch, and your Strat looks completely stock!
INSTALLATION:
Take off your pickguard. To wire your lower tone as a "master" tone (like a Telecaster):
1. Move the lower tone control’s lead from the center lug of the tone control side of the fiveway
over to the common lug on the other pole of the five-way.
2. Remove the lead to the center tone control from the five-way.
3. Remove the grounds from the center tone pot, and clip any jumpers between the center
and lower tone pots. Remove the center pot from the pickguard.
4. Remove the capacitor from the center tone pot and wire it to your new MASTER TONE
pot, with one leg on the center lug and one leg grounded to the back of the pot.
5. Run an insulated ground wire from the back of the volume pot to the back of your new
master tone pot, with enough slack to go around the FAT-O.
Mount the FAT-O-Caster Switch in the place of the center tone pot.
You will notice that the switch is NOT perfectly round, more egg-shaped - align it so that it's widest parts "point" to
the other two controls. If your control cavity is shielded, be sure that the lugs on the switch DO NOT touch/short out
on the shielding.
NOTE: While FAT-O-Casters are a "straight swap" on genuine Fender guitars, others may have
to slightly enlarge the hole in the pickguard, and still others have reported that the control cavity
must be routed a little deeper to accommodate the switch, which is "taller" than a normal pot.

Your stock Strat probably looks like this…
Remove the center pot and wire the lower tone pot like this for a MASTER
TONE CONTROL:

WIRING THE M-3 Switch:
Unsolder the bridge pup’s “-“ (ground) lead from where it is currently in your guitar (typically on
the back of the volume pot) and solder it to the center lug on the FAT-O with the STRING TIED
THROUGH IT (first, cut the string off).
Unsolder the neck pup’s “-“ (ground) lead from where it is currently in your guitar (typically on
the back of the volume pot) and solder it to the next center lug of the FAT-O, CLOCKWISE.
NOTE: Sometimes there is not enough wire on the ground lead to make it to the FAT-O, so just
add on a little "tail" to the lead to get there. Be sure you insulate the solder joint on this "tail" to
prevent contact with the pots or any other grounded surface in the control cavity – black
electrical tape will do…
Three wire pups? MOST COMMONLY, two of the three leads are twisted together and soldered
to ground. You will have to determine which wire of the two that goes to ground is actually the
coil’s “-“ lead, and which is the ground/shield drain. The easiest way to do this is to unsolder
them from ground and separate them. With a multimeter set in the 20k ohm range, touch one
probe to the pickup’s “+” lead, and then try the other probe on each of the other leads. The
pickup’s “-“ lead should show you the impedance reading for the pickup – typically between 6k
and 8k for a Strat. The ground lead will show “open” – no resistance, no continuity. Solder the
ground/shield lead back to ground, and solder the pup’s “-“ lead to the switch as instructed
above.
The RED lead is soldered to the 5-way switch. It goes on the third lug (would be the bridge lug)
of the second pole of the selector switch (the side used to connect the tone pots - see drawing).
The GREEN lead is added to the middle pup’s lug on the 5-way.
The BLACK lead is added to the neck pup’s lug on the 5-way.
The bare wire is soldered to (any) ground.
Put your pickguard back on, and you're ready to rip!

Move the bridge and neck pup ground leads to the FAT-O,
and hook up the prewired leads like this:
The wire colors on the stock stuff might not be the same as the drawing, but
the M-3's COLORS ARE CORRECT.

Wuzzit do?
Well, for starters, you now can select from 11 different pickup combinations!
Yes, some of the tones are repeated - but that's what makes this thing so darn easy to use…
So, WHAT are the new tones, and WHERE are they?
I like to count the settings this way: the FAT-O-Caster switch has “notches” we'll call 1, 2, 3
and 4, numbered as you turn the switch COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. So, if it was a tone control
on “10”, you would be at notch 1. As you turn the control “down,” like from ten to, say, six, you
go through the notches 1 through 4. Remember that even though you have the FAT-O-Caster
installed, the 5-way still controls the tones - here's what to expect from the 5-way at each M-3
notch:
Notch 1 (“tone knob” on “10”) is just normal Strat tones.
NOTE: As a reference for the rest of these instructions:
Throws on the 5-way: 1=neck, 2=middle and neck, 3=middle, 4=middle and bridge, 5=bridge
Notch 2 (“tone knob” on “9”) is the "NECK on with BRIDGE" setting –
the neck pup is ALSO routed to the bridge end of the 5-way switch.
The combos are all wired parallel.
As you throw the 5-way in this setting, you get (from 1 to 5):
1 = neck
2 = neck and middle
3 = middle
4 = bridge, middle, and neck
5 = bridge and neck
There now, isn't that what you've always said you wanted your Strat to be able to do?
Notch 3 (“tone knob” on “8”) is the “BRIDGE and NECK in SERIES" setting.
In 1, 2 and 3 it's normal Strat combos
In 5, you get the bridge and neck in series, a rather Gibson-ish tone.
In 4, you get the bridge and neck in series and parallel to the mid pup
Notch 4 (“tone knob” on “7”) is the " SERIES with MID" setting.
In 1 , it the neck and mid in series - the two pups work as a sort of "neck humbucker"
In 2, 3, and 4, you get the mid pup only.
In 5, you get the bridge and mid in series - the two pups work as a sort of "bridge humbucker"
Hey, e-mail me with any questions, comments, or suggestions! EB@deaf-eddie.net