2 way pickup selector

[GuzBaas]

Hi, I would like to know a couple of things...
how to wire a 2 way pickup selector?
which one is better for the job, a mini dpdt or a gibson?

Right now I have a vol/vol conf, I want to keep both volumes. I never use both pickups at the same time.

will this 2 way switch affect my tone in any way??



THANKS in advance!

 

[ehque]

Most switches do not have enough resistance, capacitance or inductance to affect your tone.

If you never use both pickups together, wiring a 3 way with neck-mute-bridge may be a viable option. No point wasting the center option. The micro dpdt switches and the gibsons are electrically identical, i believe. However with the neck-mute-bridge you'll want a on-off-on switch, whereas the standard gibson switch will be a on-on-on which gives a "both" option in the middle.

 

[GuzBaas]

well what if I use an "on/on"? so I play just one pickup at a time...?

 

[ehque]

Yup. Kinda of a waste (imho), but it certainly could work.

 

[GuzBaas]

well.. do you know how to wire it??

 

[line6man]

Personally, I never use both pickups together either, but having a 2 way pickup selector switch sounds highly unorthodox.
Is there a reason why you are opposed to using a 3 way?
The signal path will not be any more complex with a 3 way than a 2 way, so there will be no tonal differences.

With two volume controls, there are several ways you could do it.

Do you want the loading effect of both volume pots, or only one?

You could place the switch before the volumes to retain the standard 125K resistance to ground with one pot on full and the other turned all the way down, or you could put the switch after the pots so that there would only be one volume pot in the circuit at any given time, which would give you a brighter/hotter output.
If you go this route, it might also be a good idea to swap terminals one and two on each volume pot so that you would be varying the resistance on the wiper terminal against the output rather than the pickup. This would give you a smoother volume sweep without as much high end loss.

 

[GuzBaas]

well, I have a PJ and I don't like how I loose the P punch when I blend both pickups, I love how the P and the J sounds separately. Since the P have more volume and punch than the J in some occasions I would like to switch to the P at a lower volume like a "punch boost".

LINE6MAN you gave some good advices when I was building this bass, you are like the godfather , tell me what you think.

(I'm thinking of using a double trow switch, like the hangstrom basses )