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Need help from a wiring master..

A

Aka Nameless

Oct 24, 2006
155
1
#1
I'm building a electric.. guitar *gasp*, and I am going to be doing a kind of crazy wiring scheme, but I cant figure out how I can make it work.. so if you are a wiring master, lets see what you think about this one..

I will have 2 humbuckers, 2 volume knobs, 1 tone knob, a 3 way selector of some sort to choose Neck HB/split inner coils acting as humbucker/bridge hb, and a 3 way selector of some sort for series/killswitch/parallel..

The switches will work like below..

---------- Switch2 forward "parallel" - Switch2 Mid "killswitch" - Switch2 Rear "series"

3 way

1------------- neck hb parallel ---------- signal grounded -------- neck hb series

2------------- inner coils parallel ------- signal grounded -------- inner coils series

3------------- bridge hb parallel -------- signal grounded -------- bridge hb series

I want one volume for when the guitar is in series mode, and the other volume for when the guitar is in parallel mode (to account for the difference in volume), and the tone to be a master for whichever mode/pickup combo i'm using..

So.. that's pretty much it, i've searched the web high and low trying to find a previous schematic for this setup to no avail..

I need help.. someone want to be my hero?
 
#3
I'm not sure what you are trying to explain with the switches, but I can tell you now that it's not going to be possible without many poles.

You will want to use rotary toggle switches.

The seperate volumes for series and parallel mode could be done using one pole of one rotary switch, but if there are two or more separate switches doing series/parallel options, you're going to have a hard time with it.
 
#4
One switch (switch 1) will have 3 positions, neck humbucker in position 1/i want to split the south coil from the neck hb and north coil from south hb and combine them to act as a third humbucker for the middle position/then bridge humbucker for the third position. Then another 3 position switch (switch 2) in the circuit, position 1 for series/position 2 off or killswitch (just a way to silence the guitar)/position 3 parallel mode. Dedicated volume control for both series and parallel (so i can account for the volume drop beforehand when switching from series to parallel), and a master tone knob.

So the signal would go from string, to active humbucker (chosen with switch 1), to series/parallel/kill switch (switch 2), to the correct volume knob (series/parallel/or ground if kill was chosen), through the tone pot, and to the output.

Line6man, I was on your webpage of all the disgrams you did for people earlier, after stumbling across a post of you helping someone with almost exactly the same wiring scheme i'm trying to do. Anyway, a lot of your schemes were close to what i want but not quite right. Pretty much vvt, master series/parallel/killswitch, 3 way pickup selector, dedicated volume for both series and parallel.
 
#5
Like this schematic below, that was made by you line6man.

2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way pickup selector, master series/parallel, killswitch.

Except I assume the volume controls are both controlling their own pickup in this one instead of series/parallel, and there are 2 tones instead of 1 I was planning, but 2 tones would probably be better for me actually. Oh and the humbuckers aren't split to form a third humbucker with the inner coils in the below schematic..
 

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#6
Aka Nameless said:
Like this schematic below, that was made by you line6man.

2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way pickup selector, master series/parallel, killswitch.

Except I assume the volume controls are both controlling their own pickup in this one instead of series/parallel, and there are 2 tones instead of 1 I was planning, but 2 tones would probably be better for me actually. Oh and the humbuckers aren't split to forum a third humbucker with the inner coils in the below schematic..
Click to expand...

Ok, so you want a master series/parallel switch with a separate volume for each of the modes , and a pickup selector switch that give you inner coils only when both pickups are selected, with a killswitch as the center position?
 
#7
line6man said:
Ok, so you want a master series/parallel switch with a separate volume for each of the modes , and a pickup selector switch that give you inner coils only when both pickups are selected, with a killswitch as the center position?
Click to expand...

Well the killswitch could be a completely different switch if need be, like in the diagram above. So ya, master series/parallel, seperate volume for each mode, 3 position pickup selector with the middle position the inner coils and top and bottom positions the neck and bridge humbuckers, respectively. My guitar body is 1 1/2" thick so the 5 way switches I have on hand wont fit, which is why I was looking into the little on/on/on gibson switches. Hopefully I will be able to use 3 of the same little switches, like the switch in the picture below..
 

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#8
Alright, from what I understand, this is what you want, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Switch two series. Switch one:
1. Neck pickup only, coils series.
2. Inner coils in series.
3. Bridge pickup only, coils series.

Switch two parallel. Switch one:
1. Neck pickup only, coils series.
2. Inner coils in parallel.
3. Bridge pickup only, coils series.
 
#9
No no

Switch two series. Switch one:
1. Neck pickup only, coils series.
2. Inner coils in series.
3. Bridge pickup only, coils series.

Switch two parallel. Switch one:
1. Neck pickup only, coils parallel.
2. Inner coils in parallel.
3. Bridge pickup only, coils parallel.

With volume knob for each mode (series/parallel) and a tone control for each volume knob, so 2 tone knobs (I changed my mind after original post, sorry) and a killswitch before the output (so i can silence the guitar during quiet parts without adjusting volume knobs).

Is it not worth the effort to do the whole series/parallel thing? Wouldn't 3 humbucker configurations in either series or parallel give me a bunch of different tone choices? with the added + of everything being hum cancelling.
 
#10
line6man-- what SW do you use to do schematics? 'Cause I figured out how to do this. This requires a 3PDT on-off-on for the series/kill/parallel switch (with volume knob switching--that's what the third pole is for) and a 3-way rotary switch (two poles needed, but it might be hard to find anything less than four poles, which is fine). I can explain the setup, but I'd have to draw it in Visio (argh), Paint Shop Pro, or GIMP, and none of those would be quick. If you have some templates already, maybe you could mock something up quickly.

Before I forget, I found a link for the toggle:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#11
Aka Nameless said:
No no

Switch two series. Switch one:
1. Neck pickup only, coils series.
2. Inner coils in series.
3. Bridge pickup only, coils series.

Switch two parallel. Switch one:
1. Neck pickup only, coils parallel.
2. Inner coils in parallel.
3. Bridge pickup only, coils parallel.

With volume knob for each mode (series/parallel) and a tone control for each volume knob, so 2 tone knobs (I changed my mind after original post, sorry) and a killswitch before the output (so i can silence the guitar during quiet parts without adjusting volume knobs).
Click to expand...

Ok, I have this figured out in my head, but it's ridiculously complicated, and you won't be able to do the inner coils option.

It would take a 7P3T rotary toggle for the series/parallel switch (Two poles for each pickup for the series/parallel switching, two poles for the master series/parallel switching and one pole for selecting the volume controls.) and a 4P3T for the pickup selector. (Two poles for pickup selection for the series mode, and two poles for pickup selection for the parallel mode.)

There are 3 problems though.
1. You have to use all 4 coils when both pickups are selected.
2. The rotary toggles must be used because of the number of poles needed.
3. I don't know if anyone makes 7P3T and 4P3T rotary switches.
 
#12
A440Hz said:
line6man-- what SW do you use to do schematics? 'Cause I figured out how to do this. This requires a 3PDT on-off-on for the series/kill/parallel switch (with volume knob switching--that's what the third pole is for) and a 3-way rotary switch (two poles needed, but it might be hard to find anything less than four poles, which is fine). I can explain the setup, but I'd have to draw it in Visio (argh), Paint Shop Pro, or GIMP, and none of those would be quick. If you have some templates already, maybe you could mock something up quickly.

Before I forget, I found a link for the toggle:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Microsoft Paint.:hyper:
It takes a while to draw these.
 
#13
A440Hz said:
line6man-- what SW do you use to do schematics? 'Cause I figured out how to do this. This requires a 3PDT on-off-on for the series/kill/parallel switch (with volume knob switching--that's what the third pole is for) and a 3-way rotary switch (two poles needed, but it might be hard to find anything less than four poles, which is fine). I can explain the setup, but I'd have to draw it in Visio (argh), Paint Shop Pro, or GIMP, and none of those would be quick. If you have some templates already, maybe you could mock something up quickly.

Before I forget, I found a link for the toggle:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

If you have a solution to my problem, that would be awesome!

I drew this up, dont laugh at my weak paint skills, but its a vol vol tone with 3pdt switch and 4 pole 3 way rotary switch. I'de rather have all mini toggle switches, but whatever works.

Is it the coil splitting or the seperate volume knobs for series/parallel that is making this so tough to do? What if I just did 2 pickup positions on a on/on dpdt switch (neck hb/bridge hb), then series/parallel master on another on/on 3pdt (split to seperate volumes for series/parallel) switch, and a third on/on dpdt switch for signal to amp/signal to ground (killswitch), and seperate tones for each volume..? Would that be more doable, not doing the whole coil splitting part?
 

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#14
I can name that tune in a 3PDT (on-off-on) and a DPDT (on-on-on). I'll try to work something up in Visio or some such.

line6man, you are truly THE MAN. If you're doing this in Paint, God bless you. That's like using a butter knife to chop down a tree. I don't see how you do it.

I figured out that the 3-way, 2-pole rotary is unnecessary. It can be done with all toggle switches.

If I understand correctly, there are no combos with both pickups except the inner coils? If so, then I think I have the solution. Like line6man said, this wouldn't be my config, but suum cuique.

I do love the challenge...
 
#15
Ya, no humbucker combos except the split inner coils acting as a humbucker.

It may be easiest to do a 2p3t on/on/on mini toggle switch for the pickup selection, a 3pdt mini toggle on/on switch for the series/parallel and seperate volume, then a seperate dpdt on/on switch for the killswitch. Then 2 volume and 2 tones, 1 each for series/parallel. Would that all work?

Thank you guys so much for helping me, i'm so lost..
 
#16
You could do the killswitch separately, but the kill will also work if you use a 3PDT on-off-on switch for the series/parallel. In the 'off' (middle) position, the hot leads would be open-circuited, meaning, no connection --> mute.

I'm working something up right now. I'm coming up with some Visio templates that will be useful in the future. I've done some fairly complicated wiring diagrams on many of my guitars, so some templates would help me with future wiring schemes.
 
#17
Killswitch seperate would probably be best so I can switch straight from series to parallel on the fly (live) without having to jump over the kill setting.

Excited to see what you come up with, thanks so much for taking the time to help.
 

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