Members cginest Posted November 10, 2009 Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hey guys Im having trouble figuring out this wiring diagram. Im building a 27 fret custom, with a 4 conductor humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck, 3 way switch, 1 volume, no tone. Heres what I want: 3 way switch Position 1 - Bridge humbucker, both coils active (standard bridge humbucker operation) 3 Way position 2 - Bridge humbucker inner coil tapped and neck single coil simultaneously active 3 way position 3 - Neck single coil only What I cant find is any info on how to use the 3 way switch to tap the humbucker's inner coil, which makes me wonder if its even possible. I'd prefer not to mess with push pulls or mini toggles. I'm going for simplicity as these are the only positions I want to use. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted November 10, 2009 Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Is it a 3 way switch like a Les Paul or like a Tele? You can definitely use a Superswitch, but it's like a 5 way switch like a strat or tele would use. I'm about 99% sure that what you want is impossible using any sort of Gibson-type switch I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cginest Posted November 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hmm...Its a carved top instrument so a 5 way switch is a real PITA. The only way that works is if I use the plastic mounting piece like an Ibanez S series, which looks like sh*te. A mini toggle requires me to make two switches to achieve the desired pickup combination. I suppose the alternative is to make position 2 all three coils active at once, which is good enough, since positions 1 and 3 will be getting 95% of the work. I can live with that. Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inkblot Posted November 10, 2009 Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Not possible with only a typical Gibson style switch since the middle position just combines the two contacts. I've never seen a Gibson style superswitch either. You could go with a rotary switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted November 10, 2009 Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hey guys Im having trouble figuring out this wiring diagram.Im building a 27 fret custom, with a 4 conductor humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck, 3 way switch, 1 volume, no tone.Heres what I want:3 way switch Position 1 - Bridge humbucker, both coils active (standard bridge humbucker operation)3 Way position 2 - Bridge humbucker inner coil tapped and neck single coil simultaneously active3 way position 3 - Neck single coil onlyWhat I cant find is any info on how to use the 3 way switch to tap the humbucker's inner coil, which makes me wonder if its even possible. I'd prefer not to mess with push pulls or mini toggles. I'm going for simplicity as these are the only positions I want to use.Thanks! Ha my main guitar is actually a 27 fret H/S Hamer Californian, and when I had passive pickups I had it wired the way you want, but I used a push/pull pot for the split.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cginest Posted November 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 I suppose a push/pull would give me more options in the studio and wouldnt require any additional changes to the design, even though it wouldn't get much use live. I wonder if the the electronics cavity is deep enough to accommodate a push/pull. This is my first carved top instrument. Its unbelievable how tough getting the electronics cavities right has been. I'd also need a push/pull with a longer bushing than a standard pot to accommodate the carve...wonder if those are out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cginest Posted November 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 This is interesting... Ibanez offers a guitar with a 3 way switch and the coil tapping action here (SZ720 series): The switch they use to pull this off is here: It looks like it has 4 solder lugs on that one side there, and presumably more on the other side (a normal 3 way switch only has 4 total). This looks to be the 3 way superswitch... The Model on the side of that part is Salecom T80-R, but a google search doesn't yield any results. I suppose I'll have to give the old Ibanez USA parts department a phone call this afternoon and see if I can get my hands on a black one. Anybody else want one? I'm sure Ibanez has only marked them up 600-700% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cginest Posted November 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Matt @ Hoshino USA says this is a "12 pin 3 way switch that allows for different wiring configurations". I have no idea what else is possible with 12 pins, but I believe this is indeed the 3 way superswitch. Its available in gold and chrome for $26 plus shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted November 10, 2009 Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 That's not a terrible price actually. You'd probably spend almost that much on a standard 3 way of good quality and a push pull pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cginest Posted November 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2009 Yeah, that's a decent price, but I dont have any live situations where I'd use that second position anyway, so I could pickup a 4th position with a standard 3 way and a push pull which might come in handy for studio work. I suppose that would be the best option, and I was able to find a long bushing push/pull. Interesting to know that those 3 way super switches are out there in any case. Now I'm wondering what the rest of those 12 pins are capable of! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 11, 2009 Members Share Posted November 11, 2009 Personally I would just use a push/pull on the volume knob to tap the humbucker and a basic 3 way switch. You'd have more tone choices for one thing ...5 instead of 3 (tapped mixed with the neck pickup AND untapped mixed with the neck AND split bridge by itself). Why go through more work for less tones? It wouldn't be messing with the guitar's look at all....and it would be easier for me to execute with my small understanding of electronics. It would also be easier to figure out what's going on while playing the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PlinytheWelder Posted November 11, 2009 Members Share Posted November 11, 2009 Looks like a 4 Pole Double Throw (4PDT) switch... It may even work.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cginest Posted November 11, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 11, 2009 Personally I would just use a push/pull on the volume knob to tap the humbucker and a basic 3 way switch. You'd have more tone choices for one thing ...5 instead of 3 (tapped mixed with the neck pickup AND untapped mixed with the neck AND split bridge by itself). Why go through more work for less tones? It wouldn't be messing with the guitar's look at all....and it would be easier for me to execute with my small understanding of electronics. It would also be easier to figure out what's going on while playing the guitar. Yeah, that's about the conclusion I came to. The idea with this axe was simplicity in electronics, and minimal switching options to capture only the 2-3 sounds I use most, but a push pull only adds a bit of wiring complexity and the extra sounds will be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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