H-S-H series/parallel switch help please :)

[Sponge Monkey]

Originally Posted by vai n maiden

Consider that diagram stolen! I've been trying to work out how to have both parallel/series and the standard position 2/4 splitting on one guitar. Now you've worked it out for me - cheeeers!

uhh... 2 and four won't split the humbuckers...
that was our problem, and we resolved to just deal with it :P

also remember, on this diagram, the up position on the DPDT is series, and down is parallel.

i prefer down as series, and for this you'll need to flip the DPDT upside down ^^ (on the diagram!)

[vai n maiden]

Oh - I thought the splitting would work in pos 2 and 4 when the switches are set to series. If that's not the case forgive my silliness!

I'll be using mini switches instead of push pull pots so the direction doesn't matter too much to me!

[Vim Fuego]

Originally Posted by vai n maiden

Oh - I thought the splitting would work in pos 2 and 4 when the switches are set to series. If that's not the case forgive my silliness!

I'll be using mini switches instead of push pull pots so the direction doesn't matter too much to me!

You will get split single coils in series mode in 2 and 4. In parallel mode when arguably you don't need the split you'll just get the parallel coils with the middle pickup.
Jim

[Sponge Monkey]

yeah that's what i meant.
it will split in series, but it WONT split in parallel

[vai n maiden]

That's all I need! I'm a wiring dunce so I couldn't work it out myself! My switches arrived today at work. Supoib.

[Sponge Monkey]

Ok err... folks. i tried this last night aaanndd.... well, it doesnt work
haha! a real pain for me #_# ill take a look at it when i have more time. sunday probably.

[vai n maiden]

Uh - oh. I left my strat with a tech and this diagram.

[Sponge Monkey]

aha! oh dear! maybe it'll be ok, it may just be my poor wiring.
the main problem is, no output in parallel mode for positions 1 and 5. but im sure if he's a good tech he'll get it!

[chafinlw]

Hey, Spnge Monkey, don't let the solution go unposted. I'm in the process of putting together a similar wiring scheme - with DiMarzio Evos in the bridge and neck and a SC in the mid position, push pull pots to coil tap the 2 Evos, and a 5-way switch to direct the action. I'm really pretty much a spedhead on this stuff, but I can read a schematic, do a decent job of soldering without it looking like it was done in Dresden during the firestorm, and am looking to wire this thing up for my kid kinda like Vai's rig, but with coil tapping. (Is that redundent?) I'm really looking for guidance on how to do this stuff, and this is the best stop I've made on the web so far. Looks like your first schematic would do what I'm trying to do - assuming the colors are right for the DiMarzios. Any advice folks?

[djohns74]

Originally Posted by chafinlw

Hey, Spnge Monkey, don't let the solution go unposted. I'm in the process of putting together a similar wiring scheme - with DiMarzio Evos in the bridge and neck and a SC in the mid position, push pull pots to coil tap the 2 Evos, and a 5-way switch to direct the action. I'm really pretty much a spedhead on this stuff, but I can read a schematic, do a decent job of soldering without it looking like it was done in Dresden during the firestorm, and am looking to wire this thing up for my kid kinda like Vai's rig, but with coil tapping. (Is that redundent?) I'm really looking for guidance on how to do this stuff, and this is the best stop I've made on the web so far. Looks like your first schematic would do what I'm trying to do - assuming the colors are right for the DiMarzios. Any advice folks?

Hey, I just realized that to start with, the OP here was trying to achieve a series/parallel switch along with standard Ibanez 5-way wiring, not a coil tap, which should be relatively simple. So I don't think any of these diagrams will be appropriate for you. I found the following in another thread, which should do the trick:



The red and green wires in the diagram should be the only addition to the existing wiring. This shuts off one coil of each humbucker when the switch is pulled up, so you get single coil sounds in the 1 and 5 positions. Positions 2-4 are unaffected by the push-pull as there is already automatic coil-tapping in those positions.

Now, as for whether this is worthwhile, that's up to the individual player of course. I personally don't care for coil-tapped humbuckers by themselves that much. You tend to end up with something that reduces the output level a lot, which of course is expected, but I think it reduces it to the point that it's ever lower than a standard single coil pickup. In addition, guitars with humbuckers tend to have 500K pots, so a single coil, especially in the bridge position, can tend to sound really bright, to the point of being somewhat harsh.

I'm not really a big fan of single coil sounds in general, so my opinion in the matter should be taken with a larger grain of salt than usual. As such, I'd have a hard time recommending an appropriate replacement middle pickup, though if you're going with Evos, I should think the Evo middle (sometimes called the ISCV2) might be a good bet. Someone else might have more thoughts on that issue.

As for where to get parts, there are a couple of good resources online. I generally like Stewart-MacDonald (http://www.stewmac.com/) even though some of their stuff is a little overpriced. For something small like pots and switches, the difference, if any, is negligible. You may only need to get a single push-pull pot, found here.

[Sponge Monkey]

Yeah, i was going for parallel switching on each humbucker with standard ibanez 5 way switch.

it didn't work :P

i WAS gonna have a split coil option like you're going for but decided that parallel switching would be more worthwhile.
sorry i can't be of any more help, and goodluck!

[Vim Fuego]

I'm shure the scematic should work, have you got the coil wire colours correct?
Why not check the schematic with the guys at Bareknuckle?
I don't suppose you're anywhere near the South West UK are you?
Jim

[chafinlw]

Hey, thanks for the help - I'll let th' rotten kid go sit with a coil tapped guitar and see if he likes the sounds that come out. He's got a Jem77V to compare it to. Now about that switch - is it a standard one or is it an Ibanez designed for the JEM?

[Sponge Monkey]

The 5-way or the DPDT?

the DPDT is just a push/pull i ordered from bareknuckles for about Ł7.50

and the 5-way is a standard 5 way that was already in my RG.

and @Vim, nope im the other side: south east :P

[Vim Fuego]

Ok too far for me to check it for you...
@chafinlw: The Jem has a different switch, or at least the new ones do, it should be possible to work out the equivalent schematic. If not I can paste the jem version if that helps.
Jim