Coil Tap!!

5980 Views 22 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Acid Rain, Jul 15, 2005

Acid Rain

Discussion Starter · Jun 25, 2005

Hi there,

I've finally got my schematics etc and about the install my DiMarzios, BUT I wanted to coil tap all my pickups (especially my bridge humbucker). So I can't use one SPDT Mini switch for all three pickups (H/S/S - technically H/H/H) but I found this for One Mini toggle:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/pickups/dimarzio.html

I understand the coil cut, but my SPDT is On/On. How can I set it up to be OFF/ON? Or does the website mean - On (humbucker)/On (coil Tap)

Thanks!
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frankfalbo

· #2 · Jun 26, 2005

Yes, that's what it means. You could use either an On/On or On/Off depending on how you set it.

You can do all three pickups with a SPDT if you simply use the other side of your 5-way switch to route the coil junction wires to the SPDT. If that doesn't make sense to you, then just continue what you're doing and forget I said anything.

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frankfalbo

· #8 · Jun 30, 2005

Green shouldn't be connected to any "leg" of the tone control, just ground. The jemsite diagram is fine, but only if you wanted to add a second switch. If you wanted to keep that switch, you'd have to route the neck and bridge coil taps through the unused half of the 5-way switch, so that those were sharing the same side of the DPDT. Positions 1 and 2 would feed the neck coil junction to the switch, and positions 4 and 5 would feed the bridge coil tap to it.

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frankfalbo

· #11 · Jul 1, 2005

The problem is that the "artificial-infection" diagram is for a totally different switch, and it is automatically coil tapping the pickups in the in between positions. There's not much reson to add a coil tap switch to that diagram, unless you wanted single coil options in the two outside positions. So, which switch do you have? Is it like the Jemsite diagram or the A-I diagram? What do you want the 5-way switch to do? simply switch pickups? Or do you want some automatic coil cutting to happen during the in-between positions?

It seems to me the easiest way to do this is with the Jemsite diagram AND that switch. You run the middle pickup coil junction right to one side of the DPDT, and the outside pickups' coil junction to the corresponding lug on the unused portion of the 5 way. Then you bring the "hot" of the previously unused side of the 5 way over to the other side of the DPDT. That way when you're bridge or neck pickup is on, the corresponding coil junction is also going to the coil cut switch.

You can also take a picture of everything you have, and your current wiring and then I can tell you exactly what to do.

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frankfalbo

· #15 · Jul 5, 2005

I don't really have time to do a diagram or anything. The switch you have is standard, and comprised of two halves. Each half contains pins 1,2,3, and a constant hot. Just wire one half of the switch with each pickup going to the appropriate tab, and the other half of the switch will be unused. Then take the bridge and neck pickup coil junctions (b/w) and wire one to each side of the DPDT, you'll have a coil tap that works only on those two pickups. If you want to coil cut all three pickups, then use the other half of the 5-way. Wire the coil junctions of the bridge and neck ONLY to the corresponding pins on the other half of the switch, and wire the constant to one side of the DPDT. That way when the bridge or neck pickup is on, the coil cut wires will feed the DPDT. The other side of the DPDT is now free to accept the middle pickup's junction wires.

If this isn't making sense then I'd say you have to go to a tech, or start reading more about the inner workings of the components and why/how they do what they do. Good luck,

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