H-S-H wiring help needed...

[shortie87]

Hi guys,

Sorry for all the questions in my first post here! I'm currently looking to replace the pickups in my Ibanez RG1451 for something a bit better. For those who don't know it, this guitar is a basswood body, bolt on, 5 piece neck with a rosewood fretboard and a fixed bridge.

I still haven't decided on pickups, so any suggestions there would come in handy, but that's not the main reason for this post...

I've decided, I'm wanting to do something a bit different on the switching front. What I'd like to do is use a push/pull pot and a 5 way switch to switch between the following configurations:

Pot in:

Position 1 - bridge (humbucker)
Position 2 - bridge (humbucker) and middle
Position 3 - bridge (humbucker) and neck (humbucker)
Position 4 - neck (humbucker) and middle
Position 5 - neck (humbucker)

Pot out:

Position 1 - bridge (coil tapped)
Position 2 - bridge (coil tapped) + middle
Position 3 - bridge (coil tapped) + middle + neck (coil tapped)
Position 4 - neck (coil tapped) + middle
Position 5 - neck (coil tapped)

Is something like this possible? I'd imagine I'd have to use a super switch rather than a standard 5 way.

Thanks for any help guys,

Martyn

[ArtieToo]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

You can almost do this. Here's the snag. In the "pot-up", 5-way-middle position, you want three things switched. Bridge and neck split, middle "on". It requires one quadrant of the Superswitch and one half of the push-pull to do the "middle-on" function. that only leaves one side of the push-pull left. If you were only splitting one humbucker at a time, the 4th quadrant of the superswitch could select which pup, (neck R/W or bridge R/W), went to the push-pull. But you want them both on. So, they need to stay independent in that middle position.

I'll look at my diagram some more, but I don't see any way to overcome that last snag.

Artie

[ArtieToo]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

Here's how to do it without the neck being on in the middle, push-pull up position.

[shortie87]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

Thanks for your help ArtieToo! Would it be possible if I used a push-pull volume pot too?

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[ArtieToo]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

Yup. That would do it.

[shortie87]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

Sorry to ask but how would that work with the other pot?

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[ArtieToo]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

No prob man, but I'll have to get this tomorrow. I'm just getting ready to head out the door to work. Stay tuna-ed.

[shortie87]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

Thanks man! :-)

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[shortie87]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

I've been thinking about this a lot more today, and I'm trying to get my head around how this would work myself...

I'm assuming it the configuration I want is possible using 2 push/pull pots, that one of these would be used to coil tap the humbuckers, and the other to add/remove the middle pickup? If this is the case, I think I'm right in saying I could use a standard 5 way switch rather than a super switch?

[ArtieToo]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

Sorta, kinda, maybe. The thing is, a Superswitch gives you 5 discrete "input" terminals. A standard Fender 5-way only gives you 3, with positions #2 and #4 being 1&2 and 2&3 respectively. It's still do-able, but let me chew on it.

[shortie87]

Re: H-S-H wiring help needed...

You're a star, thanks for the help