Pickup Wiring Help

[robrhy]

I have a strat with h/s/h pickups with a 3 way strat switch,master vol.& master tone.At present the single coil is not connected,so with the 3 way i get n/nb/b.Is there a wiring where i can keep what i have but add the single coil so i could get h/s/h or just the single coil on (push pull pots?)
I know i could use a 5 way switch but i would lose nb and i don't like the inbetween sounds,my strats are all just 3 way switches.

[ThreeChordWonder]

I suggest using a 4-way switch.

You can wire it neck, middle, bridge, neck plus bridge, or any other way / sequence you like by the sequence you connect the pickups to the contacts and maybe a couple of jumpers on the switch.


OTOH, if you wanted, you could use the push pull to activate the middle in any of the existing switch positins, but I think youll prefer thev4-way in the end.

Decide on a sequence and I can draw up the wiring for you.

[robrhy]

Thanks for the info.
I don't have a 4 way switch so can you give me the wiring for a push pull.

[ThreeChordWonder]

You don't need a wiring diagram for that!

Just duplicate the pot part of the wiring from the pot you replace.

Next, connect the middle pickup ground wire to a pot casing and the middle pickup hot to a middle or common lug on the push pull. On Bournes type push-pulls it will be one of the middle lugs in the two groups of three. On a CTS push pull with the black plastic cover it will be C1 or C2, doesn't matter which.

Next figure out if you want the pickup active in the push position or the pull. Most people go for pull. If so on a Bournes push pull connect a wire to the contact nearest to the pot part on the same bank of 3 contacts. On a CTS push pull it will be the one labeled 1 or 3, depending on whether youve connected the pickup to C1 or C2.

Finally, connect the other end of that wire to the input lug on your volume pot.

[ThreeChordWonder]

The above will bring in the neck in every selector switch position, BTW. To get the neck alone, you'll also need to do the following:

Disconnect the "out" wire from the switch where it connects to the volume pot, and connect it to the other common contact on the push-pull.

Keep this wiring separate from the middle pickup wiring.

Run another new wire from the contact furthest from the pot casing on a Bournes pot or 2 or 4 on a CTS pot to the volume pot.

Now, when in push, the selector switch will work and you can get your choice of bridge, bridge plus neck or neck, but in pull you'll only get the middle.

The third option, if you have a spare tone pot, is to wire the guitar with one volume and one tone, and use the spare pot as a blender for the middle. Google the Armstrong mod and just change it so you're working with the middle instead of the neck.

[ArtieToo]

When I use three stacks, or three "Lil" humbuckers, I like to do this. Just add a DPDT on-on-on switch like this. (Gives every combination.)

[robrhy]

Thanks for the diagrams ArtieToo.Do i need to add any jumpers to the switch.

[magillver]

Good morning Rob! From what I'm seeing in Artie's diagram, you need a jumper between the 2 lower poles, per the third diagram, and a jumper between the 2 upper poles, to combine the output of the 3-way switch, per the first diagram. The blue lines indicate which poles are connected in the 2 different switch positions... Does that help?

[magillver]

FWIW, one of my favorite guitars is basically a strat setup, with 3 individual on-off mini toggle switches, one for each pup. From there one could wire up more complex switching options by simply upgrading the physical switches (which I haven't done on that guitar...yet...)

[robrhy]

Thanks for the help guys.
Just sold the guitar,was made an offer i could not refuse,so never had a chance to try the wiring.

[beaubrummels]

Sold the guitar? And that's it? That's not how we roll around here, man. You are in guitar detention, unless you post a replacement NGD within 30 days.

[magillver]

Feels...

[robrhy]