DPDT volume & tone bypass

LoveMyIbanez

LoveMyIbanez

New member
Requesting assistance from a solder-guru! I am a wiring noob who has only ever soldered a 3-way switch and pots.

I want to add a volume & tone pot bypass switch to my guitar (not bypassing the pickup selector switch). I already have a DPDT switch.
Compared to the wiring for a blower switch:

33575120c01241f5a2422fe7d3dc916f.jpg

how would the wiring change? Would both the "To pickup selector switch" and "Pickup 'hot' wire" just go to the 5-way switch's hot?
Would a third wire also have to go from the 5-way switch hot to the volume pot's first lug?

Thanks in advance!
 
So you want to bypass volume and tone and go directly from the pickup to the output jack? If so, that diagram looks correct. Just run a wire from the selector switch output lug to the input lug of the vol pot. (I assume you will have a wire going from the vol pot to the tone pot). When the DPDT switch is in the "right-side" position, the signal goes from the pup to the DPDT switch, to the pup selector switch, to the vol pot, to the DPDT switch (and to the tone pot), and then to the output jack. All electronics are in play. When the DPDT switch is in the "left side" position, the signal goes from the pup to the DPDT switch, shunted to the other side of the DPDT switch, and then to the output jack. Volume and tone pots are bypassed.
 
"So you want to bypass volume and tone and go directly from the pickup to the output jack?"

No. I want to go from the 5-way switch to a DPDT switch, that lets me choose to either go to the volume and tone, or bypass them to the output jack.
 
I am not a guru, but I'm working on my own wiring customization and offering some help.
If I understand your goal - here is your 'flow chart' map: pickups to selector switch, selector switch to always on DPDT (middle position) to output jack.
Then left side of DPDT with no circuit and right side of DPDT to engage tone circuit.

So all pickups can be selected and are always going out to the jack via the DPDT center. One side of the DPDT will have no circuit (your bypass) and the other will have the tone circuit.
Wiring would look like - selector 'out' to center of DPDT. Output jack to center of other side.
Right side of DPDT will have the tone circuit volume pot. wiper wired on one side and an output lug of the volume pot. wired on the other.

The left side of your example picture has a jumper on the left lugs of the DPDT. I'm not sure the reason for this, both lugs have nothing on them. I would need more info. on the type of switch.
 
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Crane: what you are saying sounds right.
"The left side of your example picture has a jumper on the left lugs of the DPDT. I'm not sure the reason for this, both lugs have nothing on them. I would need more info. on the type of switch.".
I'm not sure what the jumper does exactly in a "blower" switch. My switch is an on-on 2-position DPDT switch with 6 lugs like in the "blower" diagram..

Little Pigbacon: I completely missed that. Check-mate moment. I don't think I can accomplish what I want with this switch, as there's no way to isolate the 2 circuits completely, at least as far as I can see.

It might help to start over with what I initially wanted: I wanted to install a plain "blower" direct switch for my bridge humbucker, but I'm using a 5-way super-switch (to get parallel options). I can't use the typical "blower" wiring, as the humbucker isn't hard-wired in series or parallel until after the switch.
Anyone have any other suggests?
 
Crane said:
The left side of your example picture has a jumper on the left lugs of the DPDT. I'm not sure the reason for this, both lugs have nothing on them. I would need more info. on the type of switch.
Click to expand...

The jumper on the left of the DPDT switch is so that in the left position, the 2 center lugs will be connected and the right 2 lugs are disconnected from the circuit.
 
LoveMyIbanez said:
"So you want to bypass volume and tone and go directly from the pickup to the output jack?"

No. I want to go from the 5-way switch to a DPDT switch, that lets me choose to either go to the volume and tone, or bypass them to the output jack.
Click to expand...

Isn't that what I said?
 
Doc: "Isn't that what I said?"
Well, technically, you said pickup direct to jack, like in the diagram, and the diagram is for a "blower" switch that bypasses the selector switch, volume, and tone (all 3). I can't do that, as I'm using a super-switch to get parallel options, and so, cannot go direct from the pickup to the jack, as the pickup isn't wired series or parallel until after the switch.
 
OK, so can't you connect the pup to its input(s) on the selector switch so you can get your series and parallel, and then just run the output from the selector switch to the DPDT center lug ("pole") and have one "throw" go directly to the output jack and the other "throw" on the same side got to the vol and tone pots and from the vol pot to the output jack. By using just one side of the DPDT it is essentially a SPDT.
 
Doc: forgive me if I'm totally wrong, but then the output jack is connected to the volume and tone pots both ways. Wouldn't the pots cause the same resistance either way?
 
No, the vol (and tone) pot is connected to one throw, the output jack is connected to the other throw. The switch output wire (carrying the signal from the pup) is connected to the pole (the center lug of your DPDT). That DPDT connects to either one of the throws at a time...in one position it connects the switch to the output jack (yes the vol pot output is also connected to the jack but there is no input to the vol pot so it is out of the circuit), in the other position it connects the switch to the vol & tone pots and then to the output jack. Now the vol has an input and an output and it is in the circuit, while the lug of the DPDT connected directly to the jack is out of the circuit.
 
Pigbacon: I'm at work and can't draw them in at the moment, but yes: I can see that the volume and tone pots will still be in a circuit, parallel to the intended path.
 
If I'm picturing this correctly, we'd want to use one side of the DPDT for the hot lead from the 5-way.
And use the other side to feed the output either A: the signal from the controls, or B: signal direct from the 5-way.

I see it this way:
Hot from 5-way connects to DPDT top half center lug.
Top left lug goes to volume pot and return from volume pot goes to left bottom lug.
Right upper & lower lugs get jumpered together.
Bottom center lug goes to the output jack.

That way in one position signal is sent to the volume (and tone) and then back through the other half of the DPDT to the output.
In the other position, the pots are disconnected from the signal path and the 5-way connects straight to the output.

I can't create a diagram but that should work, right?
 
Eclecticsynergy You mad lad! I think you nailed it!

This: https://ibb.co/6sMtW4q

Anyone else see any reason this wouldn't work?

Edit: won't work because there will always be a raw signal coming from the 5-way switch to the jack, so the volume control won't do anything, in either position.
Or does the jumper prevent this?
 
Last edited:
LoveMyIbanez said:
Eclecticsynergy You mad lad! I think you nailed it!

This: https://ibb.co/6sMtW4q

Anyone else see any reason this wouldn't work?

Edit: won't work because there will always be a raw signal coming from the 5-way switch to the jack, so the volume control won't do anything, in either position.
Or does the jumper prevent this?
Click to expand...

No, that will work just fine. So will your first diagram except for the connection to the wrong pole, but this diagram is more elegant and will work.
When the DPDT switch is in the right position the hot signal goes directly to the jack and even though there is a ground on the vol pot, there is no input/hot signal to the vol pot so the vol pot is essentially out of the circuit.
When the DPDT switch is in the left position the hot signal goes to the vol pot and then to the jack so the vol pot is in the circuit. The two lugs on the right of the DPDT where the jumper is connected are not selected by the DPDT and are therefore out of the circuit...there will be NO signal going directly to the jack.
 
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Thanks very much Doc: that makes sense, and now I get what you were saying about using the DPDT switch as an SPDT. My brain was not wrapping itself around what you were telling me. I've had a few mind-blown moments learning about switches this week lol.
Thanks very much for your help, and thanks to eclecticsynergy for this wiring idea!

Once again, grateful for this helpful forum and its members!
 
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