Help with a wiring diagram

[Ocifer]

I recently bought a Dimarzio Cruiser Neck and a Virtual PAF Bridge (f-spaced).
I'm installing them in an HSS strat, and I plan to leave the middle empty
(hollow). I have some 500K pots and a few 0.22 caps and I am using a
5-way Strat switch.

I want:

1)cruiser neck on [alone]
2)Virtual PAF Bridge on [alone]
3)middle position OFF... so that I can kill the signal by
flipping to the middle position.

I was sent the attached diagram, and a note: "This will work with either a 5-way or 3-way switch. With a 5-way, the neck pickup is on alone in positions 1 & 2, and the bridge pickup is on in 4 & 5. Position 3 is off."

I was just wondering if anyone could help me make a bit more sense of it...

Where are the pickups in this diagram or how are they represented? Once I solder the black and white wires together, why am I taping them and where am I taping them? On the exposed metal or further up on the insulation of the wire? Where is the ground - the back of the pots?

Could anyone simplify this a bit more for me? A shoddy MS paint pictorial would help a lot.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

you should probably check on the dimarzio forum


only teasin ... well, not really ...

the pickups are not shown, but the wires coming from them are ... take the red wires from each pup and attach them where they are indicated respectively on the switch .. follow the other instructions for the other pickup wires as indicated .. you tape them (the exposed metal tips) so that they do not short out on anything inside the cavity .. they are used for coil splitting, etc and you arent doing any of that ... yes, in that pick, the 'ground' is the back of the pots ... for your level of understanding, that is all you need to know as long as you get the output jack 'sleeve' connected to all the points that have the ground symbol, it'll work .. and remember to ground the wire from the bridge too

next time, buy duncans

t4d

 

[Artie]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

I could use this opportunity to take a cheap shot at DMZ . . . but I won't.

Suffice it to say, move the bridge red wire and tone wire to the terminal where the red arrow is pointing, or the bridge pup will never work.

 

[Artie]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

In all fairness to DMZ, the original diagram would have looked like this:

When you told them you wanted the middle position to be dead, they removed the blue jumper, and then forgot to put the following red jumper back in:

You can either put that jumper in or move the bridge wire to where the arrow shows in my first post. Both will work.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

Hey, guys.

Yeah i haven't come across a DMZ forum that's as helpful as you guys and I'm not just saying that. I'm not really a brand whore so you'll have to excuse me if I don't have a particular allegiance to any one brand. Having said that, my next HH guitar will have Seths.

Much thanks, T4D and Artie.

Artie, I get what you mean about the switch labeled "Bridge (red)" - I should move it to the lug near at the red arrow. I'm not sure about the bridge tone wire. Am i moving that wire from the connection at the neck tone pot to the red arrow?

Also when I switch them to where you've indicated, how will the switch function? What I mean to ask is which positions enable which pickups?

 

[Artie]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

Artie, I get what you mean about the switch labeled "Bridge (red)" - I should move it to the lug near at the red arrow. I'm not sure about the bridge tone wire. Am i moving that wire from the connection at the neck tone pot to the red arrow?

Yes. Anytime you have 2-pickups/2-tones, the tone controls are married to the pups. The tone wire always follows the pup hot wire. Treat them as one connection.

Also when I switch them to where you've indicated, how will the switch function? What I mean to ask is which positions enable which pickups?

Visualize it like this. On the top, the far left terminal is the "common" terminal. It connects sequentially with the following three terminals, opposite of the handles position. So, picture that switch as having the left pointing towards the neck. With the handle all the way back, (towards the bridge), the common terminal connects firstly, to the bridge red wire. As you click the switch towards the neck, you hit that terminal thats not connected. Then as you click to the position most forward, (towards the neck), you engage that far right terminal, which is the neck's red wire.

Make sense?

In other words, as the handle moves from right to left, the terminals connect from left to right.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

Hey guys. Just to be safe, I've decided to start smaller, and then try more complicated circuits as I feel comfortable.

I want to install the Virtual PAF in full humbucking mode (series) in the bridge of my strat. No other pickups involved. I want it to use a tone and a volume pot, and the 5-way switch I've already got.

The DiMarzio guys sent me the attached schem, i was just wondering if you guys could lend a second opinion (as last time they messed up, really rubbed me the wrong way).

DiMarzio says: "See attached diagram. Positions 5 and 4 are on, 1,2 & 3 are off."

Is this correct?

 

[MikeS]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

That works as they described, but the switch serves little purpose other than acting as a kill switch in three positions. If that were my goal with a single pickup, then I'd look at a more simple DPDT kill switch and skip the 5 way. But if the 5-way is what you want that will work.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: Help with a wiring diagram

thanks mike. Yeah, it's just the only quality switch I have sitting around now is a 5-way from my JV Strat. I have one or two others, but they have a lot of play and they crackle and hum unless you split the atom to get them in the right position.