Help with a wiring project...

G

GuitarHawk

New member
Hi all, complete newb here (first post). I'm also a newb to wiring, so hopefully you won't think I'm a complete idiot.

I have a fixer-upper (Kramer FR424) that has an HSH configuration. It has a 24 frets, so the pickups are very close together. It has the following controls:

1 Volume Pot (500K)
1 Tone Pot (500K Push-Pull) w/ .047cap
1 In-Line 5-Way Switch

The Framus Diablo Supreme X has a pickup wiring that splits the humbuckers to outer coils, which I think might work well for pickups that are spaced so closely together.

The Supreme X is wired like this:
{Neck] A B C D E [Bridge}

Pushed:
A B C D E
5 - (X)(X) ( ) ( )( )
4 - (X)(X) (X) ( )( )
3 - (X)(X) ( ) (X)(X)
2 - ( )( ) (X) (X)(X)
1 - ( )( ) ( ) (X)(X)

Pulled:
A B C D E
5) (X)( ) ( ) ( )( )
4) (X)( ) (X) ( )( )
3) (X)( ) ( ) ( )(X)
2) ( )( ) (X) ( )(X)
1) ( )( ) ( ) ( )(X)

The wiring for that is pretty straight forward, and I know I can peg that with the stock controls I have, because they are basically the same as the Supreme X.

I have the following Seymour Duncan pickups:

Neck: Jazz SH-2n
Middle: Vintage SSL-2 RWRP
Bridge: JB TB-4

Those are the same as used in the Supreme X, except the Supreme X has a CoolRails for the neck.

While I'd be happy with the Supreme X wiring, ideally I would like to achieve the following configuration:

Pushed:
A B C D E
5 - (X)(X) ( ) ( )( )
4 - (X)(X) (X) ( )( )
3 - (X)(X) ( ) (X)(X)
2 - ( )( ) (X) (X)(X)
1 - ( )( ) ( ) (X)(X)

Pulled:
A B C D E
5) (X)( ) ( ) ( )( )
4) (X)( ) (X) ( )( )
3) ( )( ) (X) ( )( )
2) ( )( ) (X) ( )(X)
1) ( )( ) ( ) ( )(X)

BUT… I don't know if I can get the 3rd notch like that with the controls I have.

So I have a few questions…

Will the humbuckers' tone be different WHEN OPERATING AS HUMBUCKERS, given that the split is being performed/wired differently than a typical inner-coil split? The answer is likely "no", but I would think there would technically be some difference in tone due to the fact that the pickup will be basically hooked up "inside-out".

Will there be problems with polarity when using the humbuckers (full in series) with a RWRP single coil in the middle in "pushed" position notches 2 & 4?

AND, can anyone give me ideas on how to get the second configuration I posted with the controls I have.

Thanks in advance!
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

Does the Framus circuit employ a Schaller Superswitch? (Five positions, between seven and nine terminals.)
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

I don't think so. I was able to locate a wiring diagram for the Framus that shows it uses a Schaller M 80028 switch, which can be found here:
http://www.mec-pickups.de/ Search for M 80028 for a picture of it.
 
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Re: Help with a wiring project...

Also - like I stated in the original post, it'd be nice to get Switch Notch #3 in the Pulled position to be middle pickup only (which is different than the Framus wiring) for two reasons:

1) There is no other access to middle pickup only tone.
2) The two outside coils of the humbuckers are both south polarity (I think), which will likely be pretty noisy.
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

This is why I asked about the selector switch. On most designs, the central lever position selects centre pickup only on both poles simultaneously. For your switch to yield neck and bridge, the PCB tracks must be laid out differently.

Looking at your schematic diagram, use Schaller switch terminals on Side 2 for your "pushed" mode and Side 1 for the "pulled" Split coils mode.

You will need to replace the DPDT push-pull switch with a 4PDT on/on. Think of this as two DPDTs fused together. One half performs the coil splitting as per your existing diagram. The other half selects which Side of the selector switch feeds the volume control.

Put a jumper wire between each of the following terminal pairs, D-G, C-F and B-E. Run separate cables from terminals D and H to the 4PDT.
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

This is what I'd like to achieve in an illustration.
 

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Re: Help with a wiring project...

You may or may not like the sound of the bridge screw coil by itself. IMO the slug coil is more useable..... But that's why i use tripleshots.
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

Thanks to rumblebox and Funkfingers for chiming in on this so far.

I did have some diagrams up, including the last one that I thought would've nailed it with the use of a 4PDT switch as suggested by Funkfingers - but I took them down because they were based on an incorrect 5-way switch reference diagram that I found online. I didn't want some innocent noob (such as myself) to stumble upon them and actually try to wire up a guitar based on them.

So I guess it's back to square one.

Oh, and rumblebox... I don't think I'll go the Tripleshots route for this project, because the switches are so small that it wouldn't be useful for me for live playing. Thanks for the idea though. I need big controls that can be easily and quickly manipulated after a few "tripleshots" of my own.
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

After some digging for info on the layout of the Schaller M 80028 switch that is used in the Framus, I stumbled upon a thread on these forums (with input from both rumblebox and Funkfingers) that discusses the Megaswitch E-Model (made by Schaller I believe), which ended up pointing me in the direction I needed to AT LEAST do the Framus wiring.

After looking at the instructions on the StewMac site and the Framus wiring diagram I have, I can see that the Framus Diablo Supreme X is simply wired up using the exact configuratin from the E-Model hooked up with its SSS wiring - but using HSH pickups w/ coils splits handled by the Tone Pot DPDT switch.

I think I might just put in an order for the E-Model, hook it all up like the Framus, and see if the results sound usable.
 
Re: Help with a wiring project...

rumblebox said:
You may or may not like the sound of the bridge screw coil by itself. IMO the slug coil is more useable..... But that's why i use tripleshots.
Click to expand...

I agree here. You really should use the inside, slug coil on both split humbuckers--this is the norm. I also recommend you use an RW/RP mid single pickup so you'll get hum canceling when the split coils are paired with the mid pickup. You do need to verify the magnetic polarity of the split coils and mid pickup to ensure you're actually getting hum canceling. You can verify which humbucker split coil is active by gently tapping on the pole pieces with a screwdriver (loudest coil is active of course), then confirm the active split coil is attracted to the mid pickup (North + South). If they repel they are the same magnetic polarity and they won't give hum cancellation.
 
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