HH 5 Way Superswitch Wiring Help

[CB434]

I've done some basic electronics in the past, but the pickup wiring confuses me so much. Polarity, Phase and basic wiring for superswitches. Any help would be appreciated. I can solder pretty well, it's just understanding the schematic on paper and modifying it. Basic stuff is fine, but I've never been able to wrap my head around super switches and pickup combos.

I'm looking at modifying a Cort G300 Pro.. the pickups are the classic combo of JB and Jazz, and it has a basic wiring for HH setup with 5 way switches. Dimarzio has a diagram here.. https://www.dimarzio.com/media/1468 and the official Cort diagram is (attached) at the bottom of the post.

It's basically..

1 - Neck
2 - Both Inside Coils
3 - Both in Series
4 - Both Outer Coils
5 - Bridge

I'd like to learn what is possible in terms of the options of changing things, but my first main question.. is would it be possible to add a push pull or toggle switch so that the coils could be split in position 1, 3 and 5? Or 1 and 5? (Whatever works)

And secondly.. I saw a video on YT with this guitar had been changed by a tech, where position 2 and 4 had the full humbucker + one coil from the other. In other words, position 2 was full neck HB with one coil, and position 4 was full bridge HB with one coil. This helped to balance out the volume differences for the in between positions. Otherwise there is a volume drop.

If I could combine these two together.. it would be really good in theory. I've made an image to show what I am talking about.


Would these be simple changes or super complicated?

The original wiring is below..

​

 

[Mincer]

You might find this thread something to check out. I use this wiring (without the additional toggle) on quite a few instruments. It does require a magnet flip on one of the pickups to have everything in phase and hum-cancelling.

 

[beaubrummels]

If you have an odd number of coils, it's going to have noise, so there's that. There's no reason there should be a volume drop if there are always two coils on. I'd recommend Mincer's do-it-all wiring.

 

[Artie]

I don't mean to make things more complicated, but if you want #2 & #4 to be hum-cancelling, you should do a "mag-flip / reverse wire" on one pup.

 

[CB434]

You might find this thread something to check out. I use this wiring (without the additional toggle) on quite a few instruments. It does require a magnet flip on one of the pickups to have everything in phase and hum-cancelling.

Thanks for your reply, I will have a look at this.

I was already planning on switching some magnets anyway. For example.. the Jazz can be A5 or A2, and it would be nice to try both. The JB is decent as is, but a rougher magnet that smooths out some highs slightly would be nice. If doing this, flipping one of the magnets would be easy as well.

My main problem is trying to figure out how to turn certain coils on or off for specific situations. I'm open to some trial and error but some diagrams to use as a guide would be a nice starting point.

 

[CB434]

If you have an odd number of coils, it's going to have noise, so there's that. There's no reason there should be a volume drop if there are always two coils on. I'd recommend Mincer's do-it-all wiring.

I never noticed any noise in the video (2 + 1 coils), but it's hard to know with all the digital stuff people use these days in terms of if there was a gate or not. The volume levels seemed much better.

In certain videos with 1 + 1 coils, the volume change is more noticeable.. it seems to be rig dependant in terms of if it's noticeable or not. I also wondered if maybe the factory was wiring some guitars differently. Some seemed to have noise in 2 and 4 and others didn't, but again.. maybe it's the rig or a gate or something.

Another idea I had was to use some resistors in series.. so that one of the coils that go to ground would be reduced.. So 100% one coil, and 100% + 25% of the other coil. I don't know if this would work, but it's just an idea?

 

[CB434]

I don't mean to make things more complicated, but if you want #2 & #4 to be hum-cancelling, you should do a "mag-flip / reverse wire" on one pup.

Would it be easier to flip the neck or bridge?

I read through those 8 pages and learned a lot, it was a good read. I'll try and come back with another diagram at some point in the near future. I'll redo the whole diagram and try to make it easier to read. It should also make it easier to adjust on the fly if further changes are needed.

The theory behind the pickup wiring with super switches is very confusing but making the diagrams is much easier. Sometimes describing this stuff via text can lead to communication problems so hopefully diagrams might make it simpler.

 

[Artie]

Would it be easier to flip the neck or bridge?

No difference. I'll do a diagram a little later. (I gotta Dr appointment.)

 

[CB434]

No difference. I'll do a diagram a little later. (I gotta Dr appointment.)

Cheers Artie that'd be great. I have health problems myself, and this stuff can provide a useful distraction at times. Health comes first though and there's no rush with any of this stuff. It'll be a while until I solder anything, I just like to plan things in advance.

When using push pulls, I would usually think about parallel instead of split but in this case with JB/Jazz it seems the split sounds would be better. For SD, I've only used a split Custom 5 bridge and was very happy with that. With Dimarzios I usually prefer parallel. Just mentioning that in case anyone wanted to chime in with any opinions. In this case, it seems splitting would be better. I have to say that the stock 2/4 positions sound really good in all of the clips I've heard, and it's one of the reasons I'm getting this guitar/pickup combo.

 

[beaubrummels]

I also wondered if maybe the factory was wiring some guitars differently. Some seemed to have noise in 2 and 4 and others didn't, but again.. maybe it's the rig or a gate or something.

It likely doesn't have to do with the rig. If you're getting noise with 2 coils, they aren't paired right for hum-cancelling. That's what all the discussion about flipping the magnet and mixing odd coils is about.

 

[CB434]

I've been in and out of hospital in the last week (first time in my life), but things are starting to settle down now. I want to return to this project in the near future, if anyone can help it would be appreciated.

I found this series vs parallel diagram below that could be a good alternative idea, but a push pull pot with the original idea would be preferred. If there is a way that I can figure out how to to make it work.

Still.. it opens up some possibilities, and appears to already be finished (and working well etc). This is the diagram below, it has Dimarzios so the wiring colors need to be reversed.



Does anyone know a good source for a reliable 4PDT switch for the purposes of this? Like a reliable brand or spec?