HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

[Therustycowboy]

So I’ve been working on this setup for a while and I just can’t seem to figure it out. I’ve got an Ibanez S series and it’s got a HSH with a 5 way switch, and a master volume and master tone pot. I’ve added a push/pull pot to the volume position, and I want that pot to activate the bridge (or neck) humbucker. I want to be able to open up both humbuckers at once, or be able to run the single coil along side a full humbucker (preferably bridge).

Here’s the issue(s) I have right now: 5 way switch in the middle position (p/p down) is supposed to only run the single coil, but the single coil doesn’t work and both humbuckers are active. Positions 1,2,4 and 5 all work as they should and so does the push pull pot. The only other problem is that there is a slight hum coming from the guitar in every position.

Other considerations are that I have a treble bleed on the vol pot and a bumblebee cap on the tone.

Thanks!

 

[SkyMonkey]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

One option would be a Fender 3-way switch for the Neck and Bridge with the push/pull to drop in the Middle pickup wherever you want. This would also give the option of all 3 pickups at once.

 

[SkyMonkey]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

If you rarely use your tone control you could have master volume (N,M&B), volume bleed (M), Fender 3-way (N&B), and use the push/pull to coil split the humbuckers.
This is from the Dimarzio site. Be aware of wire colour code differences for SD (and other) pickups.
http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/hsh3wtele1ppv1midv_splitnb.pdf

 

[SkyMonkey]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

The most obvious reason for the hum could be grounding issues, but could be directly related to the crossed wiring that you are experiencing. Sorry, I have no experience with treble bleeds or the BumbleBee type of capacitor. Attached image in my previous post may have some useful elements, but the link is my best solution.

 

[Therustycowboy]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

So I’ve solved the hum issue: it was a poor ground (so many grounds in this set up!). Thanks for the replies! My issue with the 3 way switch is that then I wouldn’t be able to run the single coil by itself, which is the current issue I’m facing. I also do play with my tone knob quite often when switching from clean to dirty tones. Here’s how my guitar currently is running in each position:
1-neck
2-neck&middle
3-neck&bridge
4-bridge&middle
5-bridge

So as you can see, the only missing position is the middle, which would be my only single coil tone. The current 3rd position (neck&bridge) would be nothing to complain about, except that’s what the push/pull was installed for. So my 3rd position is redundant, because it can be achieved in 1st position. I feel like my issue has to be a wire or two in the wrong spot? Possibly an extra or missing ground?

Is there a link that could assist me in putting together a diagram so I can show you how I’m set up now?

 

[Therustycowboy]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

Oh I just noticed another issue. 2nd and 4th position should be only one coil from the humbucker running along with the middle coil. But the full humbucker is running in each position with the middle coil.

 

[Therustycowboy]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

So get this, I just swapped out the 5 way for a new one, wired it up the same way, and now it works. So I guess the 5 way I was using was damaged.

 

[SkyMonkey]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

Result on the 5-way!

Seems difficult to find a mod that allows options of N+B and M alone, all I setups found will only bleed the middle volume away. For fully working mod you need 3 switches. Only 2 pots limits you to only 2 push/pulls. Extreme measures would be to drill for 3 pickup controlling mini toggles (e.g. Charvel Model 4)! Then still need 4th switch (P/P?) for coil splits.

Maybe some mods are not meant to be?

 

[SkyMonkey]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

I did find this if it helps. Same middle volume and coil split mod, but without the tone pot.

http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/hsh3wtele1ppv1midv_splitnb.pdf

 

[SkyMonkey]

Re: HSH 5 way 1 p/p vol and 1 tone wiring help

Final thought. Could this work?

1 vol, 1 tone. Normal 5-way. P/P for coil splits. P/P on bridge P/U (or neck) to divert from 5-way to vol pot (temporary hardwired).

I have no diagram specifically for this but a 2nd p/p (on/on) on the tone pot could switch between bridge pickup on the 5-way and hardwired.

This could give you all combinations with split options too.

1. Bridge
2. Bridge & Middle
3. Middle
4. Middle & Neck (+Bridge)
5. Neck (+Bridge)

P.S. I have started wiring my modded guitars with mini block connectors to connect the pickups. This makes for easy pickup swapping and allows for longer separate wires for the wiring mods.