HSH wiring help?

[YellowDog]

I'm converting an Am Std Strat to HSH configuration, and wiring it with a master volume and master tone pots. I was intending to use a 5-way superswitch wired to auto-coil-split the humbuckers, but also to give neck-and-bridge-together in the middle position...that is to say:

pos #1: bridge humbucker
pos #2: bridge split & middle single-coil
pos #3: bridge & neck humbuckers
pos #4: neck split & middle single-coil
pos #5: neck humbucker

There are wiring diagrams for this setup at guitarelectronics.com, so...so far, so good. However, I would also like the option to split the humbuckers independently of the selector switch, i.e. to give me the option of bridge split, neck split, and bridge & neck together (both split). Also, I would like to be able to reverse the phase of the bridge pickup, as this would not only give me more sonic options when both pickups are on, but also enables me to change which coil I split the bridge pickup to.

So....I was thinking, great, all I need is the 5-way superswitch and a push-pull on my master volume and master tone, one for reverse phase and one for coil split, and I'm done, right? And that would mean the only controls on the guitar would be the 5-way switch and the two pots, which is what I wanted. Er...no...I don't think it's gonna be that easy.

An alternative would be to use a 3-way toggle with a standard Gibson-type selection (i.e controlling just the humbuckers), and wire the middle single-coil separately to a push-pull (or microswitch), which would switch it on independently of the 3-way toggle. Then I could also (I think) have my push-pulls DPDTs for coil-splitting the humbuckers and reversing the phase of the bridge pickup.

I say "I think" because I've never wired a 3-way toggle, & I'm guessing here.

For ease of operation/playability, I'd rather go with the 5-way switch idea, if it's even possible. In fact, I don't know if either option would actually work. Anyone out there with greater skill/experience in guitar wiring? I'm in need of your expertise...

 

[tone4days]

Re: HSH wiring help?

welcome to the forum

i wish i could help but this sounds way too hard for me ...

in theory, what you indicated about one push/pull for phase inversion and the other push/pull for coil splitting , plus a 5 way is completely doable ... if you want to be able to control if you are splitting to EITHER the screw OR the stud coil, that would probably require an on-off-on mini toggle switch

but if you can fit a superswitch under the pickguard, you'll be good to go ... i had plans for an HSH a few years back that got spoiled when it turns out that the superswitch didnt fit in my control cavity

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: HSH wiring help?

To do the auto-split "correctly", you have to shunt the R+W to Ground. Since you won't really have that option with the SuperSwitch, you'll have to use a Push/Pull to do the splits.

However, if you're only using 2 Push/Pulls, and still want one to invert the bridge pickup's Phase, then you'll have to wire it like this:

The only drawback is that when one humbucker is split, the other is as well. The only other alternative is to wire it so either the neck or the bridge are always split, but both cannot be full or split at the same time.


However, if you wish to skip the phase inversion to have split control over both hums,

You can connect the R+W to the SuperSwitch to split to the slug coil rather than the screw coil by connecting them at the appropriate points in the Output Group of the SuperSwitch (B+M and M+N of the lower right section of the switch in the diagram) and leaving off the bridge/neck connections at those tabs.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: HSH wiring help?

Ok, here's another one that should get you AutoSplits, and also give you the option to split each humbucker individually:

The dotted lines are optional, and should get you Neck Screw Coil + Bridge Slug Coil on one and Neck Slug coil + Bridge Screw Coil on the other if you play around with the Push/Pulls.

 

[YellowDog]

Re: HSH wiring help?

Thank you, good Doctor. This is wonderful. The first prescription looks like the one for me!

However, as I'm slightly retarded when it comes to reading wiring diagrams, I have a couple of questions...

Neck pickup: I don't see a green wire...would this just be connected to the bare shield wire and soldered to ground?

Middle pickup: would the black wire here again be soldered to ground?

With the bridge humbucker in split mode (tone control knob pulled up), would pulling up the volume knob change the coil selected from screw to slug? I can't see myself ever wanting to use the screw coil on its own.

Actually, this wiring scematic is an improvement on my idea, as it gives me the option to combine the full humbuckers with the middle single-coil.

In my experience (much as I like beautiful woods, and despite always listening to the acoustic sound of an electric guitar closely before ever plugging it in), pickup selection and electronics - perhaps unsurprisingly - have the greatest bearing in the sound that a guitar makes.

...Which inevitably leads me to despair over my complete lack of knowledge/ability when it comes to designing schematics like these. I'm competent enough with a soldering iron, but I always have to ask someone else where to attach all those wires..! Are there any books/websites that you'd recommend that could teach me the theory behind this stuff?

Again, thank you so much for this.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: HSH wiring help?

I was never much for theory in written form, so I got lost fast in books dealing with electronics and electrical wiring. I just experimented and studied diagrams and tried to figure out what was happening.

As for the Green/Bare - it is assumed that those will be grounded, so they're left out.

As for the Middle pickup, yes, the black wire would go to Ground.

I can't say what would happen if both knobs were pulled up. I'm assuming the activwe split coil would be swapped, but since I've not tried it, I don't know.



Looking at the diagram again, I messed up the Phase Inversion. I replaced it with the updated file.