Is a 3-way switch required

[badilyas]

I'm putting a guitar together and want to put in a live wire active humbucker. Do I have to have a 3-way switch? If I soldered the three wires that would normally go to the switch together would it effectively act like the switch was permanently in the center position?

Thanks for your help,

Badilyas :dance:

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Is a 3-way switch required

First off, welcome to the forums!

You could of course setup the humbuckers so that they will both be run without a switch.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to switch between neck and bridge pickups, but if all you care about is both of them on at the same time, you definitely can do it.

You won't want to solder those wires together however. They were made to be soldered to the switch, but if there is no switch, it won't work if they are all together.

 

[Artie]

Re: Is a 3-way switch required

You won't want to solder those wires together however. They were made to be soldered to the switch, but if there is no switch, it won't work if they are all together.

Actually, you can. A switch is nothing more than a hand-operated dead short.
Anything that can go to a switch, can be soldered together, and then, on to the volume control.

Be sure to only solder together, those same wires that would normally go to the lugs of the 3-way switch. For example, if you were hard-wiring two humbuckers, the black wire from each pickup would get soldered together, and then connected to the volume control.

On Live-wires, I believe they're white, instead of black.

If I soldered the three wires that would normally go to the switch together would it effectively act like the switch was permanently in the center position?

To answer your question directly, yes, if the three wires that go to the 3-way are soldered together, you have, effectively, hard-wired it to permanent center position.