Looking for a very special 3-way toggle switch (3-way "super switch"?)

[omg81]

edit: Thread is obsolete -> topic covered in "I need the help of an electronics whiz" thread

original post: Alright, here's one for specialists. I'd like to make my own unusual pickup wiring and can't find a standard/mini switch that allows it. I fear there isn't one, but I thought maybe someone accidentally knows something of the sort or a place where I could look at.

The wiring I want to do is: 1. bridge HB, 2. both inner coils in series, 3. neck HB. The reason is that I never use the two-pup middle position of anything (which always puts the two in parallel), but love the two single coils in series sound. I tried thinking up wiring with existing 3-way switches, but couldn't find any.

A rotary switch would solve my problem, but I'd prefer a standard 3-way (Gibson-style) switch. Fender makes a 5-way super switch which as far as I can tell has the same wiring as a 5-way 4-pole rotary switch (could think of theoretically ten different pup combinations with one of those), but I don't want to saw holes in my guitar to install one and only want 3 positions anyway. Such a super switch, but 3-way to fit in a regular hole would be ideal.

I already found a 6-way "free-way" switch that's basically a 3-way switch with left and right positions for each, but I want a quick-flick pickup selector, not something I have to take care to not switch to the wrong side (and maybe it doesn't allow my wiring anyway).


One thing that comes close is a 4PDT switch, in principle a double 3-way on/on/on:



Sadly, while I could think of a wiring with this that allows 1. bridge HB, 2. both inner coils in parallel, 3. neck HB, for my in series idea I'd need this:



If anyone should know such a thing, please tell me, although I fear that's way too specialised to exist.


The Fender 5-way super switch:

A 3-way switch that would solve my problem (actually only 3 poles required, but 1 more wouldn't hurt of course):



Mind that I want the standard 3-way/mini-switch form, I just left the 5-way switch image there for simplicity's sake. This might actually exist somewhere, and if anyone knows such a thing, please tell me.

Phew. Thanks for reading, I suppose.

 

[Artie]

Re: Looking for a very special 3-way toggle switch (3-way "super switch"?)

I just covered this in another thread, but I'm at work right now. I'll give you the solution when I get home tonight.

Artie

 

[omg81]

Re: Looking for a very special 3-way toggle switch (3-way "super switch"?)

Hey, thanks for your quick reply. I didn't think someone else would want the same, I'm looking in that thread right now.

edit: I think I came up with a 4PDT switch from your wiring diagram in the other thread, but from now on I'll post in the "I need the help of an electronics whiz" thread to avoid having to threads about the same thing.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Looking for a very special 3-way toggle switch (3-way "super switch"?)

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/NSF-Freeway-3x3-05-6-Position-Ultra-Switch-p/nsf3x3-05.htm

Is this what you're talking about?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Looking for a very special 3-way toggle switch (3-way "super switch"?)

I want a quick-flick pickup selector, not something I have to take care to not switch to the wrong side (and maybe it doesn't allow my wiring anyway).

My experience has consistently been that the Freeway 3x3-03 is as quick as a Switchcraft in the three-way plane and requires more effort to flip between the "sides". A person would need to be supremely clumsy to get this wrong - even under pressure in the studio or on stage.

Do not take my word for this. Go and try one yourself.

In my opinion, your preferred wiring would be a criminal underuse of the Freeway 3x3-03.

 

[omg81]

Re: Looking for a very special 3-way toggle switch (3-way "super switch"?)

Thanks for the replies, but I moved to the "I need the help from an electronics whiz" thread because the exact same thing is already covered there.

And as I learned there, my wiring idea was based on the wrong assumption that I need to use the inner coils to get hum-cancelling. The standard 4PDT switch I was talking about will do fine actually.

In my opinion, your preferred wiring would be a criminal underuse of the Freeway 3x3-03.

Probably so, but that's my problem. I have a Framus with 16 different pup combinations, and how many do I use? 2. In my standard HH guitars, how many do I use? 2. I have a single-HB Jackson and added a coil split push-pull. Do I use it? No. Without wanting to start a discussion about if more options hurt or not, I don't want any stuff in them anymore that I never use, and try to keep it as simple as possible. And the two coils in series wiring is the first one that I really like aside from single HBs, so I'd love to have that. But nothing else really.