Need wiring help HSS with neck and bridge split

phred

New member
Hello,
I need some help please. I'm trying to find a wiring diagram for a HSS 1 vol 1 tone (neck and middle) with a 5 way. The split would be the humbucker and the neck, not the middle. I have SSL1s and a 59/Custom Hybrid.

Thanks for your help.
Phred
 
So the middle position would be the humbucker split with the neck, not the middle? I know that isn't possible with a regular switch.
 
Which position on the 5-way do you want the split to happen, and which coil of the hybrid?
 
The usual split position with the bridge is the middle pup, so position 4, I want it to be the neck. No sure which coil, what coil is usually used?
Thanks for helping.
 
Please let us know which switch position you want with each combination of pickups and coils.

I have a Player Strat with exactly these pickups as it happens.

Mine is wired thus:
P1 = bridge humbucker, both coils
P2 = bridge slug coil plus middle
P3 = middle single coil only
P4 = middle plus neck single coils
P5 = neck single coil only

Two other questions:

1. Do you have a third pot you want to use as a blender for the neck pickup?
2. Are you using a regular Fender 5-way, a Fender "superswitch" or some other kind?
 
I like that wiring, just P2 I would like the bridge and neck. I want the tone for the neck and middle. With a Fender 5 way, but will probably need a super switch. If it's easier I can have two tones, neck and middle.

Thanks,
P
 
Last edited:
I like that wiring, just P2 I would like the bridge and neck. I want the tone for the neck and middle. With a Fender 5 way. If it's easier I can have two tones, neck and middle.

Thanks,
P

You'll end up with weird switching if you use a regular 5-way for that. That's because the standard 5-way is really a 3-way with an over-wide moving contact that spans two static contacts in P2 and P4.

What you'd end up with is:

P1 = bridge full humbucker
P2 = coil split bridge plus neck
P3 = neck
P4 = neck plus middle
P5 = middle

To overcome that you'll need a 5-way superswitch.

Then you can have:

P1 = bridge full humbucker
P2 = coil split bridge plus neck
P3, P4 and P5 = just about anything you want.
 
This should work. If anyone spots any errors please holler!

I assume you know how a superswitch works, but in case you don't here's a quick introduction:

The superswitch has four banks of six contacts. On my diagram I've called them A, B, C and D.
  1. The four banks of contacts are independent of each other, but when you select, say, P2, you get P2 on all four banks. You can't have P2 on one bank and P4 on another, for example.
  2. Each bank of four has one common contact, which I've labeled A-COM, B-COM, etc., and five others corresponding to P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5 on the selector switch.
  3. By convention, P1 is when the switch is "fully back", that is to say the switch tip, when seen from outside the pickguard, is nearest to the middle tone pot.
  4. The common contacts only connect to one contact at a time in their respective banks. This is unlike a standard five-way switch, where P2 and P4 are achieved by the moveable wiper contact spanning two fixed contacts at the same time.
Now for the wiring. this wiring diagram is drawn so that you are looking down on the back of the pickguard with the switch contacts facing up and the backs of the pots (not the shafts) visible.
  1. The bridge humbucker hot (black) is connected to the C-1 and C-2 contacts. The output to the single volume pot is connected to the C-COM contact. In P1 and P2, therefore, the bridge humbucker is connected.
  2. You will need to add little "jumpers" to bridge between switch contacts as needed. These are generally shown as little semi-circles between switch contacts. It's important that you don't add more jumpers than are needed, otherwise you'll create "shorts" that will have pickups active when you don't want them to be.
  3. The bridge humbucker green and bare wires go to ground on a pot casing. Do not forget to ground the bare.
  4. The bridge humbucker red and white wires are both connected to the A-2 contact. The common A-COM contact is grounded. Thus when you switch to P2, the humbucker automatically coil splits, leaving the slug coil active. That's because both ends of the screw coil (red and green wires) are grounded, and the white wire now provides the ground for the slug coil. Splitting to the slug coil leaves a "north up" coil active, which when paired with a regular (not RWRP) SD single coil (which is "south up") gives you a hum canceling pair.
  5. In P3, P4 and P5, the bridge humbucker hot is completely disconnected.
  6. The neck single coil hot is connected to the D-2 contact to bring in the neck single coil in P2. Its ground wire should be permanently grounded to a pot casing. So in P2 you have the humbucker slug coil plus the neck single coil, as requested.
  7. The neck hot is also connected to the D-4 and D-5 contacts so that the neck is also active in P4 (neck plus middle) and P5 (Neck only) settings.
  8. The Bank D output contact, D-COM is connected to the Bank A output contact, and then onto the common volume pot.
  9. The middle pickup is only needed in P3 (middle only) and P4 (neck plus middle). Since we're not using the C-3 and C-4 contacts for the humbucker, we can connect the middle hot wire to those contacts, which leaves us a spare bank for the tone pot connections
Now for the tone pot connections.
  1. The output signal is fed by a jumper wire from the C-COM contact to the B-COM contact. The idea here is that there is always a signal coming in for the tone pot to work on, but that it oly connects to the tone pot when the switch is in the right places. So it's kind of like wiring the pickups in backwards - the output has become the input and the inputs become the outputs.
  2. You said you wanted a single tone pot, and that to be active on the middle and neck only, not on the humbucker, so I've drawn it that way.
  3. The output to the tone pot is shown connected to the B-5 contact and by jumpers to the B-3 and B-4 contacts also. Thus the tone pot is only connected when one or both of the single coil pickups is active, but no the humbucker.
  4. If you want the tone pot to work in P2, neck single coil plus coil split humbucker, add the third jumper shown as a dotted line.
  5. If you wanted two tone pots, I would suggest one for the humbucker (with a 0.022 uF cap and a 500 kohm pot) and one for the single coils with a 0.047 uF cap and a 250 kohm pot. You would connect one tone pot to the B-2, B-3, B-4 and B-5 contacts and the second tone pot to the B-1 contact.
  6. You can play with the contact jumpers so that eithe the humbucker tone pot or the single coil tone pot works in P2, but do not try jumping the contacts too far or you'll end up with both tone pots active in both positions.
Pot and cap values:
  1. I would go with a 500 kohm volume pot. If you wanted to you could add a 500 kohm resistor in parallel when connected to P3, P4 and P5, which will make the 50kohm pot behave like a 250 kohm pot, but I'd have to work out how to do that for you later.
  2. For the tone pot active only on the single coils I would use a 250 kohm pot and a 0.047 uF cap as used on a regular Strat or Telel.
  3. If you add another tone pot for the humbuckers I would use a 500 kohm pot and a 0.022 uF cap like a Les Paul or SG.


HSS Superswitch 1 Vol 1 Tone Bridge Plus Neck in P2.png
 
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