Single Humbucker - 3-Way Switch for coilsplitting and killswitch - questions

[GeorgB96]

Hi everyone,

I’m planning some mods for my ESP LTD SC-607B. It currently has two active EMG 707s in the bridge and middle positions.

I’m getting a new pickguard made with just a single bridge pickup, and I want to replace all of the active electronics with a passive setup.

On top of that, I’d like to use a 3-way toggle switch with these functions:

• Back position = full humbucker
• Middle position = kill switch (mute)
• Front position = coil split
• I also want to keep a volume and tone control in the circuit.

Since this is setup is bit unusual, I wasn’t able to find an existing wiring diagram online that matches exactly. I can solder (I’ve swapped pickups before), but I’m not very experienced with wiring layouts. So, like anyone these days, I asked ChatGPT – and the attached diagram is what I got.

My question: Does this wiring diagram look correct, and would it work as expected (assuming I don’t mess up the soldering)? If not, what would I need to change?

A DPDT 3-way toggle is already planned.

Thanks a lot in advance for any help!

Cheers,
Georg
​

 

[Artie]

Chat GPT did that? This is why you should ask a human.

Try this:

 

[GeorgB96]

Much appreciated mate!

Yes, everything produced by ChatGPT that is not about summarizing documents and proof-reading has been totally useless in my experience, and this is just further evidence,

Many thanks again!

Best,
Gelrg

 

[Artie]

You're welcome.

In the above, handle "up" is full humbucker. Middle is kill, and down is split. Leave enough wire, and you can rotate the switch to whatever orientation you prefer.

 

[GeorgB96]

Sorry that I‘m reviving this old thread! I finally found some time to progress with the mod and wanted to shop all the parts now.

I noticed that since my guitar is a Tele-style guitar, the routing and the control plate for the switch only allow for Fender-style switches. I haven‘t found a Fender-style switch that‘s DPDT/on-on-on, but rather only SPDT switches. Is there any Fender-style on-on-on that you could recommend? Otherwise, if that‘s too specific and hard to find, I could also live with replacing the tone pot with an on-on-on toggle switch, as this would work out with the control plate.

Many thanks in advance and best,
Georg

 

[Artie]

I'm pretty sure this can be done with a Fender 3-way. I just saw this. Let me doodle a couple things, and I'll get back.

Edit: Super easy. Gimme a sec to draw it up in my paint program.

 

[Artie]

Like this:

 

[GeorgB96]

Thank you so much man, much appreciated!!

Best,
Georg

 

[Artie]

Yur welcome. Let us know how it works out.

 

[GeorgB96]

Hey Artie - I finally got to install the mods! Tool a little longer because I avoided it since I had to drill my guitar, as it haf active pickups and thus, required a bridge ground connection, which I finally did today.

All works as it should, thank you so much!!

One thing I noticed though is that the guitar has a lot of background hum (especially when not touching the strings). I figured this may be since it does not have andy shielding (because it was an active guitar) - could this be the case?

Besides that, attached is the wiring scheme I used for everything that happens after the switch - did I use the wrong wiring scheme? I grounded the common terminal at the back of the volume pot.

Best,
Georg

 

[jeremy]

if things change when you touch the strings, check your bridge ground to make sure it has continuity

 

[GeorgB96]

Thanlks Jeremy! So you mean that the bridge ground doesn‘t work because the hum is less when I touch the bridge, since my body will act as mass then? Will check that later, as I‘m not at home right now.

But even when touching the strings, the guitar isn‘t nearly as quiet as my other guitars - could a missing bridge ground also cause the additional hum or could this be from the missing shielding?

Best,
Georg

 

[jeremy]

yes, that is what i was suggesting. there isnt any reason this should be noisy (in series) if wired correctly. id check the ground connections to make sure they are all solid. one iffy connection could be the issue

 

[GeorgB96]

I rewired basically every ground - sadly, still not fixed.

What I noticed is that the guitar is perfectly silent when the volume is fully turned down or when the switch is at middle position (killswitch). Additionally, I don‘t think it‘s the shielding as I checked with other guitars of mine that are perfectly silent and many of them don‘t even have any shielding. Do you guys have any other idea by chance?

Best,
Georg

 

[Mincer]

Any chance the hot and ground at the jack is reversed?

 

[GeorgB96]

In one last desperate attempt, I did swap hot and ground on the jack, but unfortunately, they were already correct..

I‘ll send pictures tonight when I‘m home from work (but bear with me, the pots look horrible as I resoldered the grounds multiple times..)