Wiring a battery with a stereo jack

[ehdwuld]

Ok so another thread in the pickup lounge got me to thinking

I want to put a battery power boost into my guitar

I want to turn on the boost with a push push volume knob

I also want to loop the battery circuit through the stereo jack
So it turns off the battery when the jack is removed regardless of the PP position


So can I do that with the PP and. Stereo jack?

I think I'm gonna need both sets of terminals on the PP for the boost

To open and divert input and outputs independently

 

[GuitarDoc]

Is the boost a product that you are buying? If so, it will usually come with and on/off boost control and instructions how to hook it up to the guitar output jack. If yours doesn't come with the actual p/p pot for boost control, it should have instructions on how to hook it up.

I put one into a LP that I made many years ago that I got from StewMac and it works great.

 

[Artie]

So . . . power is removed when you unplug the cord? But when the cord is plugged in, you want to be able to turn the active circuit on & off? (ie., bypassed.)

Not difficult, just need clarification.

 

[GuitarDoc]

That's the way mine is, plus the the on/off for the active circuit is also a pot to increase output. You have to remember that even if you turn off the active control, the battery is still on and draining until you unplug your guitar cord.

 

[ehdwuld]

So . . . power is removed when you unplug the cord? But when the cord is plugged in, you want to be able to turn the active circuit on & off? (ie., bypassed.)

Not difficult, just need clarification.

Yes this

What I was thinking was

Use the two sets of contacts on the PP
to swap the input and output circuits
from normal pickups
to run the circuit through the boost on the way out

And let the jack open and close the battery circuit

I would like to open and close the battery with the switch as well

But I don't have enough contacts on the PP to do that

 

[ehdwuld]

Is the boost a product that you are buying? If so, it will usually come with and on/off boost control and instructions how to hook it up to the guitar output jack. If yours doesn't come with the actual p/p pot for boost control, it should have instructions on how to hook it up.

I put one into a LP that I made many years ago that I got from StewMac and it works great.

Mine is an LM386 circuit board I bout off Amazon to use as a boost for the guitar

It came with no directions as this was not it's intended purpose

 

[Artie]

Here's the idea. I used a generic Duncan active pic. Your pups and switch may be different, but the idea will be the same. The only possible issue, and it shouldn't be a problem, is that the pups will still "see" the input impedance of the boost board even when off. If it does a present a problem, then we'd have to do this differently.

Also, the LM386 has a pretty robust output. I believe it was the heart of the old Lil Smokey amp. With an LM386, you could plug your guitar straight into a speaker cab.

 

[Artie]

On second thought, I think this way may be better.

 

[Artie]

Dang! Both of those are wrong. I need to change the "power" side so that the pups keep power, and only the boost gets turned off. I haven't had coffee yet. Gimme . . . a sec.

Are you actually using active pickups? Or is it just the boost circuit that needs power?

 

[Artie]

Assuming passive pickups, it simply becomes this:

 

[GuitarDoc]

Assuming passive pickups, it simply becomes this:

That's pretty good...so not only does the p/p turn the circuit off, but it also disconnects the battery even when the cord is still plugged into the guitar.

 

[Artie]

Yup. I like using a switch for my actives too. Because I always forget to unplug, and kill my battery.

 

[ehdwuld]

Passives

That's awesome Artie

Thanks. Exactly what I wanted

 

[Artie]

Cool. 3rd times a charm, they say.