Wiring help needed for two HB guitar
- Thread starter jmcorey
- Start date
Jack_TriPpEr
New member
Edit: That should have been a "yes" to your first question.
No. I would never do that. (Especially since I'm the one who *****es about it the most.)
See if this diagram helps. A 4-wire humbucker has five fundamental modes of operation: Off, series, parallel, slug, and screw. This is the technique I use for doing dual humbuckers, when I have the luxury of a lever switch. Note, in this diagram that each mode is a vertical configuration, indicated by the colored blocks. And any mode can be slid left or right to get whatever sequence you desire. And any mode can be duplicated. Note that in the diagram I made for the OP, the first two positions on the neck are both "off." And, when a pup is "off", black & white are shorted together, and red & green are shorted together. But slug and screw coils aren't connected. It's the quietest humbucker wiring you can have.
In a "normal wiring scheme, when a pup is off, one side is still connected to ground, with the "hot" side unterminated. If you're someone who moves around a lot on stage, and have a really long cable, your guitar isn't actually at ground potential. You can still pick up noise. With this wiring technique, you can't. All coils that are "off", are shorted out. In any mode.
And, it makes wiring a Superswitch super easy once you get used to the technique.
Hey Artie,
I thought you might get a kick out of this.
Since i needed to rig up a rotary switch that would allow me to demo all four humbucke of a Prails pup that I will be installing in the bridge of an HSS Strat, I figured this was a good opportunity to start getting acquainted w how to implement your ideas for ensuring that there are no "potential noise making, hanging connections" per what you shared in the reply above. Even though my project doesn't really need to be noise-free because i would never leave this rotary switch permanantly installed - its just for short term demo purposes - i decided to implement it here, again just to get myself acquainted w how to actually implement your techniques.
So attached is the result. Let me know what you think.
Since the rotary is a 6 way, i had 2 other switch positions to do something with. Since i am interested in seeing how one of the Prail coils sounds in series with either the middle sc in the strat, or even the minor coil of a stack design, i decided to make positions 5 and 6 "in series" combos with any pup i choose to hook up to the rotary. Where Position 5 gives me Pup 1's slug coil/black-white wire coil plus that 2nd pup, and Position 6 gives me Pup 1's screw coil/red-green wires coil plus that 2nd pup.
I hope by end of the weekend I will have been able to wire up this rotary and have installed and demo'd it in my guitar.
Thanks again for sharing that noise-prevention idea, Artie!
Attachments
You're welcome, welcome, welcome.
Hey, got it wired up, and it works like a charm. So thanks again.
CC Bridge, Jazz Neck
Additionally, I wasn't clear enough about position 4, where I wanted the bridge coils in series with the neck coils in parallel. But your explanations were so clear, that I was able to figure out how to do that myself. Kudos again!
OK, now a problem.
Getting hum in position 3 (Both pickups)
Position 2 shorted out (Bridge in Parallel).
I think that my soldering job is sloppy. The wiring I have to connect things is too thick.
What gauge wire do you like to solder, and where can I get it (now that Radio Shack no longer has stores).
Thanks....
Getting hum in position 3 (Both pickups)
Position 2 shorted out (Bridge in Parallel).
I think that my soldering job is sloppy. The wiring I have to connect things is too thick.
What gauge wire do you like to solder, and where can I get it (now that Radio Shack no longer has stores).
Thanks....
Artie
Peaveyologist
I try to use something between 20 - 24 gauge. But, I also have boxes and boxes of wire from all my years dealing in electronics. Old computer cables, like parallel and printer cables are good. You strip the outer sheath off and use the smaller wire inside. For small quantities, GuitarElectronics has some nice wire.
I'll look over your wiring scheme again and see if I see anything wrong.
I'll look over your wiring scheme again and see if I see anything wrong.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
If you did the wiring seen in the rotary switch drawing, it will always have some hum in positions 3-6 because it's either 1 coil or combining 1 coil of one pickup with the other humbucking pickup, rather than combining two humbucking pickups. As soon as you split a humbucking pickup to one coil, you lose the humbucking and introduce single coil noise. It requires an even number of coils at all times to maintain the humbucking.
Jack_TriPpEr
New member
That is correct about 60 cycle noise being present in positions that feature just one coil or an uneven number of coils. However, that same issue also exists in the diagram Artie provided, in the "slug coil only" and "screw coil only" positions. So it is not an issue just in the rotary diagram.
So just to clarify the intent of Artie's diagram, it was NOT seeking to prevent noise from 60 cycle hum. That is unavoidable with lone coils and combinations that have an uneven number of coils, as i wrote a couple sentences back. Instead, Artie's diagram's target was to eliminate RFI noise due hanging wires acting as antennae. There are 2 different types of potential noise in a guitar circuit, and each has different causes and handlings.
Last edited:
I used a 5 way super switch, using Artie's original diagram.
I suspect sloppy soldering.
If you look at the original request, and from Artie's original wiring scheme to meet that request, there are no "lone" coils in the wiring schema.
I hate noise, so I would never have requested that in the first place.
Jack_TriPpEr
New member
When i said "Artie's diagram", i was not referring to the one he did for you.
I was referring to the example one that he posted of a 2 pole switch that showed the 4 ways of how a single humbucker pickup could be configured. Reattached here for quick convenience. What is unique about that diagram, is HOW artie goes about making the connections. He does each in a way to ensure that none of the humbuckers 4 wires are left unterminated. His purpose for doing that was to eliminate potential RFI noise.
Attachments
Understood. Excellent clarification - thank you.
Jack_TriPpEr
New member
If the problems remain after you re-do some of the soldering, post some pics of the wiring inside the cavity and we'll try to troubleshoot and help.
Artie
Peaveyologist
Yup. :bigthumb:
Thanks!
Sambuccashake
New member
Hello!
I’ve been trying to decipher a few superswitch diagrams but I still haven’t broken the code and don’t really have the patterns down (Somewhat flabbergasted that so different wirings can give so similar results) and was equally flabbergasted when I saw your very symmetric ”jumper layout” with its unique and silent shorting properties so I figured I had to register and say “wow” and also ask for your help.
My guitar:
2 HB (4 conductor)
59 Neck
Custom custom Bridge
1 Vol
1 Tone
5-way super-switch
From my point of view, I can’t think of two more usable layouts for the dual humbucker superswitch setup.
1) Neck Series
2) Neck Parallell
3) Neck+Bridge (Inside coils series- original schema had neck bridge in series here but I think this will be more useful)
4) Bridge/Neck (Inside coils Parallell)
5) Bridge Series
1) Neck Series
2) Bridge/Neck (Inside coils Parallell)
3) Neck+Bridge series (Inside coils series)
4) Bridge/Neck (Outside coils Parallell)
5) Bridge Series
@artieToo Can you please help me (and I believe a great many others who need more than the standard options) show how you would accomplish the below using that jumper/shorting approach you describe here in the thread?
I will treasure it dearly and store it offline for posterity.
Cheers and thanks in advance!
//best regards Jens
I’ve been trying to decipher a few superswitch diagrams but I still haven’t broken the code and don’t really have the patterns down (Somewhat flabbergasted that so different wirings can give so similar results) and was equally flabbergasted when I saw your very symmetric ”jumper layout” with its unique and silent shorting properties so I figured I had to register and say “wow” and also ask for your help.
My guitar:
2 HB (4 conductor)
59 Neck
Custom custom Bridge
1 Vol
1 Tone
5-way super-switch
From my point of view, I can’t think of two more usable layouts for the dual humbucker superswitch setup.
1) Neck Series
2) Neck Parallell
3) Neck+Bridge (Inside coils series- original schema had neck bridge in series here but I think this will be more useful)
4) Bridge/Neck (Inside coils Parallell)
5) Bridge Series
1) Neck Series
2) Bridge/Neck (Inside coils Parallell)
3) Neck+Bridge series (Inside coils series)
4) Bridge/Neck (Outside coils Parallell)
5) Bridge Series
@artieToo Can you please help me (and I believe a great many others who need more than the standard options) show how you would accomplish the below using that jumper/shorting approach you describe here in the thread?
I will treasure it dearly and store it offline for posterity.
Cheers and thanks in advance!
//best regards Jens
Last edited:
Artie
Peaveyologist
Sure. And welcome to the forum. Just give me a little time.
Are you comfortable doing a mag flip? If you don't, then inside and/or outside coil pairs won't be hum cancelling. This can also be remedied by doing neck-side or bridge-side coils instead. But both are do-able, if you don't mind the mag flip. (Which is pretty easy.)
Sambuccashake
New member
:yourock:Sure. And welcome to the forum. Just give me a little time.
Are you comfortable doing a mag flip? If you don't, then inside and/or outside coil pairs won't be hum cancelling. This can also be remedied by doing neck-side or bridge-side coils instead. But both are do-able, if you don't mind the mag flip. (Which is pretty easy.)
The mag flip actually sounds doable (I will examine some discarded humbuckers first to get a feel for the procedure) but I think I would like to have a go at the wiring sans the flip to begin with.
Recently I find myself spending more and more time on or "around" the neck pickup and really enjoy the different flavors to be had there.
Is it perhaps possible to manage a neck coil split as well?
1) Neck Series
2) Neck Parallell
3) Neck coil split
4) "Something parallell" (I can live with alternate coil selections, no problem)
5) Bridge Series
PS. Aside from Bridge and Neck series in outer position, the rest can go wherever on 2, 3 and 4 if that simplifies anything.
Super grateful!
//best regards Jens
Artie
Peaveyologist
No prob. Using my Superswitch wiring technique, it doesn't matter what goes where. They are all equally as simple.
Similar threads
