Wiring Help?

TwelveGauge-GT

TwelveGauge-GT

New member
I'm redoing the wiring in one of my strats and would like some help.
The guitar is single, single with a hot rails in the bridge.

Here's what I want from the selector switch:
1: Full bridge
2: Bridge and middle
3: Middle
4: Neck and middle
5: Neck.
I think this is pretty standard?

I want a master volume and a master tone. In place of the middle pot, I want a 2-way switch to split the bridge pickup.:eek1:

Is this possible?
If so, can anyone help with a diagram or explanation??
 
Re: Wiring Help?

Yes it's possible. Start with this diagram for the basic HSS Strat layout with one volume and one tone:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/schematics/1h_2s_1v_1t_5w_as.html

You can use two types of switch: an on-on SPDT, or an on-on DPDT. The SPDT will have lugs like this:

1
2
3

The DPDT will have lugs like this:

1 4
2 5
3 6

In either case, you will want to connect #1 to ground, and #2 to the switch lug where the red and white wires from the Hot Rails are connected.

Hope that helps!
 
Re: Wiring Help?

TwelveGauge-GT said:
Wow, thanks! Didn't think it would be that easy.
By ground, you mean the solder lump on the volume pot or..?
Click to expand...

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Ground on a guitar is whatever gets connected to the sleeve lug on the jack. Common practice is to connect all ground points to the back of the volume/tone pots and connect one of them to the sleeve.
 
Re: Wiring Help?

Cool, yeah thanks. That's what I thought.

Just for future referance, how would I turn that switch into one that turns the full bridge pickup on at any time?
 
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Re: Wiring Help?

You won't be able to do that easily and have the split on position 2 at the same time. I would recommend using the switch to engage the neck pickup at all times - that would be much simpler and still give you the pickup combinations you want.

To do that, disconnect the wires you have hooked up to the on-on switch. Connect #2 to the pickup switch lug that has the neck white on it. Connect #1 to the left lug (the one hooked to the tone pot and pickup switch) on the volume pot.
 
Re: Wiring Help?

Oh...
I wanted it so i could do a hendrixy vibe on the neck pickup and then quickly switch the Hot Rails on for some heavy riffage (haha). Forget about the split switch is there no easy way to do it?
Thanks anyway.
 
Re: Wiring Help?

You can still do that with what I described. You would set your pickup selector to the neck, and have the neck-on switch on as well. When you flip the pickup selector to the bridge, you will get neck and bridge together.

You could also try what is commonly called the Hendrix mod:
pickup switch is three-way (like a Tele), and goes neck/neck and bridge/bridge
knob 1: master vol
knob 2: master tone
knob 3: middle pickup blend-in

This allows you to do the neck + bridge thing, and you can also get some really cool tones by blending in the middle pickup on any pickup switch position. The drawback is that you don't get the middle pickup on its own, but a lot of people never use that position anyway.

I can make a diagram for this if you're interested.
 
Re: Wiring Help?

TwelveGauge-GT said:
So, is there no way of incorporating the hotrails and toggle-switch into this or this?
Click to expand...

Yes, but I'm not sure what you're asking. Just follow either of those two diagrams, and you'll have that wiring. In the first one, you'ld use the center terminal of the push-pull and the terminal right above it. (Closest to the pot body.) Lugs 1 & 2 of ratherdashing's post.
 
Re: Wiring Help?

Great thanks, so if I use this wiring I will get this switching:
1: Full bridge
2: Bridge and middle
3: Middle
4: Neck and middle
5: Neck.
?
My hot rails is four conductor, so where would each coloured wire go in that diagram?
 
Re: Wiring Help?

Just wire the Hotrails as normal:

Green and bare to ground.
Red and white together, and taped off.
Black to the 5-way.

Note that the switch doesn't actually connect to the Hotrails per se. It goes between the 5-way and the volume pot. Although, the place it connects on the 5-way is the same as the Hotrails black.

Make sense? :)
 
Re: Wiring Help?

Aha. Great! Thanks a lot. :fing2:

It'll be the first wiring I've actually done myself so sorry I was a bit clueless :fingersx:.

:notworthy:

The only other thing is that the other 2 pickups are squier ones, so will i have to reverse the green and black wires on the hot rails?
 
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