Yes, you could do that. You'd definitely have to wire the volume pots as you've shown in your first wiring diagram (except with the order reversed) so that the pickup output wire goes to the middle tab/lug (the wiper), and the pot output comes from the end lug, rather than the more common wiring (for most guitars) where the pickup output wire goes to the end lug, and the pot output comes from the middle lug.
Otherwise you'll kill all the selected pickups output when one volume pot is turned down as the common output will be taken to ground through it.
Last edited by Simon Barden; 12-11-2020 at 04:57 PM.
It's taken a little longer than planned, sorry, but as promised here a some layouts for you. Hopefully the layouts are clear enough and I haven't messed anything up too much. DiMarzio wiring colours for the pickups. All diagrams have the Series/Split/Parallel mini-toggles with the Neck splitting to North coil and the other pickups splitting to South coil.
Note: The layouts below use the 'Type 2' version of the On/On/On mini-toggle. If you have the 'Type 1' version then you will need to mirror the connections on the switches ie. left->right, right->left (as shown on this diagram).
Layout 1 uses a standard import 3-way toggle with the concentric pots. The neck and middle volumes are linked so the 3-way gives:
1. Neck + Middle (turn down the other volume for Neck only or Middle only).
2. All pickups.
3. Bridge only.
The Bridge can have a treble bleed as it's not linked to another volume and allows you to mute the guitar by turning down the Bridge volume when in the 'All' position.
Layout 2 uses two 3-way toggles which allows all pickup combinations to be switched, as such the volumes can all be wired with treble bleeds. Zeroing the volume of any selected pickup will mute the guitar, just like on an LP.
Layout 3 uses the huge Switchcraft 12015X right-angle toggle switch to give you the Neck/All/Bridge configuration. Because all the pickups are connected in the 'All' position you need to zero a volume to get the Neck/Middle or Bridge/Middle combinations, therefore you can't have treble bleeds on this layout. Note: it's a REALLY big switch.
Layout 4 is a little different. It gives up individual tone controls in favour of a master tone and uses two push/pull pots. The Bridge and Neck volumes are on a concentric pot with treble bleeds for each, the Middle volume is a push/pull which also has a treble bleed. The master tone is another push/pull. The 3-way toggle selects the traditional Bridge/Bridge + Neck/Neck. The Middle volume push/pull adds the Middle pickup into the output when 'down' and disconnects it when 'up'. The master tone push/pull acts as a sort of override, when 'up' it disconnects the other pickups and gives the Middle pickup only, regardless of the settings of the other push/pull or toggle switch.
Hopefully one of the above will work for you. If you have any questions or want another variation or change, just ask.
I went for the first diagram. As I am totally unexperienced in soldering, it was hard, no need to tell you.
It's not perfect yet, not all options work, so in need to check some connections. Also, it buzzes like a fridge (T. Yorke) so the ground isn't connected somewhere.
But I wanted to let you know that i'm getting there.
When it's all finished, i'll post some soundscapes. Here a picture of my struggle and the guitar itself, which I didn't show yet.
(the 'electronics guard' will be the same colour as the rest of the guitar in a few weeks, this is just a placeholder)
I'm still encountering 2 problems:
1. The toggle switch in mid position should give ALL PU's but it gives: nothing/. I'll try resoldering it
2. Mid PU and neck PU have significatly less output than the bridge one. Could this be a ground problem?
1) If you get sound with the switch up and down but not in the middle, then it’s not soldering, it’s a faulty switch (I did say they were poor and very liable to fail). Just make sure you have the bridge volume control turned up, as the way it’s wired, having it turned all the way down will kill the sound of the other pickups.
If you have a multimeter, putting the meter between the toggle switch output connection and ground with the switch in the bridge position should give a reading of between roughly 7k-10k in the bridge position and roughly half that in the neck + middle pickup position. If you get that, then with the switch in mid-position and all volumes and tones up fully, you should get a reading of somewhere between 2k and 3.5k ohms as you have all three pickups connected in parallel. Open circuit or short circuit then indicates a definite switch problem.
2) Unlikely to be a ground problem. You have the two pickups wired in parallel, and that will always give less output than one pickup on its own. Because the two pickups are next to each other, the tonal difference between the pickups is less than you’d get between the neck and bridge pickup wired in parallel, so you’ll get more phase cancellations than neck+bridge and a thinner sound. Try turning the neck pickup down and you should find the middle pickup sounds louder. Same with the neck pickup when turning the middle pickup down.
The bridge pickup is normally wound a lot hotter than a neck pickup to compensate for the lower amplitude of string movement near the bridge. Normally between an extra 0.5k and 1k on the DCR reading for a balanced set of pickups. But if it’s wound a lot hotter, then it will sound louder. Mix that against two pickups in parallel and you could get quite a difference in output.
Looking at the picture of your guitar, the bridge pickup is a lot further from the bridge than is normal. It normally sits between 2-2.5cm away. With it further away, the string amplitude is greater, so add that to a hotter pickup and the extra output could be very noticeable.
So it’s worth adjusting the pickup heights to try and compensate, dropping the bridge down and moving the neck and middle ones up.
Last edited by Simon Barden; 24-11-2020 at 03:31 PM.
Thanks once again. I adjusted the height of the PU's and that seems to solve the problem of difference in output.
The first problem (mid position not working) was indeed as you said: volume of bridge should be open.
I'm still encountering some issues though.
1/When turning the volume of the neck PU up, the bridge PU sounds louder and vica verse
And some other weird things: turning bridge all the way up and neck all the way up: i hear no sound, turning bridge a little bit down, there is sound
I used braided shield wire to connect the pots to the toggle ( https://www.gitaarupgrade.nl/webshop...son-style.html) Was that stupid?
would that cause this problem?
2/ I have the feeling serial/split/paralel isn't working on all pu's. Where would I have to hold my multimeter to see if it's working as planned?
On 1), it's impossible to say without having it in front of me for inspection. I'd disconnect the link from middle pickup volume to the neck pickup volume so that you only have the neck and bridge connected (the middle pickup's ground can stay connected). That will make it easier to test the operation and check for possible wiring mistakes and cross-overs.
On 2), it's hard to tell with a multimeter as the resistances for split and parallel will be almost identical. It is easier to tap the metal pole-pieces on each coil in the selected pickup with a screwdriver.
In humbucking mode, the output will be higher and tapping will give a loud click from both coils. In parallel mode, the overall output will be quieter with more treble and again, tapping will give a loud click from both coils. In single coil mode, the output should probably be quietest, and you'll get a loud click from the working coil, but a much softer one from hitting the grounded coil (which is the live coil making a sound through mechanical transmission of the vibrations)
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