Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

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dren68
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Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by dren68 » Mon Jul 30, 2018 5:49 am

I remember reading a while back that Oliver Ackerman wired his lipstick pickups straight to the output jack, and since then I've been wanting to try this. I'd still like a way to select each pickup and turn them on/off, though, so I was thinking some sort of pushbutton switches might work. I found these on ebay (photos below). Do you think these switches would work?

Also, I have no idea how exactly to wire these, and since this is kind of unconventional, there are no schematics for something like this. Does anyone have any idea how it should be wired? I'm assuming it's not too complicated, but I have zero experience with this sort of thing, so I'm hoping someone might be able to help.

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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by Gordon » Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:18 am

Assuming they're not momentary, they're just on/off switches. Connect the lead of your pickup to one lug, the jack to the other. One push and the lugs connect, one push and they don't. Simple.
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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by dren68 » Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:27 am

Gordon wrote:
Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:18 am
Assuming they're not momentary, they're just on/off switches. Connect the lead of your pickup to one lug, the jack to the other. One push and the lugs connect, one push and they don't. Simple.
Cool! I figured it would be pretty easy. Yeah, the switches are latching, not momentary. Which wire is the lead of the pickup?

Also, one more thing I forgot to mention. I bought a set of 3 lipstick pickups, so the middle one is reverse wound. Should I use that one for a certain position or just use the neck/bridge combo? Will it make a difference when both are on?

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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by dobrojoe » Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:34 am

Haha. Way back in the early '60, I mad e my first 'Stratocaster' from scratch. There were no fancy switches available back then and I had to use two bedside light push buttons, much as you have here. It works fine for neck and bridge pickup and is even okay for two pickups in parallel BUT when you have no pickups selected, you have an open circuit - and an almighty hum.

Proper switches are easy to get hold of these days. To fit your existing holes, I would suggest a three-way rotary switch in one and a master volume in the other. You could get a no-load pot if you don't want the interference of the resistance. Or, you could use two no-load pots, one for each pickup which would allow either pickup to be 'full-on' and the other variable.

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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by dren68 » Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:10 am

dobrojoe wrote:
Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:34 am
Haha. Way back in the early '60, I mad e my first 'Stratocaster' from scratch. There were no fancy switches available back then and I had to use two bedside light push buttons, much as you have here. It works fine for neck and bridge pickup and is even okay for two pickups in parallel BUT when you have no pickups selected, you have an open circuit - and an almighty hum.

Proper switches are easy to get hold of these days. To fit your existing holes, I would suggest a three-way rotary switch in one and a master volume in the other. You could get a no-load pot if you don't want the interference of the resistance. Or, you could use two no-load pots, one for each pickup which would allow either pickup to be 'full-on' and the other variable.
Hmm... didn't realize that about the hum. I thought about doing the 2 volume pots/knobs, but one of the main appeals is the visual aspect of the switches and no knobs. That, and the fact that the switch would be easier to turn off/on as opposed to having to turn the volume all the way up/down. I guess I could always leave one pickup on to avoid the hum. The main purpose of the switches was to be able to have the option to select a pickup as opposed to turning both of them off, so it might not be that much of an issue.

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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by hpr_hpr » Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:09 pm

dren68 wrote:
Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:10 am
Hmm... didn't realize that about the hum. I thought about doing the 2 volume pots/knobs, but one of the main appeals is the visual aspect of the switches and no knobs. That, and the fact that the switch would be easier to turn off/on as opposed to having to turn the volume all the way up/down. I guess I could always leave one pickup on to avoid the hum. The main purpose of the switches was to be able to have the option to select a pickup as opposed to turning both of them off, so it might not be that much of an issue.
Not sure about the hum, the problem may not have been the switches but the lack of shielding on the cavities and or wires. A well shielded guitar cavity with all the pickups off should be dead quiet. The 'trick' is the well shielded and grounded cavities, using grounded shielded wire between the switches and the jack and keeping that length as short as possible. I have a tele with rail type hum buckers wired as Humbucker, off, single coil on two on/off/on switches and it's dead quiet (no hum) when both PUs are 'off'.
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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:57 pm

hpr_hpr wrote:
Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:09 pm
Not sure about the hum, the problem may not have been the switches but the lack of shielding on the cavities and or wires. A well shielded guitar cavity with all the pickups off should be dead quiet. The 'trick' is the well shielded and grounded cavities, using grounded shielded wire between the switches and the jack and keeping that length as short as possible. I have a tele with rail type hum buckers wired as Humbucker, off, single coil on two on/off/on switches and it's dead quiet (no hum) when both PUs are 'off'.
I was also just thinking that although Jaguars use DPDT switches for pickup switches, they are wired like a SPST (one wire from pickup, one wire out from switch). I could hum being an issue with this type of switching if both were off, but it shouldn't be too bad if it's properly grounded/shielded like you said.
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by Gordon » Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:31 pm

dren68 wrote:
Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:27 am
Which wire is the lead of the pickup?
That depends on the maker:

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dren68 wrote:
Mon Jul 30, 2018 6:27 am
Also, one more thing I forgot to mention. I bought a set of 3 lipstick pickups, so the middle one is reverse wound. Should I use that one for a certain position or just use the neck/bridge combo? Will it make a difference when both are on?
If you're using two pickups, use the RWRP for hum cancellation.
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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by dren68 » Tue Jul 31, 2018 4:02 am

Cool, thanks for all the help! I plan on shielding the cavities well, so that should help with any hum. I think I'll try it with the switches first, and if it turns out to be too noisy, I can always go with the no-load pots.

I got the pickups from Tricked Out Guitar, so I'm not sure about the leads, but hopefully it won't be too hard to figure it out. I'll try to post a picture of them later when I have a chance.

Oh, and good to know on the RWRP. Thanks! I'm assuming it would work in either position, right?

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Re: Unconventional wiring scheme - need help

Post by hpr_hpr » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:35 pm

dren68 wrote:
Tue Jul 31, 2018 4:02 am
Oh, and good to know on the RWRP. Thanks! I'm assuming it would work in either position, right?
If they are all identical in magnet & wind then yes it wouldn't matter were you put the RWRP.
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