HSS Wiring with dual 250K/500K Vol Pot + 2 separate tone

[0etzi1977]

Hi! I've recently purchased an HSS set: Neck-single Middle-single Bridge-4 wire humbucker

Now I have to wire it all and I was thinking about this config:

Global volume using Dual 250K(neck/middle)-500K(BridgeHumbucker) fender pot

Neck+Middle Tone using one 250K CTS Pot Log

Bridge Tone using 500K Pot Log Push/Push for Bridge Coil Split.

5 way Fender Blade switch.

Is it a clean wiring possible with that config or do I need Megaswitch (the one with two separate contacts wafer)? I'm a little bit confused about the correct wire routing... Does anyone know a wiring scheme for that config? I don't think it's so unusual.

My doubt is mainly about keeping the bridge and neck/middle controls separated, do I need to solder the input wires from the pickups directly on the volume lugs and adjust the wiring accordingly to it, or there is a way to mantain the "output" mixed pickups signal from the switch to the volume but... in this case how can I separate Bridge signal from Neck/Middle? I don't think it's possible, right?

Thanks in advance!

[newey]

My doubt is mainly about keeping the bridge and neck/middle controls separated, do I need to solder the input wires from the pickups directly on the volume lugs and adjust the wiring accordingly to it, or there is a way to mantain the "output" mixed pickups signal from the switch to the volume but... in this case how can I separate Bridge signal from Neck/Middle? I don't think it's possible, right?

Correct, more or less. You would not need a Superswitch to do this, a regular 5-way switch would suffice. The bridge's Vol (one-half of the dual-gang pot) would get wired directly after the pickup, before the 5-way switch. The bridge tone is then wired off the bridge's vol pot in the standard fashion. The separate N/M tone (other half of the dual-gang) and N/M tone would be wired off of lugs 2 and 3 on the 5-way, where the Strat's tone controls are usually wired per a std. Fender Strat wiring- goes to V pot first, N/M tone is then wired off the N/M vol pot.

The downside of this scheme is that, in the 2nd position of the 5-way (B + M) you'll effectively have 4 pots in the circuit- both halves of the Vol, and both tone controls. On a regular Strat, the most you ever have is 3 pots at once, in position 4 (N + M). Having a 4th can dull the tone. Making one (or both) of the tone pots a"no-load" pt would alleviate that issue.

[reTrEaD]

Oct 17, 2023 10:23:21 GMT -5 0etzi1977 said:

Is it a clean wiring possible with that config or do I need Megaswitch (the one with two separate contacts wafer)? I'm a little bit confused about the correct wire routing... Does anyone know a wiring scheme for that config? I don't think it's so unusual.

My doubt is mainly about keeping the bridge and neck/middle controls separated, do I need to solder the input wires from the pickups directly on the volume lugs and adjust the wiring accordingly to it, or there is a way to mantain the "output" mixed pickups signal from the switch to the volume but... in this case how can I separate Bridge signal from Neck/Middle? I don't think it's possible, right?

You would definitely want to use a 4P5T (either a superswitch or a Schaller Megaswitch M), else you'll face problems that can't be avoided.

Also, using a separate push-pull to split the HB is clumsy.  Having the HB split in the Bridge-only position sounds pretty awful and having the full HB in the Bridge + Middle position is not particularly useful.  Better, I think, to have the #2 position (Bridge + Middle) autosplit the HB.

The dual-gang volume pot is overkill. Adds complexity and not much bang for the buck. A bridge HB with a 250k volume pot sounds just fine. I'd use a regular 250k master volume and call it a day.

With a 4P5T, one pole can be dedicated to selecting which one (and only one) tone pot is selected in each position of the selector switch.

[0etzi1977]

"Having the HB split in the Bridge-only position sounds pretty awful and having the full HB in the Bridge + Middle position is not particularly useful."



Respect for your tastes, but I don't find the hb split bridge only awful and Bridge + Mid Position unuseful... for me just tasted good, 


What about this config? I've used a normal 5-pos switch



the small switch should add the Bridge pickup in neck position