2 Way DPDT as Pickup Selector

[thed]

I have a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the neck position and a GFS VEH in the bridge position, both with 4 conductor wiring. I want to use a 2 position DPDT as my pickup selector. At this time, I do not want to split either pickup and I do not want both pickups active. I simply want to use a 2 way to select one or the other pickup. Do I wire it as if it were a 3 position as in this diagram? 

[newey]

thed-

Hello and Welcome to G-Nuts2!

The diagram you have posted from Warmoth is for a 3-position switch- a DPDT On-On-On switch, also called a DPDT "center on" switch. In the center position, it gives both pickups in parallel- it's essentially using a DPDT On-On-On as if it were a regular Gibson-style three-way toggle switch. Which is what you said you didn't want.

For myself, I'd like to have the option of both pickups together, even if it's not much used. But, you want what you want and we'll get you there. I suppose, depending on one's style of playing, being able to flick a 2-way switch between neck and bridge without the chance of it landing in the middle position might be useful.

If you buy a DPDT On-On switch, a regular two-position DPDT, and wire it as per the diagram, you'll have what you want. But you could simplify the wiring considerable from what the diagram shows. Consider that every extra solder joint is a potential point of failure, so minimizing redundant connections is always a good idea.

For what you want, you only need to use one-half of a DPDT on-on switch. In other words, this could be done with just a SPDT switch, if you haven't already purchased the switch.. If you have the DPDT already, center lug on one side (pick either side) is wired to output, just as the diagram shows both center lugs being wired. Neck + goes to the "lower" lug of that same side of the switch, bridge + goes to the "upper" lug. I put upper and lower in quotation marks since a toggle switch lever is in the opposite direction of the lugs connected. Of course, you can simply rotated the switch to get the toggle to point towards the neck pickup when in the neck position, and vice versa, presuming you leave enough slack in the wires to rotate the switch.

[thed]

Thank you, that answers my question. Yes, I already have a DPDT laying around from a coil splitter, and I don't care for the sound of the pickups combined. I simply want to switch between a neck and bridge pickup. 

Thanks so much for you help, now I know how these switches work.