Adding Bridge Pickup Switch

[cem]

Hi guys. Hope you are all doing well.



I have an hss strat that i really enjoy playing. I decided to spend the big bucks and buy an illitch silent single coil system for this guitar.



I also want to make a slight change regarding the wiring. I have a mini switch on the guitar which adds the neck pickup to all the positions. I want to change the wiring so that the switch would add the bridge pickup instead of the neck. This way, when the switch is on, in the 5th position(Neck+Bridge) the system is going to eliminate the hum. And i think this would be more useful for my needs because this makes it easier to access the humbucker when the switch is on.



I talked to my guitar tech about this and he said he didn't know how to do it. He said adding the bridge would introduce hum to the signal when i am touching the pickup. And since bridge pickup comes in to contact with my picking hand at all times, adding the neck instead is always a better idea.



Is there a way to prevent this from happening? Hopefully I was clear enough.



Thanks in advance.

[sumgai]

cem,


I'm too old to judge, but if my feet were put to the fire, I'd have to say that your guitar tech may be fine with wood, even good with wood, but he or she is not up to speed on things electrical (or magnetic).

Of course you can swap the "Neck-On" jumper wire over to the Bridge pup, making that switch a "Bridge-On" instead. The fact it's a humbucker has no bearing on the topic.

And since you've stated that your picking hand is always touching that Bridge pickup, I have to wonder.... if you're not getting hum now (from touching it), then how is it becoming a Bridge-On going to suddenly make it start humming?  

Now, as to this magic "big bucks illitch silent single coil system".... have you checked out this thread: Dummy Coil Experiment - Successful?  Just thought I'd mention it, in case you've not seen it ere now.

HTH





sumgai

[cem]

Hey sumgai thanks for the reply:)

I'm too old to judge, but if my feet were put to the fire, I'd have to say that your guitar tech may be fine with wood, even good with wood, but he or she is not up to speed on things electrical (or magnetic).

He is a purist so he is not very good with complicated wiring stuff. But he has proved countless times that he knows what he is talking about regarding wood, pickups, amps etc. and he is a good friend.

Now, as to this magic "big bucks illitch silent single coil system".... have you checked out this thread: Dummy Coil Experiment - Successful? Just thought I'd mention it, in case you've not seen it ere now.

Oh yes i have read this a long time ago. I'm aware of the fact that there are cheaper alternatives like dummy coils but i feel like that is going to be more time consuming and it is going to require a lot of trial and error. Plus, i like this guitar so much that it's like my baby. It deserves the best 

Regarding the wiring, this is such a wierd problem that i thought you guys would be able to pinpoint what my tech was doing wrong right away but i guess that is not the case.

He says that the way it is now is also not right. What i mean by that is, when i add the neck pup in the 1st position, he says it would hum if i touch the neck pickup. So doing the opposite would do the same thing and cause the bridge pickup to hum when i am toucing it. The funny thing is i tried to make it hum by touching the neck pickup and couldn't hear any hum lol

I have found a seymour duncan wiring diagram that does what i want. The only difference is that it is for an sss strat. Since you have stated that the bridge pickup being a humbucker wouldn't make a difference, i think this might solve the problem and make him realise what he is doing wrong.

I will get back to you if this doesn't help him. Take care.

[cem]

Hey guys. 

I tried to find a different way but I'm going to have to go with a bridge-on switch. That is the only way to make it so that all combinations will be hum free.

As a side note I forgot to tell you that this guitar has a 500k pot for volume but the single coils see It as a 250k with the help of a resistor. And also bridge tone pot is a 500k one. Maybe this is why he struggles with the wiring?

Can anyone provide me with a simple diagram that has a bridge-on switch?

I am using a regular 5 way selector, 500k volume, 250k tone and 500k tone pot for bridge. And as I said It should have a resistor for the single coils to see 250k for the volume pot. Single coils will be connected to 250k tone pot. 2nd position should be connected to the 500k tone pot. And a bridge on switch.

I also have a question. When the switch is on in the 5th position, I'm guessing the tone pot will be connected to neck tone pot. Am I right? Is there a way for me to be able to use the 500k tone pot for every position when the switch is on? If so I would like It that way.

Thanks in advance.