Help with custom wiring

[gfxbss]

Hey guys, I assume this will be relatively simple for people who know more about wiring. This is the first mod that I have done so please be patient.

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 w/ DiMarzio Pickups. For those of you who aren't familiar w/ the Special 2, it has two humbuckers, a three way selector switch, one tone and one volume knob.

I decided that I don't want a tone knob any more, so rather than dealing w/ an extra hole in my instrument, I have decided to eliminate the three way switch and put in three ON/OFF switches in its place. IE: one switch to turn off bridge pickup, one to turn off neck pick up, and one to turn off both.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tyler

[flateric]

I hope you don't mind me saying this, but the idea is bordering on ludicrous. You want to simplify your instrument by removing the tone knob, you have made it even more complex with 3 separate switches. What was wrong with the single 3-way switch? What you propose to do with the switches introduces far more complex circuitry and operations. If I were you I'd rethink what you wish to achieve.
Your proposal of the third switch to 'turn off both' is redundant if you already have a separate 2-way switch for each.
If you don't want the tone and want to fill up the hole, you could convert your tone pot to a second vol pot, then you would have separate vol ctrl for each pickup, and be able to blend in as much as you wish of both when both pups are selected.

[gfxbss]

I understand, and no I don't mind you saying it. I just want my tone set at full, as this is how I nearly always use it anyways. I have trouble seeing what position I am in w/ the 3-way toggle. So that is why I am putting in individual switches. The reason I want the switch to turn off both, is because it is easier to toggle on and off very quickly. This brings a signature sound to sustained notes, and no need to buy a pedal to do so. I'm not a big fan of effects, the get too complicated, and are a pain w/ my wireless kit.

[guitarmole]

Hang on, I'm missing something here so clue me in if I am not catching on.

As stock:
one hole for tone pot
one hole for volume pot
one hole for a 3-way toggle switch.


You want to eliminate the tone pot, and want 3 on/off switches.

That means you:
don't need the tone pot
you don't need the 3-way toggle

That makes 2 spare holes. Where is the 3rd switch going to go? Eliminate the volume pot?


I just modified my own guitar which previously had a 5-way and H-S-H. It has individual on/off switches. I can assure you that you don't need a master on/off switch to control both pickups. However mine are arranged on the old 5-way switch slot (not a 3-way toggle hole) so I can turn all three pickups on or off with one finger if I needed to.

Adding a master on/off toggle could be trouble for a gig. You can turn on your pickup toggles to activate them and the sound will still be dead if the master toggle is off. With only individual on/off switches per pickup, a flip of any toggle is guaranteed to make a sound, even if it isn't the pickup you want (ie you turned on the neck instead of the bridge). That is much better than complete silence and a moment of panic.



Have you thought about replacing the stock pots with push/pulls so you get an additional DPDT funtion out of each of them rather than gutting a tone knob?

[gfxbss]

well, I went out and bought different switches today. I have decided to go w/ a mod shown here

I acctually drilled another hole in the body. I had all of this set up before, just I didnt have a volume knob, that drove me nuts. As far as the gigging situation, I have never had a problem w/ bumping the master switch. I enjoy the sound I get as an effect from turning it on and off very quickly.

I have considered getting the push/ pull pots, but have no clue how to even begin to wire them.

Thanks,

Tyler

[guitarmole]

Push/pull pots are like regular pots with the guts of a toggle switch glued on the bottom of it.

Like the image below...just think of it as two different entities in one neat package.

[UnklMickey]

hi Tyler,

first of all,

Welcome to GuitarNuts2.



i think i understand the gist of what you are trying to accomplish.

1 -- you want separate switches for each pickup, to select either or both, rather than having a single 3-way.

AND

2 -- you want another switch to select between whatever is selected and no sound. to be used as a special effect, quickly pulsing the sound as you toggle the switch back and forth.




assuming i got that part right, there a couple of considerations, you should take into account, as you decide how to implement this.


First, it would be a real annoyance, if you accidentally hit that extra switch.

that would turn off your sound, and it would STAY off, until you put the switch back in the on position.

so, where you place it, could be very important.



another way to implement this would be to use a push-button momentary switch or a spring return mini-toggle to kill the sound.

with a push-button momentary, is almost impossible to accidently kill the sound.

with a spring return, you might accidentally hit it, briefly shutting off the sound, but it automatically comes back on, as the spring returns the switch to the normal position.


in either of the above, pressing the switch KILLS the sound.


there is another option, that may be of interest.

if you connect a momentary, normally closed switch to the low end of your volume pot, this will allow you to go from a reduced volume (if the pot is turned down), to nearly full volume when the switch is pressed.

if the volume is at max, the switch won't do much of anything.


do any of those sound like what you are looking for?

[gfxbss]

well, I worked it all out just about 45 min ago. everything works perfectly with one exception. my volume pot will turn my sound down, but not all of the way off. do you know what would cause this/ how to fix it? also, I would be interested in the last momentary that you mentioned. the one that if I am at a reduced volume, I could go from full to partial sound.

thanks for all of your help guys.

Tyler

[UnklMickey]

if the volume control mostly, but not completely, turns the volume down, the pot itself is often the culprit.

if you look at the back cover of most pots, they have an indentation stamped into them.

far left of photo:



this is used to limit the rotation.

sometimes it doesn't line up properly, and the wiper can't rotate far enough counter-clockwise. (anticlockwise)

you could mess with how the rear cover is attached, to allow the wiper to go farther counter-clockwise, but it might be easier to get a new (better) pot.

also, if there is too much resistance from the low (ccw) end of the pot, to ground, that will also prevent the volume from going entirely to zero.

this could be caused by a poor solder joint, but a joint with that much resistance, would likely (but not certainly) be intermittent and noisy.


the momentary contact (normally closed) "blast button" i was talking about would be connected between the low end of the volume pot and ground.

when the volume control is rotated counter-clockwise to reduce the volume, there is a voltage division, caused by the ratio of the resistance from the wiper to ground, divided by the total resistance of the pot.

when the button is pressed, the resistance from wiper to ground becomes infinite.

since there is some resistance in series with the wiper, the volume in nearly, but not completely maximum.

you can get pushbutton switches from radio shack, but make sure they are normally closed. and if you use one that mounts in a 1/4" hole, it can be used in a location that was previously inhabited by a mini-toggle.


unk

[gfxbss]

well, the pot is a brand new gibson pot, i bought it on tuesday. ill rip it apart and swee what i can do...

[flateric]

Tut tut, Gibson buying cheap chinese components? Who would have thought it?

[gfxbss]

alright, what brand would you suggest to buy?