Peter Frampton 3-pickup wiring ... PLEASE HELP!

[dajosguitars]

If anyone knows how the Peter Frampton Les Paul is wired and can explain it to me or send a picture, you'll be my hero.

I'm wiring a 3-pickup Les Paul. I want the neck and bridge pickups to function normally with the 3-way switch, and share one volume and one tone pot. I want the middle pickup to have it's own volume and tone pot, and be able to blend in with either of the other two as selected with the standard 3-way switch. I've drawn out how this should work, but the tone controls are working together for all of the pickups, even though they are not connected except at the hot lug of the output jack.

ANY help with be appreciated...Thanks.

[UnklMickey]

If you connect the tone controls at the output jack, they should work for all 3 pickups, or any combination of them. I can't see why you would want to do this.

I don't know of the specifics of the wiring in the Peter Frampton model. Perhaps it's the same as one of these:

www.gibson.com/Files/schematics/nithawk2.gif

www.gibson.com/Files/schematics/lpafwiring.gif

www.gibson.com/Files/schematics/solid.gif

please note that they all require a special selector that is NOT the same as the standard LP switch.

Having a special 3-way selector for 3 pickups is not a very good idea, IMHO.

I think it better to use 2 standard 3-ways to get 7 possible combos. I expect this topic to come up again, for some reason.

[dajosguitars]

Okay...I wasn't clear enough. The tone controls are not actually physically connected at the output jack. What I meant was that I have two separate wiring setups, one for the neck and bridge pickups, and one for the middle pickup. Each has it's own volume and tone. The only place where the two setups meet (other than being grounded, that is) is at the hot lug of the output jack. My problem is that the tone controls are combining... That is, when I turn the tone up for the middle pickup, it gets bright, when I turn the tone for the neck/bridge pickups up (even when their volume is off) the middle pickup gets even brighter.

It is my understanding that the Frampton Signature Les Paul uses a standard 3-way switch.

[ChrisK]

It is my understanding that the Frampton Signature Les Paul uses a standard 3-way switch.

I don't know for sure, but this might help:
askzac.com/blog/?p=23

Sounds like what you're trying to do.

It also sounds like you have the tone controls on the wrong side of the volume pots. In essence, they are wired in parallel.

Try wiring the tone control directly across the pickup (middle) or the output of the three way selector (neck and bridge) before each circuit is wired to its respective volume pot. In other words, if one volume pot is turned down, the respective tone control has less of an effect.

Now, if you wire the wipers of both volume pots together to the output jack, when one volume is turned all the way down, it will affect the other circuit as well (a short to ground is a short to ground). You might want to try the reverse LP volume pot wiring. The same terminal on each is still connected to ground, but the input end terminal and wiper are switched around. For the middle pickup, connect the hot lead to the wiper on the respective volume pot, and connect the former input end terminal to the output jack. Do a similar thing for the neck/bridge circuit. (You actually may be doing this already.)

[dajosguitars]

Thanks for the advice...

I ended up calling Gibson and they emailed me the schematic. I changed it around a little, but I'm happy with the results.