DiMarzio Multibucker with Two Switches

[blank]

I have a DiMarzio Multibucker that I want to wire up to two switches, a mini switch and push/pull pot. I have tried it with a 3-way on/on/on but found selecting a particular setting onstage difficult with that little switch. Since I use the Fast Track 1 the least, I thought I could have the mini-switch go from full (both PUs in series) to single. When in single the push/pull could select either the Chopper coil (default) or Fast Track 1 when pulled up.

Diagram would be nice. I can't read schematics

Here is the on/on/on DiMarzio diagram: dnsmp.com/images/multibucker.GIF

[wolf]

Hi Blank,
Well, since no one has answered you so far, I guess I'll try to help.

I'm a big fan of DiMarzio pickups but I'm unfamiliar with their multibucker. (Thanks for posting that link, otherwise your question would have been even more difficult). I'm guessing a multibucker is a humbucker but with 2 coils that are sonically different. In this case I'm guessing the 2 coils are the Chopper and the Fast Track 1.

Is there another diagram showing the 4 wires coming out of the humbucker which indicates the wire colors for the "Chopper" coil and the "Fast Track 1" coil? (I could make a guess and figure that out from that diagram but an explanation of the color codes for each pickup would make it much easier and less prone to a wiring mistake).

[ChrisK]

Actually, the Multibucker has two single coil-sized dual coil blade humbuckers. Four coils in total.

I have one (somewhere) that I'd converted to 8 wire leads. This was easy since the structure/wire form for it is a PCB.

I was way too busy to respond yesterday about this, but I thought about it a tad.

In essence, blank wants the mini toggle to switch from single coil to series humbucker and the push pull pot to switch between either single coil-sized humbucker (which appear as a two wire pickup) when the single coil mode is selected.

This is straightforward, but I won't have time to do a diagram for a day or two. The push pull DPDT selects which of the two pickups (that are wired in series) is presented to the DPDT mini toggle as one of its choices, the other choice being the whole dual pickup series structure.

A Top of series pickup stack
B Centertap between pickups
C Bottom of series pickup stack

PP Pot selects either;
A, B

or

B, C

which is presented to mini toggle which selects either;
PP Pot selection
(A, B

or

B, C)

or

A, C

[wolf]

ChrisK
Well, obviously you are much better informed and knowledgeable about this than I am.

Before I answered Blank's question, I tried to search DiMarzio's website and couldn't even find the DiMarzio Multibucker on the entire site. I couldn't find wiring diagrams for any pickup either. Basically, their website is now a bunch of pdf's - something I really hate. It is difficult to navigate through it and I think there is a LOT of information missing from it.

[blank]

One of the Chopper wires is green, i know that. I have that going to an on/on mini toggle now. But I only have it set up for either Chopper or fast Track 1. If memory serves me, that (green) would be the Start of that coil and white would be the Finish. So, FT1 would be red & black.

This pickup is discontinued, that's probably why you don't see anything on DiMarzios site about it. (wolf). I was surprised they don't make it anymore.

a diagram would be great, ChrisK, thanks.

[ChrisK]

I know that it's been discontinued.

I really do have one somewhere!

I even have whatever documentation came with it.

It might even be in this house. I'll take a quick look and see if I can find it. NOPE.


OK. Whatever DiMarzio's standard wiring is will apply.

a' la DiMarzio's site (with my comments):
For normal series-humbucking wiring, solder the black and white (the series "center-tap" that I named "B") wires to each other and insulate that connection with tape. The red wire (that I named "A") is the hot output and the green (that I named "C") and bare wires go to ground, usually by soldering them to the back of a pot. If the pickup sounds "out-of-phase" when played with other pickups, use the green as hot and connect the red and bare to ground.

guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=reference&action=display&thread=1183169692

Measure the resistance of either pickup within the multibucker. The Chopper will have a larger resistance (9K19) than the Fast Track 1 (5K72). Now you know which pickup goes to which two wires.

Based on the DiMarzio spiel, you know how to wire them in series (red hot [A], black and white center tap [B], and green [C] (and bare) to ground).

Now, I don't yet know which pickup goes to which pair of wires.

Do You have a multimeter? Still a valid question!



!HOT Dang, cold dang, whatever.

I found a worksheet that I had used to plot out my future misadventures when I converted the Multi-bucker to 8 wire. It shows the wiring info.



I also found a copy of Duncan's wiring info.

[blank]

I do have a multimeter. Crazy, looks like I'll have some work to do on this. Thanks.

[ChrisK]

Or not.

The complicated way avoiding shorted coils (pickups). You had a bunch of poles, so I used them all.


The easy way shorting coils (pickups).



There's probably some middle ground somewhere, but remember, compromise is a three-way street.