80's hamer Hamer Chaparral rebuild wiring.

[rdunn]

Hi Folks,

I'm rescuing/rebuilding/refinishing a Hamer Chaparral. I'm replacing the pickups with a SD Trembucker at the bridge and the Middle and neck positions with 2 SD hot rails.

it has 1 Vol pot and 1 Tone pot and a 4 position blade switch.

it used to have single coil pickups in the mid and neck positions. I'm looking for a wiring diagram or advice on adding the 2 hot rails with the 4 position blade switch.

I've been finding diagrams that are close to what I'm after but have a 5 position blade switch instead of the 4 position that I have...

So first -
I don't know if a new 5 position blade switch would line up with the 4 position's holes for a replacement.

or can I wire it (and how) with the 4 position?

the guitar is this type of chaparral:
images57.fotki.com/v80/photos/3/865653/10091910/HamerChaparral1-vi.jpg

[rdunn]

Actually this is more like it (mine doesn't have any other switches then the blade tone and volume)

gradwohl.at/uploads/pics/chaparral1_01.jpg

[bluemurder]

I am not sure whether Hamer used a proprietary switch but I can confirm that the typical 4-way telecaster switch fits the same mounting holes than the 3-way or 5-way switches.

[newey]

rdunn-

Hello and Welcome to G-Nutz2!

bluemurder is right to question the type of switch, whether it's proprietary or not. Some well-focused photos of the switch would tell the tale. Also, as blue notes, all of the Fender-style lever switches- whether 3 way, 4 way or 5 way- are interchangeable as far as the mounting holes, so if your holes are the same as any of those switches, you would have a number of options to replace the switch.

You can carefully measure the holes, center to center, and compare with published dimensions for standard Strat-style lever switches.

But let's assume you want to reuse the existing 4-way switch. How was the guitar wired originally, as far as the pickup combos go? And, do you want those same ones, only now with the new pickups?

If it's just a matter of wiring in the new blade pickups, unless you're planning on having coil splitting of the blade pups, you would just wire them as the single coils were wired, being mindful that the SD colors are probably different. With a 4-wire SD HB, green goes to ground, black to output, and the red and white wires are connected together (again, unless you're coil splitting). So, you would just wire red and white together, and wire the green and black just like the two wires from the original SC pickups. The black (hot output) will go to the switch (probably) and the green will be grounded (again, probably).

[rdunn]

thanks guys,,,
so it was HSS I'm converting to HHH.
I'd like to do coil taps, thinking about replacing the 4 blade with a 5 blade and getting  push/pull pot.
so basically replacing everything.
Any good wiring schematics For HHH 1 vol (Push/Pull) 1 Tone and 5 position blade switch?

I've attached a photo of the wiring before i took it all apart. possibly identify the switch?
(It might be a 5 position??)

Attachments:

[newey]

You can easily tell how many positions it has by manipulating the switch. From the photo, it looks like an oddball switch, definitely one of the imported variety. We probably won't be able to tell much more without a photo of it removed from the guitar.

If you're completely rewiring and want something more, well, that's what we're all about here! I don't know if we have a HHH scheme that does exactly what you want, but I'll hunt about a bit later.

[rdunn]

I've ordered 2 replacement 500k pots (one is a push pull) and a new 5 way blade (I was assured that it "should" fit,,,,, still curious about that statement).
I've found diagram over on the Seymour Duncan site. But I'm useing a full size humbucker (trem-bucker) in the bridge position and the other 2 are "hot rails" (single coil sized humbuckers).


Does any one see any issues with this configuration and a full sized humbucker @ the bridge?
I'll have 2 caps - .022uF and .047uF.....
stick with the .022uF?

[newey]

Does any one see any issues with this configuration and a full sized humbucker @ the bridge?

Assuming the bridge HB is a 4-wire type, no problem. Since all 3 are SD pickups, the wire colors will be correct as per the SD diagram, so you should be able to wire it exactly as per the diagram.

BTW, I have tried splitting the coils of one of those "dual-rail" type HBs and wasn't thrilled with the results- the tiny coils in those pickups don't sound very much like a single coil when split and the drop in output was substantial. But there are others who apparently like the sound, so try it and see, YMMV.

[rdunn]

hmmmm, OK, understood,  but with this setup, if I don't like the sound of the split rails, I can just not use that setting, just pull pot up and all pickups are split, down all are humbuckers...
then choose between them with blade.

I imagine there are other configurations possible, like combinations of pickups?

[newey]

I imagine there are other configurations possible, like combinations of pickups?

Not sure what you mean- are you saying: "Would other things be possible if the P/P pot were not used for coil splitting?"

If so, then Yes.

You could use the P/P for a number of things- phase switch, for one, or as a series/parallel switch for, say, the bridge HB, to put it into series with whatever is on the 5-way.

Or it can be used as a "bridge on" (or, if you prefer, a "mid on" or "neck on", thus giving you the 2 missing parallel combinations - N+B and N+M+B.

[rdunn]

wow,,,, (or should I say YIKES!!!),,,
I think I just opened a can of worms,,,,
I suppose for now I should just stick with the wiring drawing i got from SD.... it would be a good place to start.

not knowing what it might sound like with all the possible settings, I'll start with what I understand.

thank you for your help.

(been playing for about 35 years, never rebuilt rewired a guitar.)

[newey]

We're here to help with whatever you decide to do, now or in the future. Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

All of us here, at some point, had never rewired a guitar. We got on here and learned, more or less. You can too.

If you're going to use the SD diagram, a good learning exercise is to try to trace the signal flow for the various pickup combinations. While you can certainly "paint by numbers" and just follow the diagram as you wire it up, it is helpful to understand the how and the why of the wiring.

For example, examine the coil split switch and trace the connections. Can you see how it works to cut the coils when engaged? Can you tell which coil gets cut, and which still operates?