"Rhythm/Lead"-wiring

[DarKnight]

This one just came up in my mind... seems that suffering high fever makes brains work in the morning lol. ;D Ok... How about making two identical(maybe) guitar wirings and then adding switch to change between them. Own pup-select, volume and tone for both wirings and then master volume and switch to select one of two settings. Like "preset" thingy... one for lead and one for rhythm... for example... anyone ever heard of this kind mod? Cos' of fever I'm not starting to analyze (prolly can't fever or not ) it right now. This kind of mod (if working) would still need enormous space for all the switches and stuff. :X Any ideas? Back to bed. ->

[eljib]

to me it only seems useful if you have only one guy playing guitar...but that's why God made rythym guitarists.

It seems like this could be done more elegantly. There are pots that can control two things separately within the same package.

site.guitarfetish.com/F41_B.jpg

Two of these in a tele would provide what you want (or at least what I think you want: The option to select quickly between rhythm and lead settings) That sounds alot like what a LP already does, so I'm assumimng you're dealing with fender limitations, hence the tele (though I think it could be equally applied to a strat, albeit with some serious quirks)

EDIT: I just realized you might want this setup to change between differing tone settings for the same pickup, but it still seems like this could be done easily enough using a pot instead of a switch.

[DarKnight]

Umm... I'm not sure that I understood what you think I think... ghaa... or something. ;D Anyways the idea is that I could choose different pickup wiring, volume and tone for each "preset"... so for example (two humbuckers): when I have main switch on "lead"-position, I have bridge only, volume and tone all the way up... and then I turn the switch to "rhythm-position", I get... bridge single coil, neck humbucking and whole bunch series out of phase, volume 70%, tone all the way down... so that's an example... this wiring would be installed to my guitar project (if i ever finish it). And yes, this was ment to be for two humbuckers... I hope I made more sense... painkillers rule

[RandomHero]

I'm sure I see what you mean. But you would need a (N)P(N)T switch. Whereas N is an impossibly large number. XD

[JohnH]

There are plenty of wiring designs out there, and in here, that give ways to make a quick rhythm to lead change with a single switch. LPs for example with their two volume controls, or designs with a series/parallel switch, or a volume control bypass switch. These kind of options are fairly simple and practical to use, but you cant have every possible choice for your lead and rhythm sounds just with one switch, without also operating other controls.

What you are thinking of though as I understand it, is to go from absolutely amy setting, to any other one, using a single switch. This would be a nice dream, but I hope it is not adding to your fever!

It is more complex that it might seem, because it is not just a matter of have two sets of wiring in parallel, then just switching the outputs. Those two sets would be wired to the same connections, and will interact and interfere with each other. The way to do it therefore involves the switch separating the two systems not only at the output, but also at each incoming wire connection to the pickups, so that the non-active wiring is completely separated from the coils.

We can work out RH's N value for this uber-switch - For a clever 'GN2' style wiring which needs 4 conductors per pup, for 2 Hbs that is 8 wires. One can be permanently grounded, (so doesn't need a switching), and add one for the output - so 8 poles, 2 throws! With less options (say no series/parallel or phasing, coil cuts only), it might get down to a 4 pole switch.

John

[DarKnight]

So it would need such a switch which would totally disconnect the unused wiring... I mean for changing between wirings... Boy that really is an issue. 8 wires coming from pickups... maybe if one could combine few switches and then wrap duct tape around all switches to turn them at the same time.. lol that would need serious planning.. :X MacGyver hits again... or is it the fever... hell i'm not even sure what i'm writing... well puzzle for you i'll analyze this thread when my brains work again... thanks guys anyway *post reply*

[buildsem]

You guys are missing the most obvious.

It is the Tom Anderson Blow switch.

It switches from whatever pickup combination you are currently in, to full on humbucking bridge pickup at the flip of a switch. I used to have the wiring diagrams directly from Tom Anderson.

I'm sure someone can figure it out. For reference, I do remember that it was a massive non-standard toggle switch. All 4 leads from the bridge humbucker passed through it and it controlled all the switching.

[4real]

Yeah...a few people have made blow switches (a hotrod term i believe) in various configurations. Some Danelectros have one to connect all pickups on.

If your lead setting is typically the bridge pickup on full, then the ideal set up is a switch to bypass the selector and all controls and route the pickup direct to the output. When off, this would select to what ever setting selected by the selector, vol and tone controls (which could be the bridge with a bit of vol roll off, or what ever you want.

My DIY Sustainer has a similar switch to activate it. In Sustainer mode, all but the bridge pickup is bypassed (although I still have vol and tone, just the selector is bypassed) which is necessary for the device to function.

I also had such fever-ish plans to devise some kind of DIP switch, trim pot circuit into the back of the guitar to make a preset selector... My thoughts were several control layouts that, with a three way selector could select a range of sound combinations and a rotary switch could select a range of different selector combos...but really, is it worth it?

The "blow" switch, direct bridge pickup lead sound is a pretty neat idea though. My phase-o-caster wiring has some neat combos that are preset by the phase switches and then selected by a three way... [glow=green,2,300]pete[/glow]

[DarKnight]

Yes 4real, I've been having same thoughts just giving up original idea and doing something like bridge PU alone in lead-position. It would save time and trouble, because in the very end - I use prolly 3-5 combinations maximum. You guys have more experience about different wirings and their sounds... which combinations would "really" be useful for two humbuckers? I'm bad thinker so is there any problem to add series/paralle or whatever small switch to the lead position with bridge PU only? It's truely a nuisance to be newbie and lazy one at the same time. But I just finished my high school and waiting for final exams to come... Lazy days before hardcore-reading... Cheers.

[ChrisK]

I've been a big fan of this (the A/B guitar switch).

This was the basis for the LP setup. The middle position was blending, and free.

There is/was a company a few years ago (LogicX/Logix/) that was making a Strat-type guitar that did something like this. It had a JB jr in the bridge, a Lil'59 in the neck, and three SC PU's in bridge, middle , and neck.

You are correct in that 2N-1 poles (+1 for output switching) are needed for the Number of coils switched, especially if phase reversal in used.

I've a chambered bookmatched walnut Strat copy body that I had routed for three humbuckers for some demented reason a few years ago that I've thought of doing this in. After all, I have the JB jr, the Lil'59, a set of lace alumitones, multi-pole wafer switches (16 pole 4 throw, Grayhill custom), etc.

I also have a dinged body Am Dls S-1 SSS Strat that is, well, dinged. I'd thought about using the aforementioned walnut body w/ the JB jr, the Lil'59, the set of SCN PU's, the S-1 volume pot stuff, a three-way toggle, a concentric pot for the Strat tones, and a concentric pot for the mini-hum volume and tone. Then I'd have to use the 1 11/16" maple fatback neck that I have. I guess.....

Based on a previous thread here last spring/summer, I'm putting the A/B concept into the proper Tele copy project that I'm finishing. Using a 4P5throw lever switch it gives:

1. Bridge
2. "Special"
3. Bridge+Neck
4. Bridge*Neck
5. Neck

"Special" is based on a electrical phase reversal switch for the neck, and a series/parallel switch in conjunction w/ a dual/concentric pot that allows blending of both PU's in both modes. For as much as one can get disparate sounds out of a Tele, it's an A/B switch (location). If one uses PP DPDT pots, all one needs to add is the middle concentric pot.






Of course, with my VG-88 and hex 13 pin based guitars, or my Variax/workbench, I could already do this.

[buildsem]

I think that the advantage of the Tom Anderson hookup was that it allowed you to "behind" this switch for the non lead, normal configuration run a selector switch for series/coil cut/parallel.

This (dis)advantage from simply pulling the bridge pickup lead post series/coil cut/parallel switch, is that you will only be in the mode for which your guitar is currently switched. Now if you want to pull of a solo in coil cut or parallel mode for single coil sound, that's perfect!

If I recall correctly, the anderson blow switch had three posts by four posts and was a 4PST that means I think.