Switch magic

[Nate]

I just recently changed the pickups in my ancient Zion out for a set of EMG's I had removed from a guitar to sell (Yamaha 12str strat). I was hesitant to give up my bridge humbucker, but I'm just flat out blown away. I am wondering about slapping an SPC or similar tone control, but I want it wired to the bridge pickup only. No worries so far.

What I'm wondering about is a way to wire it on the bridge pickup only, and NOT in the #2 bridge/mid position. I can figure out how to do this with logic, but I was hoping there would be some stroke of clever genious by which the mid/bridge both being on would cancel the tone control out, lift a ground leg or somehow disable the circuit. But my brain is foggy and nothing that I can sketch out works.

The switch is a 2 pole switch, one pole is entirely unused at present. But if I have to slap logic in there I'll probably look at rolling the tone circuit myself too.

[guitician]

I think they make a pot that opens when turned fully counterclockwise. For use as a tone control that removes itself from the pickup circuit when needed. I think they call them "No Load" type.

[Nate]

I'm not worried about residual effect on 0. I want it to mimic S/S/H unless I have the bypass switch on, in which case it goes S/S/S, using the 5-way switch to make the tone control turn off in the #2 position. Maybe I should've asked this in effects.

[guitician]

If you wire the second pole of the 5-way switch to the tone control and the humbucker, it will only work for that pickup. If your not using it for anything, that would work.

[David Schwab]

Originally Posted by Nate

What I'm wondering about is a way to wire it on the bridge pickup only, and NOT in the #2 bridge/mid position.

Easy. Wire the bridge pickup right to the SPC, and then wire the output of the SPC to the pickup selector switch where the bridge pickup would connect.

The only thing you have to watch out for is that the output from the SPC is in phase with the other pickups. If it's not, EMG sells a phase reversal circuit.

[David Schwab]

Originally Posted by guitician

I think they make a pot that opens when turned fully counterclockwise. For use as a tone control that removes itself from the pickup circuit when needed. I think they call them "No Load" type.

He's talking about an active circuit, not passive.

[Nate]

Thanks - but that won't switch the SPC off when the middle & bridge are both on. I figured it out - Megaswitch will do it - it's a true 5 way 4 pole switch, positions #2 and #4 are handled by wiring the middle pickup to the #2,3,4 positions of the 2nd pole. I can then wire the SPC in on the 3rd pole (which actually lets me put it on either the bridge or neck pickup alone positions).

[guitician]

I looked at stew-mac and their megaswitch. Wouldnt a 4 pole switch have 16 contacts? A normal 5 way switch is a 2P3T with "In-Between" detents for Pos's 2&4.

I see what they did. They made up a matrix of contacts that act like a 4-pole 5-pos switch like the Paul Reed Smith guitars use. And then they can have just 7 contacts.

[David Schwab]

The Mega Switch wont do it. You need the Super Switch. The Mega switches are preset for certain combinations of pickups.

Personally I would leave the SPC so you can turn it on and off in any position. You will get many more good tones that way. Is it that hard to turn the knob when you are in 2 or 4? Plus you lose the non EQ'd tone of the bridge pickup.

I used to have one in a guitar and ran all the pickups though it. That way I was able to get the neck pickup to sound fuller when I wanted that type of tone. Much more useful that way.

Also, it's very subtle. It doesn't really make the single coil sound like a humbucker, it just boosts the mids and rolls off some highs.

If you really want to switch between a single and humbucker tone, get an 81TW.

[Nate]

I'm sorry - I said MegaSwitch, I meant the SuperSwitch @ Stew-Mac. That is a true 4P5T switch.