Please check my wiring diagram: DiMarzio Super Switch

[Richard]

I'm not going to say I'm right. You wiring will give you the combinations you desire. I was thinking of this:

URGENT: Wiring diagram help needed. - SevenString.org

The four poles are arranged differently but it's essentially the same as your wiring. The only difference is where you have the black wire connected to terminals 2, 3, 5 on the neck pickup and 1, 3, 4 on the bridge pickup, this wiring also connects the neck to terminal 4 and the bridge to terminal 2. This connects both ends of the unused coil to the output as opposed to having one end of the coil hanging. I have read (can't remember where) that this may act as an antenna and pick up RF and I do my pickup wiring to account for this. I haven't tried it the other way so it may be a non-issue. I was just playing around with a spare pickup and it seemed like it had less hum touching both wires to the tip of the cable than with one but it was so inconsistent that I hesitate to draw conclusions.

Your wiring is hum cancelling in all positions so if you pick up noise in positions 2 and 4 this may be the cause. If you don't then I've been making extra work for myself. Let us know how it comes out.

[Jason Rodgers]

Wow, so that's yet another way of wiring up these Super Switches. So versatile!

Basically, you can break the 4 poles up into 4 quadrants and use them pretty much interchangeably. On my diagram, based on the DiMarzio, I used the right side to bring the pickups in, and the left side to do the coil cutting. The Seymour Duncan diagram that Terry cites is the opposite. This SevenString diagram brings the pickups in on the bottom row (when looking at the switch flat), ties those two poles together with a hot, and does the coil splitting on the top row (inside coils on the upper left, outside on the upper right). And yes, Richard, this is the only diagram that fully connects each pickup to all the switching positions that they are involved with.

Here's something else to consider: I put my diagram up on the MIMF for inspection, as well, and a guy named Joshua over there says, yes, your phases are all correct, but the whole thing is basically wired in parallel. As he's looking at it, the pickups come in on the left separately, do all their switching combinations separately, and then leave the switch on the right together, never actually lining up in series (the - from one pickup or coil connected to the + of the next). I can see how he came to that conclusion, and you can see that in all of these examples. But again, my diagram is a couple soldering points different than the DiMarzio diagram (the guys who make the switch!), which is probably being used in thousands of guitars, and you'd think the smart folks at DiMarzio would have thought of that.

I appreciate more people jumping in here to weigh-in on the craziness of this cool switch. Thanks, Richard!

[big_teee]

Yes your diagram is in parallel, more or less.
Your humbuckers operate in series, in pos. 1 & 5.
In position 2, 3 & 4 they are in parallel, but do hum cancel.
Personally I prefer parallel.
Richards diagram actually has 3 poles tied to the output, and only one pole, the top right, switches the ground.
It is a very unique wiring diagram, and it also makes me dizzy!
T
**Edit
Here is the link to the full fender blacktop HH document.
http://support.fender.com/service_di...8100B_SISD.pdf
http://support.fender.com/service_di...Cupg1_SISD.pdf

[eschertron]

I appreciate more people jumping in here to weigh-in on the craziness of this cool switch. Thanks, Richard!

I think everybody who uses one comes up with more ways to wire it!

I like the wiring you've chosen, and I think it would work well with separate volume controls for each pickup. In positions 2 and 4, then, you could dial in the balance between the two single coils for even more variety. Might be interesting.

[big_teee]

So far I prefer the Fender blacktop layout that Richard produced.
Here is the full 4 page layout.
http://support.fender.com/service_di...8100B_SISD.pdf
It is the way fender does it and gives two tone controls, would work great in a 3 pot strat pickguard.
T

[Richard]

Those Super Switches can be pretty intense. The last one I did gave me a headache for 2 days. For some reason I can't stand the idea that an inaccessible pickup combination is in there somewhere. There are some truly stunning sounds available if you are willing to do the work.

The Seymour Duncan P-Rails schematics get the selections you are after but they are not designed for a 5-way. I did something similar with my Les Paul but with 4 push pulls so I can select any combination. It gave me a nightmare. I found the appropriate schematic after I figured it out on my own.

[Jason Rodgers]

Yes your diagram is in parallel, more or less.
Your humbuckers operate in series, in pos. 1 & 5.
In position 2, 3 & 4 they are in parallel, but do hum cancel.
Personally I prefer parallel.
Richards diagram actually has 3 poles tied to the output, and only one pole, the top right, switches the ground.
It is a very unique wiring diagram, and it also makes me dizzy!
T
**Edit
Here is the link to the full fender blacktop HH document.
http://support.fender.com/service_di...8100B_SISD.pdf
http://support.fender.com/service_di...Cupg1_SISD.pdf

WTF! So is this common? I mean, I guess it is, as this and others are in parallel. Is there a way to modify the schematic to put everything in series, or is that even important?

[Jason Rodgers]

Those Super Switches can be pretty intense. The last one I did gave me a headache for 2 days. For some reason I can't stand the idea that an inaccessible pickup combination is in there somewhere. There are some truly stunning sounds available if you are willing to do the work.

After staring at that Blacktop diagram a bit more, I decided I like it and re-drew it for the switching I want. But does it have the mixed series/parallel issue the others have? Again, is it even an issue, or is everyone just used to (or ignorant of) this sound as a reality when you start chasing after more pickup combos?

EDIT: Woa, hang on... even the middle position of a three way toggle is in parallel! Ok, so I just made a discovery along the lines of "Wow, water is wet," didn't I... yeah, so this parallel thing pops up in most switching scenarios, right? Huh...

[Richard]

I believe each pickup has its coils in series (standard humbucker) and the pickups are in parallel with each other, the normal way to do it like a Les Paul. Earlier I thought I saw 2 diagrams this is the one that is equivalent to yours.
http://support.fender.com/service_di...8100B_SISD.pdf

I like all coils in parallel. It gives good jangle and seems to soften up the attack a bit. Not punchy but in a good way, at least for my guitar and what I do, kind of a clean tone thing. I haven't got much with the two pickups out of out of phase or in series but it may be what you want. I'm interested to find out how your project comes out.

[Jason Rodgers]

So all this parallelism is normal, huh? I hadn't considered that, but then again, I've not dug so deeply into wiring diagrams before.

Yeah, this one guitar will have the Super Switch and the works, but I'm building another alongside it - same design, same pickup batch - that I'm going to wire simply as a rocker: volume, push/pull bypass/tone (standard tone in pull position, bypass to volume in push), and a three-way toggle!

[Richard]

I don't think running all 4 coils in parallel is common. The 3rd position on your schematic and the Fender schematic has the individual pickups in series within themselves but parallel to the other. No matter how I try to phrase it It doesn't sound clear. On most humbucker guitars this is the standard arrangement with both pickups on.

With that Super Switch you can get nearly any arrangement of your 2 humbuckers imaginable. You are just limited to 5 choices. I think there are 72 possibilities if you count series and out of phase combinations. The 5-way is probably the easiest way to get around though.

[eschertron]

+1

No matter what you want, you are limited to 1-of-5 selections. If you want two humbuckers in series (for example), then first you must give up a different combination or add more switches. Having said that:

The standard LP 3-way switch allows 2 HBs to parallel in the mid position. Some like it, some don't bother to use it. On the other hand, AFAIK there is no 'standard' switching arrangement out there that puts single coils in series or HBs (already in series) in series more. You can do it with the super switch, but it will take more figuring. I stand by my advice to leave all pickup leads long until you've heard and approved all the combinations that you want.

[Jason Rodgers]

Right, so if that middle position on the 3-way toggle is the simplest (and perhaps oldest) switching arrangement for two humbuckers, and it results in a parallel pair, does anyone even want two humbuckers in series? Does anyone know what that sounds like? Is it worth the wiring acrobatics to make it happen?

I'll say again: this thread is unearthing some interesting rabbit holes.

[eschertron]

I may be over-simplifying the theory too much, but this is my take:

Series arrangements enhance midrange because the entire signal path is a series of filters, and the sharpness of the filter increases in each coil that it passes through. Humbuckers = narrow band, punchy.

Parallel arrangements allow for the full bandwidth of each coil to pass, and the spectral interest is in how different frequencies are summed or subtracted based on the physical location of the coil under the string. SC = broad band, sparkly/chimey.

One of today's over-wound humbuckers may sound a lot like to PAFs in series, who knows? Well, the person who plays with some unusual pickup combinations, that's who

[rjb]

AFAIK there is no 'standard' switching arrangement out there that puts single coils in series

Does Dano count?
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t17084/