DPDT on/on/on

[hazlewood]

Could someone help me out with how to properly wire a mini-toggle DPDT for on/on/on for a two pickup setup? I can't seem to properly follow the diagrams I have seen floating around.

[Enzo]

Make sure you have the right type of switch. The common DPDT switch has the two center posts connecting to EITHER one set of end posts OR the other. When it has a center position as well, that position has the center posts OFF - as in not connected to either end.

There is a special type of DPDT switch, with a center position, where in the center setting, instead of OFF, it is instead ON, meaning BOTH ends are connected to the center posts. SO it basically turnsw OFF one end when you flip it to one side or the other. That is what an on-on-on switch is. The kind you find at Radio Shack would be an on-off-on switch.

[loudthud]

Set the switch to the center position. Connect the two center pins to the output jack. Use an ohm meter to figure out which of the corner terminals are connected to the output and use those to connect to the pickups. They should be in opposite corners. Don't connect to the other two terminals.

[Mark Hammer]

One of the nice features of the Gibson-style toggle (with the attractive white or black tip!) is that the side positions suppress contact on that side. IN the middle, there is no contact suppression, so you make connection with both pickups.

With toggles, there is a sort of banana-shaped rocker contact inside. Moving the toggle to the side makes a contact on the side away from where the handle is. The trick is getting that rocker contact to stay in place when you move the handle.

The kind of on-on-on toggle that Enzo describes is a special case, and for that reason should be expected to cost a few bucks more than the more standard on-off-on DPDT that you can get in many places for under a dollar.

The way it works is that it makes contact in both one of the side positions and the middle, but not in the 3rd position. The kicker is that it does this in opposite fashion for each set of contacts. That's why loudthud drew it with the two middle contacts bridged.

[hazlewood]

Set the switch to the center position. Connect the two center pins to the output jack. Use an ohm meter to figure out which of the corner terminals are connected to the output and use those to connect to the pickups. They should be in opposite corners. Don't connect to the other two terminals.

Thanks for the help loudthud and Mark Hammer! I've got the switch wired like this currently actually, but it still seems to cut out when I am in the center position, rather than have the signal from both pickups. Any advice?

[The Dude]

It sounds like, as Enzo said, you have an on-off-on switch instead of an on-on-on switch. Did you use an ohm meter as loudthud suggested? There are different types of 3 position switches.

[hazlewood]

Shit... yup. Checked it and it's an on/off/on. Thanks for the advice you guys! I'll go grab the RIGHT DPDT tomorrow. Would the wiring still be the same?

[The Dude]

Wiring will be the same. The key difference (as already has been stated) is that in the center position of an on-off-on switch the middle contacts go to nothing. In the middle position of an on-on-on switch the center contacts will be switched to both sides, generally (there are also switches where the center position only makes contact with one other side). Anyway, the point is that you must have the correct switch.

Edit: Best to look at a data sheet for the switch to make sure it's what you are looking for.