3 pickup Les Paul Custom wiring ideas
- Thread starter IceMan
- Start date
I assume the mini toggles would be three way for hum/off/single. DPDT on/off/on switches should work for that. Three stacked volume/tones is a lot to deal with. If you use Les Paul style wiring, only one volume works at a time anyway. You will have lots of tone options, maybe a master volume & tone would be good enough.
So is there any way for me to wire the concentric pots for the pickups? or can you at least give me a wiring diagram so i can understand betterDan025 said:
the 3 way mini switch seems to be a good idea. as for the wirings, i'm planning to use the wirings of the Gibson Es-5 Switchmasterrichship said:
Concentric pots are wired just like two regular pots. I put a picture of one below. Here's the classic two pickup setup: http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2v_2t_3w Adding another to that isn't too hard. The problem I see is that if you use the switches before each volume/tone and tie the pickup outputs together instead of using a switch, all the volumes will still affect the output even when the pickups are switched off.
What about using a Free-Way toggle switch? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Switches_and_knobs/Free-Way_Pickup_Switch.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=45649 It can work like a regular LP toggle, but you could make moving left and right switch the middle pickup in and out. The mini switches could be two-position to switch from single to hum, and then the toggle would select which pickups are active after volume/tone to avoid the problem above. That sounds easier to use too.
One more issue: long shaft concentric pots are hard if not impossible to find. Be prepared to remove some material in the control cavity to get them to fit.
What about using a Free-Way toggle switch? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Components:_Switches_and_knobs/Free-Way_Pickup_Switch.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=45649 It can work like a regular LP toggle, but you could make moving left and right switch the middle pickup in and out. The mini switches could be two-position to switch from single to hum, and then the toggle would select which pickups are active after volume/tone to avoid the problem above. That sounds easier to use too.
One more issue: long shaft concentric pots are hard if not impossible to find. Be prepared to remove some material in the control cavity to get them to fit.
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IceMan said:
well the logical way would be to wire to the switches first then the pots. i dont know what you want for the knobs. do you want the outer knob to be volume or tone? also do you want each volume knob to be able to draw down the whole guitar like the middle position on a les paul? this meathod effects the pickup the knob belongs to most so there is still some blending and it may help if you want to make a quick adjustment to volume if you dont want to fumble with 3 knobs this is also potentially quieter. or do you want fully independant control or the volume of each pickup? many people prefer this but as the volume gets rolled down the pickup gets loaded more and may get muddy at lower volumes.
also about the switch master, i am aware that it has a 4-way switch but that's where my knowlege of it ends. i dont know what the switch does and don't really know what you want to be like the switchmaster. do you just mean the way the volume functions? the tone cap/pot values? are you abandoning the 3 toggles?
and another thing, there was a thread i helped ofero with a while back, he wanted 3 humbuckers with a 5-way and traditional lespaul knob layout. well it is alot different than you are asking for but coil taps can be incorperated in other ways but the beauty of the wireing was the use of a 4-pole 5-way switch that could switch what pickups each volume effected. this is very usefull if you dont want all 3 pickups active at any time and not so bad if you want to alter the wireing so you can use all 3. basically the volume nearest the your picking hand is always in use and switches between the neck, middle, and bridge automatically, the other volume is active only when two pickups are selected and will work on the rear more pickup unless it is in bridge pickup only mode.
a little more complex in the wireing (but it is very easy to layout) and maybe less versitle but very intuitive to any player familiar with strats and lespauls.
O
OzziePete
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richship said:
I bought a couple of those FreeWay switches. My assessment was that you have better be quite handy with the solder iron to be successful, otherwise those tabs to solder to on the Free Way switch will perish under the usual 'amateur' soldering effort. They are thin brass type lugs and look like they won't tolerate a lot of heat. The Stew Mac instruction sheet says as much too. There are numerous tabs to solder on, so a lot of heat to the component as you solder them in.
A couple of other opinions about that switch too.
1) It does not cater for all possible combinations that would be workable for the 3 pickup set up.
2) The switch itself is slightly larger than the usual toggle, so if you contemplate fitting it into the suual LP toggle switch hole there is a bit of wood removal in the cavity to fit it in.
3) The switching is finicky and under a stage situation you might not appreciate the many options available and find yourself looking down trying to figure out what you have done!
In the end, for the project I had at hand, it was one too many complexity that I needed and ditched them in favour of the standard toggle switch. But that was for only 2 pickups. You may find them handy as a solution for 3 pickup LP guitars.
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