Sadie-f
Senior Member
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- 427
It seems common that when designers add an active electronics feature to a guitar, the mag pickups will be routed through the feature and the feature will be powered on / off by adding a switch to the output jack. This also renders a guitar which:
a. can't be played without the battery installed, b. leaves the feature turned on whenever the cable is plugged.
When I first put together my W-strat, I'd already ordered a nice jack I liked and it had no switch, so I just added a mounting hole for a power toggle switch down below the tone pot. However as I was wiring it, I realized as I worked that with a 3PDT, I bypass the Ghost preamp from the wiring in a single mechanism.
I added that last night and damn if it didn't also affect the tone. Not a lot, it's evident on treble notes on the bridge HB, barely audible in the middle pickup, and really can't be heard on the neck position. Where, I can hear it, mostly first couple strings on the bridge, it's about equivalent to rolling on the (0.022 µF) tone knob from 10 to 8. It's not a huge difference, however, quite pronounced now that I can switch direct from the ghost in circuit over to direct-magnetic.
Circuit and photo below, you'll see I had to take a chisel to the control cavity wall to make space for the wider switch.
I might yet go back and add this kind of bypass to my fender EOB (sustain circuit), tho that axe may be looking for a new home.
a. can't be played without the battery installed, b. leaves the feature turned on whenever the cable is plugged.
When I first put together my W-strat, I'd already ordered a nice jack I liked and it had no switch, so I just added a mounting hole for a power toggle switch down below the tone pot. However as I was wiring it, I realized as I worked that with a 3PDT, I bypass the Ghost preamp from the wiring in a single mechanism.
I added that last night and damn if it didn't also affect the tone. Not a lot, it's evident on treble notes on the bridge HB, barely audible in the middle pickup, and really can't be heard on the neck position. Where, I can hear it, mostly first couple strings on the bridge, it's about equivalent to rolling on the (0.022 µF) tone knob from 10 to 8. It's not a huge difference, however, quite pronounced now that I can switch direct from the ghost in circuit over to direct-magnetic.
Circuit and photo below, you'll see I had to take a chisel to the control cavity wall to make space for the wider switch.
I might yet go back and add this kind of bypass to my fender EOB (sustain circuit), tho that axe may be looking for a new home.