Please check my wiring diagram: DiMarzio Super Switch

[Jason Rodgers]

I call upon the masters of guitar electronics to check my wiring diagram. I will be wiring up two humbuckers I made with a DiMarzio 5-way Super Switch, and I want it to work like this...

My understanding of this switch is elementary at best, but I studied this diagram to figure it out http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/f ... 112web.pdf

The change I made was to the 2 and 4 positions: from selecting inside/outside coils on positions 2 and 4 to top/bottom coils. The reason for this is the content of the pickups. The neck north and bridge south are slug coils wound with 43awg and carrying neodymium magnets; the neck south and bridge north are blade coils wound with 42awg and carrying ceramic8 magnets. This is an experiment, clearly, and I want to isolate the different types of coils because I have a feeling they're going to sound rather different. If they don't end up sounding particularly different, there are some other cool switching diagrams on the DiMarzio website.

Thanks for looking!

[Eric Baack]

You ought to throw an out of phase combo on either 2 or 4

adds a nice quack!

[Jason Rodgers]

I'll be honest, Eric, I have not played with out of phase or parallel switched pickups before, and thus my reluctance. I've noticed (on the website) that this is an option in position 4 on some Ibanez models, so folks must dig it.

[Dan Smith]

Man, I wish the switch guys would draw switches in schematic form.
I cannot make heads or tails out of the diagram.
I use an ohm meter when wiring complex switches and make a schematic sketch.
I'd say wire it and experiment.

[Eric Baack]

I had that switch on the black baritone explorer with an out of phase option and it had a cool stat like quack. I'll dig up a video tomorrow. There b are a couple in the build thread for that guitar.

[Eric Baack]

I used this schematic plus a kill switch.

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/produc ... es-03.html

[Jason Rodgers]

Man, I wish the switch guys would draw switches in schematic form.
I cannot make heads or tails out of the diagram.

Yeah, they draw these really simple diagrams for people like me who can't read a real schematic.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

I may be missing something, but are you intentionally wiring the full humbuckers out of phase? If the coils are wound so they are out of phase (like most any other humbucker) and you ground opposite sides (south/neck, north/bridge), the middle position will be out of phase. That being said, I believe your 2 and 4 will have the selected coils in parallel, reverse wound/reverse phase, like positions 2 and 4 of a contemporary strat. But position 3 will be out of phase.

Without sitting down to figure this from scratch, I would bet you need to have the coil ends (where the two humbucking coils are joined) going to the switch separately.

[Eric Baack]

A couple of youtube tone clips

https://youtu.be/Ob0dVNBD9lw


with the metal zone pedal
https://youtu.be/nCKIbSna0dU

https://youtu.be/85ZCvjqHPI8

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

Some additional thoughts: I'm assuming you want the coils in positions 2 & 4 to be in series so the volume will be similar to positions 1 & 2. So the ends of the coils that are joined putting the coils in series need to go to the switch separately. So your diagram won't work. And, the pick ups are out of phase in position 3.

I could make up a diagram but that would be one or two hours that I'm not doing as my wife has requested. My suggestion is that you revisit this and figure it out. I typically draw the 4 poles next to each other, labeling each A/B/C/D. Then start routing your signal. Position 1 is the full neck humbucker so make that happen. The hot lead needs to go to "1", and the common will go to the volume control. And you need to route the coils to be in series, which will happen at the switch.

Think of what needs to happen in each position, then make it happen. Do it all on paper first and transfer the labeling to the switch. This is a big help. And it might be a good idea to get a second switch, just in case.

[Jason Rodgers]

I may be missing something, but are you intentionally wiring the full humbuckers out of phase? If the coils are wound so they are out of phase (like most any other humbucker) and you ground opposite sides (south/neck, north/bridge), the middle position will be out of phase. That being said, I believe your 2 and 4 will have the selected coils in parallel, reverse wound/reverse phase, like positions 2 and 4 of a contemporary strat. But position 3 will be out of phase.

Without sitting down to figure this from scratch, I would bet you need to have the coil ends (where the two humbucking coils are joined) going to the switch separately.

Crap, you're right! I see that I wasn't paying close enough attention to the original diagram colors when I made the color translation. Good catch!

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

I'm color blind. I caught it because the coils are labeled.

Do you want positions 2 & 4 to be in series or parallel?

[Jason Rodgers]

This whole thing should be in series, in phase. Scratch this, it's all buggered up.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

So I was just looking at your original post and now understand that you want to hear the difference between the coils. This won't work with the wiring as you describe it because you are mixing the coils, running them in series. If you want to hear the difference between the coils, you'll need to shut off the coil you don't want to hear, ie a coil cutter.

In this case, I would use a 3 position strat/tele switch and two mini on/off/on switches, one for each pick-up. If you wire each pick up as shown in this article, you will get either coil or the full humbucker. (http://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-t ... le-part-3/). That way you can compare the different coils in similar positions.

Wire the pick-ups to the 3 way minis and send them to your pick up selector.

Unless this isn't what you want.

[Jason Rodgers]

Ok, let's try this again. This diagram illustrates exactly what I'm trying to achieve, with the coil content (slugs vs. blades), polarity, and hookup lead colors shown.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

A sort of quick look has the desired coils in position 4 in parallel. The finish of the neck S coil needs to go to the start of the bridge N coil. Then the finish of the Bridge N coil needs to go out. I don't see any "cross pick up" connections anywhere.

But I could be wrong.

[Jason Rodgers]

I get what you're saying, Joshua. Now that you mention it, any of these diagrams (including this one http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/pickup ... eeded.html and this one http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wi ... _super5way) could be seen as wired in parallel. The pickups come in separately, do their business, and leave together, which is normally the definition of parallel. My diagram is only a couple soldier points different than the DiMarzio diagram I reference in the original post (from the guys who made the switch), and I can't explain why it wouldn't sound parallel wired, but I'm going to trust that it works.

[Jason Rodgers]

A sort of quick look has the desired coils in position 4 in parallel. The finish of the neck S coil needs to go to the start of the bridge N coil. Then the finish of the Bridge N coil needs to go out. I don't see any "cross pick up" connections anywhere.

But I could be wrong.

I've had this diagram posted on the MEF for inspection, as well, and yes, you're right Joshua: positions 2, 3, and 4 are wired in parallel... but, as it turns out, so are most humbucker switching scenarios. This is something that never occurred to me as being normal. Even a typical 3-way Les Paul setup has each humbucker in series within itself, but in parallel with the other pickup when in the middle toggle position. Parallel, in-phase is still hum-cancelling, but with lower output. I don't know how to put everything in series, and don't know if it's necessary.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

Jason,

I think we were just miscommunicating. There are a gazillion ways of wiring stuff depending on what one wants to hear. We develop our own favorites. I don't like sudden volume changes, which is why I was looking for positions 2 and 4 to have the coils in series. You will certainly have a wide pallet with the wiring you've chosen.

[Jason Rodgers]

For sure, this Super Switch is a crazy little ball of possibilities. Studying all of these diagrams has been a crash-course in humbucker wiring, and I'm glad for the discussions here and on the MEF.