OT? Guitar wiring scheme

[Ge_Whiz]

The pickup wiring scheme that I would love to use for my new homebrew axe is attributed to Dan Armstrong and posted at:

http://archive.guitarplayer.com/archive/gear/hrm3.shtml

Unfortunately, I've tried it on my try-things-out guitar and can't get it to work properly, even after several attempts. Some of the settings work, some don't give the right combinations, and a few give silence. Has anyone out there tried this scheme and got it to work, please? Anyone got any suggestions or know of errors in the diagram?

I've tried to trace the wiring as a diagram, but it's too much for me!

Any help appreciated.

Ge_Whiz

[aron]

You'll need two DPDT on/on 2-position switches, and one DP3T on/ on/on 3-position type. (Note: Make sure you get an on/on/on. This hard-to-locate switch is available from such specialty parts suppliers as Chandler and Warmoth.)

I think the above is the key. Do you have those types of switches?

[Ge_Whiz]

Yup, definitely got the right switches, and the on-on-on switch is oriented as per the instructions. I also tried two SPDTs to replace the on-on-on, with the same results.

Ge_Whiz

[Peter Snowberg]

I built that switch in two guitars when the article came out. It works very well, but I would suggest using a fourth switch, or a push-pull pot to add a phase switch to the neck pickup. That gives you 7 more unique tones including some really great ones.

For troubleshooting, I would switch the pickups into the all-in-series combination (position 1-1-1), and start checking for continuity between ground and the output of the bridge. If you see it there check the middle then the neck pickup. You should see continuity all the way up the chain to the volume pot. Since you will be checking through the resistance of three pickups, be sure to use a meter setting like 200K or 2M. Your three pickups in series may exceed 20K. Make sure the volume is set to 10, or disconnect the volume pot. You should not see more than 40K between the hot lead and ground (even if you have super hot-wound pickups).

My guess is that you may have a broken pickup wire.

Good luck with the troubleshooting. I love that switch setup!

-Peter

[Ge_Whiz]

Thanks, Peter, for reassuring me that it works. I'll pursue it further this weekend.

Yes, I had intended to have a phase switch too.