Three position rotary wiring for series/coil spli/parallel

Pickups, wiring schemes, switch techniques and onboard active electronics for guitars and basses
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xbobbytherookiex
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Post by xbobbytherookiex »

I have this three position rotary switch and I was wondering if someone could help me with wiring one humbucker for series/coil split/parallel. I now how it's done with dpdt on/on/on but can't fugure out how to translate it to this rotary switch. I checked connections with my multimeter and they are as shown in the photo. Thanks.
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phatt
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Post by phatt »

The switch is likely not suitable for your needs. the switch shown looks to be a Single pole switch,, you need a Double pole switch.
HTHelps, Phil.

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Lucifer
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Post by Lucifer »

Hi Bobby,

As Phil (Phatt) states, you can’t achieve the switching that you want, but there are still things you could do with that switch to get a range of sounds from your pickup.

Connect the ‘wiper/common’ to the junction between your coils (ie, the ‘tap’ point) and connect one of the other switch poles to ground. That will give you a straight ‘tapped’ single-coil sound. Then connect the other pole of your switch to a suitable capacitor (you’ll need to experiment to find which one best suits your pickup and taste) and connect the other end of the cap to ground (you can use the grounded pole on the switch for this). This latter combination gives a partial single coil sound, as some of the frequencies are shorted to ground.

I hope this helps you achieve something close to what you want.

Cheers,

Lucifer
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xbobbytherookiex
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Post by xbobbytherookiex »

Thanks Phatt and Lucifer. I think this is actually a double pole switch. I finally found some data on this switch and upper lugs are also connected as I will show you in a new photo. Colors show witch lugs are connected at the same time in three positions. I'm really greatful for your help guys so if you could just take another look at the photo and tell me if it's still possible to do what I want. If not I will try your advice Lucifer.
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Post by phatt »

Yes , that will work. :thumbsup
Phil.

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