Help with a hypothetical Les Paul mod?

[TelefunkenDuncan]

on a les paul with a master vol., master tone, and one knob for both spin-a-splits, would it be possible to use the unused 4th knob as a "blender" setting for when the 3-way is in the center position? the spin-a-splits add a lot of variety, I dig the master volume, but I'd still like to be able to add a little of one pup in with the other and vice versa. the snag is doing it so the other positions on the 3-way still give full volume of whichever pup yer using. is there a way to do it using these big honking old-timey 3-ways? does anyone know of gibson-sized switches that are dpdt or more?

[TelefunkenDuncan]

Anyone?

[alligatorbling]

are you talking about having a control to roll on one pup while backing off the other? if so i think youd need a dual gang pot

wire in the volume from each pup to each pot, wire one in normal and the other in reverse.... im just guessing here so dont go do this to see if it works lol, im sure someome with more guitar wiring knowledge will chime in soon enough...

[TelefunkenDuncan]

I'd need either a dual-ganged or a "blender" pot, which are easy enough to find - the trick is how to keep that control out of the circuit when the 3-way switch is in the neck or bridge position. I think it'd be easily done with a DPDT switch, but I haven't found any as big as a Gibson switch.

[alligatorbling]

Originally Posted by TelefunkenDuncan

I'd need either a dual-ganged or a "blender" pot, which are easy enough to find - the trick is how to keep that control out of the circuit when the 3-way switch is in the neck or bridge position. I think it'd be easily done with a DPDT switch, but I haven't found any as big as a Gibson switch.

yeah... i believe that would work! There are tons of parts sites out there... Sometimes you have to dig though a lot to find what your looking for lol... you could always use a mini sized one and drill a hole and mount it like slash has his... i think your idea is a bit better though, more refined and factory like

[TelefunkenDuncan]

I may have found the solution to my conundrum (minus the pun):



Made by Switchcraft, it's one bad mother. The actuator is threaded just like their 12000 Series switches (you know, the straight and right-angle Gibson switches) so you can use the same old cap. I thought it was non-locking, but I found they can be ordered as locking (non-momentary).


There are three things I need an experienced electrician to look at:

The overview of Switchcraft's Lever Switches

The schematics for all of their lever switches

The technical specs and ordering information for the 41000 Series Lever Switch

I think this switch is the best candidate, mainly because a lot of their other switches are about 3 inches long.

[eddie_bowers]

That looks Very interesting. I have been loking for something for the LP equivelent to the Strat Superswich. I wonder if it will actually fit?
It will take a lot of thinking on my part to figure out if that would work for your idea, but it just might.

-Eddie

[TelefunkenDuncan]

Hey, any input at all would be appreciated. These buggers aren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, so the fewer I have to buy to experiment with, the better. The one link shows the schematics that correspond to each design (A-K) so take a long hard look at those.

[eddie_bowers]

I played around with this some, and I think you would need that 41000 to do it. It will take me a little while to draw it up.
Did you find someplace to buy that?

-Eddie

[TelefunkenDuncan]

I've found a few suppliers, though the only one some of each model in stock would be this one:

41306L 38 in stock

41312L 2 in stock

41324L 106 in stock

Now, what little explanation Switchcraft gives on these is in the .pdf file about Contact Configurations, and the main page about the 41000 Series.

Sadly though, for all of my reading, I'm thinking that this switch still might be too damn long, as the one drawing shows a body length of 2.125 inches. This wouldn't be the case if the soldering lugs came out the side instead of the bottom. Still might be worth a try to see if I could cut off all unused lugs, bend the others at an angle and use up some of this tiny heat-shrink tubing I have lying around.

[TelefunkenDuncan]

Say Eddie, this might also be worth taking a gander at:

Switchcraft 3-Way Toggle for 3-Pickup Gibsons

Disregarding the explanation they give for Black Beauty wiring, is this essentially a DP3T? If so, this could be put to good use - if not in this little project, then perhaps in my 3-way preset variable coil split mod (for that odd 2nd toggle switch on a Hagstrom Swede).

[eddie_bowers]

Thats actually what i'm using in my LP (2 pickup) right now
It's very cool for what i'm using it for (keeping the bridge tone control out of the circuit in the middle position), but it's pretty limited. I haven't figured out any more complicated tricks to do with it. Stew-mac has a right-angele toggle with one more connection on it, but it's right angle

3-Pickup Right-angle Switch at Stewart-MacDonald

[Ejecto]

Originally Posted by eddie_bowers

Thats actually what i'm using in my LP (2 pickup) right now
It's very cool for what i'm using it for (keeping the bridge tone control out of the circuit in the middle position), but it's pretty limited. I haven't figured out any more complicated tricks to do with it. Stew-mac has a right-angele toggle with one more connection on it, but it's right angle

3-Pickup Right-angle Switch at Stewart-MacDonald

So this this runs the bridge wide open in the middle position, like a no-load?
You get much use for that, is the mod a tricky one?

[eddie_bowers]

No. Normally you have both tone controls in the middle position. What this mod does is take out the bridge tone except when you select the bridge pickup. This unloads the middle position a bit and eleminates any interaction between the tone controls. It's not for everybody, but I like it this way a lot. Here is my wiring diagram if you are interested:
http://www.vmresource.com/_temp/lp_b...ne_control.pdf

-Eddie

[Ejecto]

Thanks for the diagram, I am interested. Have you got any clips, or examples from other players you know of?

[eddie_bowers]

As far as I know I invented it, but it wouldn't be the first thing re-invented without realizing it

[Ejecto]

Well until someone says otherwise, I'd brag
I might inflict my solder skills on the beater one more time.
It's unreal, you wouldn't think one guitar could take so much singeing.
Cheers Eddie.

[TelefunkenDuncan]

Originally Posted by eddie_bowers

Thats actually what i'm using in my LP (2 pickup) right now
It's very cool for what i'm using it for (keeping the bridge tone control out of the circuit in the middle position), but it's pretty limited. I haven't figured out any more complicated tricks to do with it. Stew-mac has a right-angele toggle with one more connection on it, but it's right angle

Yeah, the right-angled and the straight toggles are the same. Seems like there could be a way to add the middle-position blend control with it, but I'm having trouble just drawing up the basic diagram, no matter what kind of switch I use. This really is use it or lose it knowledge, and the last time I was up to my elbows in a mod design like this, I settled for the Chromacaster switch from Deaf Eddie! My Strat will now love me forever.