# Help Found! (with wiring 2 Humbuckers and 5-way Multi)



## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Ive searched all over and I can't find the simple wiring diagram I need.

I have two humbuckers with DiMarzio coloured wires and a fancy 5-way multi pole selector, and I want the following configuration: Neck/Neck Outer Coil/Neck and Bridge/Bridge Outer Coil/Bridge. 

I found lots that are close, and one that says Neck/Neck Split/Neck and Bridge/Bridge Split/ Bridge, but doesn't say what side of the coil is split.

I have to use the Multi switch since the guitar is routed specifically for it.

I can't upload the two pics I have since they're PDFs, sorry.

Any help? I'm getting frustrated.


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

This is my setup - 2 Vol, 1 Tone - and this looks good, but are the split positions the Outer Coils (screws)?

Thanks!


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

If the split isn't the one you want, you can switch the white and red wires, and switch the green and black wires.

The question is, which coil is the North coil and which is the South coil?










Here's how that switch works. Each pole is separate. The 0 lug is common and the 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 lugs connect to 0 when the switch is in those positions. You could change the order by soldering to different lugs.










I'll try to follow the wiring diagram you posted.

Pole 1 and 2 are controlling the bridge pickup.
On pole 2 the bridge red North hot wire is connected to positions 3, 4 & 5. Those are the positions where the bridge pickup is on.
On pole 1 the bridge white and black wires are connected to position 4, where they are grounded out. Grounding the white South hot wire takes the the South coil out of the circuit.

Pole 3 and 4 are controlling the neck pickup in a similar way.
On pole 4 the neck white South hot wire is connected to positions 1, 2 & 3. Those are the positions where the neck pickup is on.
On pole 3 the red and green wires are connected to position 2, where they are grounded. Grounding the red North hot wire takes the North coil out of the circuit.

Those lugs on Pole 1 position 4 and pole 3 position 2 also connect the coils of each pickup in series.

So the active coils for the split are the North coil on the bridge and the and South coil on the neck.

If you wanted it the other way around, you could use the same diagram but instead solder the neck pickup to poles 1 and 2 and the bridge pickup to 3 and 4.


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Wow, thanks for such a well-worded and thorough explanation, Hammerhands! That explains everything.

One quick confirmation: the Bridge pickup's South (screw) coil is closest to the Bridge, so the Neck pickup's South (screw) coil is closest to the neck, right?

Thanks again! I'll be able to sleep tonight!


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I don't know!


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)




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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Getting wire colours right is trying at times. Here's a Seymour Duncan wiring diagram for DiMarzio pickups, but I'm not sure if they're using DiMarzio's colours or their own. 

I'm guessing they're using DiMarzio colours - white+black to keep the humbuckers in series, and I have no clue how moving that wire changes the split coils from Inside to Outside.

I grow dumber by the year, I swear!


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Let's see how that one works.

Pole 1 & 2 are for the neck pickup.
On pole 1, the red North hot wire is connected to position 1, 2 & 3.
On pole 2, the white and black wires are grounded at position 2. The white South hot wire being grounded takes the South coil out of the circuit.

Pole 3 & 4 are for the bridge pickup,
On pole 3, the red North hot wire is connected position 3, 4 & 5.
On pole 4, the white and black wires are grounded at position 2. The white South hotwire being grounded takes the Soth coil out of the circuit.

If you connect the wire that was going from the common lug of poles 2 and 4 to ground to the input of the common volume instead, when in the position 2 it would connect the black ground wire of the neck North coil to the red hot wire of the neck North coil, which would eliminate it from the circuit. It would do the same to the bridge pickup in position 4.

If you had two volume controls, you wouldn't connect the Poles 1 and 3 together, and you wouldn't connect poles 2 and 4 together if they are not going to ground.

You could also connect that wire from 2 and 4 to the common lugs of the other poles, since they go to the same place.

If you only use the one volume control, you could connect the wires at pole 4 position 4 to pole 3 position 4, and do something else with pole 4.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

This stuff scrambles my brain (what's left of it).


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Moot said:


> One quick confirmation: the Bridge pickup's South (screw) coil is closest to the Bridge, so the Neck pickup's South (screw) coil is closest to the neck, right?


Typically yes; the primary coils (the ones you want active when tapped; the one with adjustable poles if one coil isn't) are on the outside, farthest away from each other (vs the inside, closest to each other).


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

"On pole 4, the white and black wires are grounded at *position 2*. The white South hotwire being grounded takes the *Soth* coil out of the circuit."

That should be position 4 and South.

One thing, can't having a loop like this create an antenna?


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Argh! When I ordered my pickups I told the maker I was replacing DiMarzio pickups. When they were finally delivered he said to "wire them just like the previous pickups." So, since I'd specified "DiMarzio" I assumed he meant their wire colours, too.

After beating my head against these pickups for weeks now I contacted him to see what I might be doing wrong. Well, it turns out he uses Seymour Duncan colours! Arrgghhh!

I'm going to be posting a review of these once they're up and running, including the builder's name. This is Strike Two for him now. These pickups ($400 US new) better sound freakin' amazing! I'm out of patience this evening so I'll try again tomorrow.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Moot said:


> I'm out of patience this evening so I'll try again tomorrow.


I can certainly understand that!

Hoping that all goes smoothly now that you know the CORRECT colour coding.

Looking forward to your review.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Using a Seymour Duncan wired pickups.
You want the adjustable screws on the outer coils?
Neck/Neck Outer Coil/Neck and Bridge/Bridge Outer Coil/Bridge.

Seymour Duncun Wiring colours:

GREEN = start of adjustable/south coil
RED = finish of adjustable/south coil
BLACK = start of stud/north coil
WHITE = finish of stud/north coil










[red is black, black is white, white is red, green is green]

I see now on that in the first drawing they reverse the polarity of the two two coils that are on when they are split. I'm not sure how that is going to work exactly with your specific pickups, let me see if I can figure that out...well it shouldn't matter since only one coil is on, except you are doing odd things to the humbuckers when they are together. I'll check the Seymour Duncan website to see what they do...You can see in that Seymour Duncan diagram for the Dimarzio with the super switch they don't do that.

This diagram at Seymour Duncan is almost what you want, except there is only one volume and the other coils are split. You just connect the volumes separately.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Someone can please verify this will work.

Assuming adjustable screws on the outer coils.

You could move the red and white neck wires from pole 3 position 2 to pole 1 position 2.










It would probably be better to use the Seymour Duncan diagram, since it includes the bare wire twisted with the green wire.

Oh, maybe they're not twisted together? Anyways, bare wire to ground.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

...


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

That wiring worked perfectly! Thanks, Hammerhands!
I'm going to try another wiring arrangement that Granny Gremlin drew up for me, though. Still not enough Oomph in single coil settings.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

As per our PM convro today, here is what Moot is after (@Hammerhands hope you don't mind - was easier than starting from scratch and me photoshop skills be weak).

The one comment I have is that in no position do you have both coils tapped (humbucking) - I find that is a cool option (depending on the pickups somewhere between Strat and simulated acoustic in tone). This is the setting given by the coil tap switch on the Gibson Sonex Custom, defeating the main 3 way pup selector switch. I have rewired mine so I can tap either coil, and never defeat the pup selector (taps are push pull on the tone knobs). Filled the hole left by the tap switch with a switched pot controlling a passive OD effect (symmetrical diodes).










@Moot or anyone else who cares : a simple breakdown of how to understand these diagrams to decode the switch wiring:

- each pole of the switch (4P5T - 4 pole 5 throw) is like a basic 5 way switch - pin 0 is connected to any of 5 other terminals depending on the lever position; all 4 poles are in the same position at any time (controlled by same lever). Positions on each pole read 5>1 left to right with pin zero being the one closest to the outer edge for that pole (all as per the diagram above, graciously posted by @Hammerhands )
- the 2 right poles control in which positions bridge (top) and neck (bottom) are active (no matter whether humbucking or split - just is the pup on at all). The hot wire (aka South Start - see footnote at bottom) is connected to pin 0. The 4 positions in which the pup is to be active are in turn connected to the vol pot.
- the 2 left poles control in which position the pickups are tapped (again: bridge = top and neck = bottom). For the tap to work, the same position must be connected in the corresponding pole to the right (the pickup must be 'on' in that position). As mentioned above this is done by shunting the second coil (North) to ground (North start is already grounded, so just need to ground the other end) and effectively replacing the North start wire to ground with a ground connection for South Finish (again, see footnote; we're wiring the pup backwards at least regards SD convention here on purpose). The pickup cold/ground/South Start is connected to pin 0. Conveniently, grey (North Finish) and Red (South Finish) have to be connected anyway for series humbucking to work, so we get away with a twofer here.

And this is handy too as regards not just wiring but function of each wire:











Note that compared to the above pup colour code diagram South Start and North Start are reversed on my (and @hammerhans) diagrams. This is so that you can place the South coils (screw poles) on the outside and have those be the active coils when tapped in positions 2/4. Like most passive devices pickups work in either direction so this is fine. The above is just SD standard convention (which I disagree with because confusing, they did that so show that the coils are reverse wound from each other, and why is the main coil the one with slugs?).


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Oh, Frabjous day!
Callooh!
Callay!

It works as well as I'd hoped! Thanks to everyone for his or her help!

Part of the plan is that I still get the single-Coil tones by themselves if I use pos. 2 or 4 and turn the volume of the respective humbucker to 0, leaving just a single Coil.

I'm going to play with pickup and pole heights over the next few day and post a review.
Right now I'm happy. _Very_ happy.

Granny Gremlin, I just might have to add a mini switch or push/pull pot to get those other sounds. But for now I'm just going to wail away!

Thanks again to all!


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