Another Double Neck Guitar Nightmare

[LennieJoseph]

Hey folks, I am new here, hello to all. I am a local tech/luthier from NJ and I have a problem. I am wiring (or trying to) Gibson type switches into a Danelectro double neck guitar. My customer doesn't like the switches that came with it, so he wants it done this way, he even supplied the parts. I have been working on this thing for a week, and I can figure it out. I have been on Gibson and Dano sites looking at schematics and nothing is working. The switches are fine, but when I wiring them up I only can get the bridge pickups to work in one position, and in the other both, and in the middle both pickups. I haven't done the neck switch yet. Its off good quality, but he wants it like the Gibson so in the middle position both necks are on. If anyone can help, I would greatly appreiciate it. Thanks!

[Andrew]

G'day LJ. We're going to need a diagram of the existing wiring and pickups/components to be of much help. Also your description of what exactly is happening with the switches could be a little clearer.

[Russell Vance]

Lennie, you need to send imagery of all the parts you have and possibly of the schematic you are (attempting ) to use.   It's fully possible that you have the wrong selector switch.     There is no voodoo in wiring, there is something wrong and you will need to work it out - if it takes more than an hour you have a real problem and may need help from a more experienced technician (don't take that the wrong way - I've had to raise the white flag from time to time.

If you wish help here you will need to show it all - nothing is taken for granted and anything can be wrong regardless of how you are informed or reassured.

Good luck bloke, Rusty.  

[LennieJoseph]

I'm thinking of wiring the guitar with one volume and one tone. The switch that I have come in Gibsons . They are the standard 5 lug type including the ground. When I wire it up, I can only get the bridge pick to work. The concentric pots make it a big struggle to get to work.

[Andrew]

So to clarify... each neck has two pickups, one volume and one tone in a stacked concentric pot, and a 3 way toggle switch, plus the 3 way toggle to switch between necks. Is this correct?

Also, when you say 'the standard 5 lug type' do you mean the toggles are the switchcraft style?

[Andrew]

Ive just found this on google. Its what I would have drawn assuming the components I listed are what youre using. Youll have to imagine the seperate pots are concentric, but it works the same way. Also if the pickups youre using are different then the hot and ground leads may be a different colour, so check that.

[Len Biglin]

The pots on the 6 string neck are shown as a mirror image of the 12 neck , and as such they are shown wired backwards , wire them to look the same as the 12 string side and you should be in business . If you did it as shown on the image above , you would have to turn the 6 string pots off to get sound .

[Andrew]

:O! Good catch. I saw the backward lettering, but not the pots...

[LennieJoseph]

I found a schematic for the original double neck on Dennys guitars I tried ut, and I can only get the bridge pickup to work. It's laid out for the original import type switches. It won't work with the three way Gibson type switches, and I can't figure out why.

[LennieJoseph]

[Andrew]

Well Ill admit this diagram confounds me somewhat, Im not sure why it would work, but if it does Id love for someone to explain how. I seem to have a hard time when the wire colours arent distinct in diagrams, so maybe its just that.

What I do see however, is it shows two toggles, not three, and the neck selector toggle is a 6 pole double throw. So a the standard switchcraft style toggle probably wont work as the neck selector with this wiring configuration. It seems youre trying to make 2 switches do the work of 2 1/2. But Im not the cleverest with wiring so maybe its possible, and someone can educate us (hopefully).