ljoe1969 Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 I have a Strat with 3 single coil pickups and a 5 way selector switch. How can i put an led on each pickup so that it comes on when the pickup is selected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 You need a 4-pole 5-way switch. They're readily available. You would simply duplicate the wiring for a regular 5-way switch, substituting the LED's for the corresponding pickup wires. As for how to put it in the single coil, just drill it between two of the magnets and run the wires out. It's a neat idea. It would be great for humbuckers, having just one of the LED's come on when it's in single coil mode, so you'd know which coils were on at which times. I mean, if you're really asking exactly how to do it, like "put the red wire here, xxkohm resistor there, etc. then you can read up on basic electronics and LED's. It's pretty simple. I'm just telling you it's totally do-able, and pretty simple. But without disengaging the tone control side of a normal 5-way, you have to use a 4-pole. Hey, you could just wire a master tone control, and then the third knob could be a dimmer for the LED's. With dual color LED's you might be able to get it to change colors at a certain point in the knob's travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljoe1969 Posted March 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Can it be done without adding any additional hardware? not counting the led's and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 except the "super" switch and resistors...yes! although im not sure if they would have enough power without adding a battery...they might suck the tone away fgrom the pups f it was passive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 they might dimly glow if you hit the strings hard enough...but you'd be left with no tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1guitarslinger Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Seriously,they WONT light AT ALL without a Battery ! Any power that's in a guitars electrics is a tiny amount, we're talking Mili-Volts. LED's need at least 1.5volts to even make them light dimly. ← Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 they might dimly glow if you hit the strings hard enough...but you'd be left with no tone Where's Jeremy's bunny when you need it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 lol when i said that i did mean with EXTREME force...i didnt just mean hit them im not THAT stupid...internet humour is so hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted March 31, 2005 Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 :Pbut in theory there no limit to how much voltage you can induce so theoretically you could provide enoguh current for the LED...althoguh you'd break stuff in practice before you got enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljoe1969 Posted March 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 i understand a battery is needed. but the question is can i wire the led's to the pickup selector switch without the current from the battery doing any interference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suregork Posted March 31, 2005 Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 (edited) Yes.. with the super switch.. it will basically be two different switches.. so that when it is in one position the same corresponding plugs will be connected.. Here is a picture describing a similar situation though with a more simple kind of switch: Please correct me if I'm wrong.. EDIT: Here is a picture of the superswitch: Click Here Edited March 31, 2005 by suregork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suregork Posted March 31, 2005 Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 I'm not quite sure about if there are any switches like that, but there probably is. Just wait for the electronics gurus to arrive, and they'll probably answer. The schematic would look something like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 31, 2005 Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 A DPDT On-Both-On switch wired as in suregork's diagram will do the trick. Not a problem in a custom setup, but good luck finding a switch that'll fit in a Gibson toggle hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donbenjy Posted March 31, 2005 Report Share Posted March 31, 2005 (edited) nevermind lovekraft answered first Edited March 31, 2005 by donbenjy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 Most On-On-On switches will switch one pole in the center position. An On-Both-On switch will connect both ends together in the middle position, just like a Gibson toggle, but with two poles. They're not going to be that easy to find. Using a DPST for each pickup makes the LEDs really easy, but it does complicate switching in a live situation. If you can handle using it, wiring it up is trivial - just use the second pole to connect the cathode of the LED to ground, and wire the anode to a series resistor connected to the battery + terminal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suregork Posted April 1, 2005 Report Share Posted April 1, 2005 I don't know if this was mentioned, but I would put in a stereo jack in the guitar and wire the leds to the ring, so that they would only be on if the guitar plug is plugged in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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