Washburn DI14

This project took the wiring design I used on the Harmony and added a blend control, and bypass toggle to the mix. It also consolidated pickup control into a single 6 position rotary switch.

• upgraded pickups to GFS "Crunchy PAF" chrome covered 4-wire humbuckers
• upgraded tuners to chrome Wilkinson EZ-LOK minituners
• custom wiring options including reverse phase, alternate middle position and coil cut options.
• frets leveled and crowned

PICKUP SELECTOR - 6 POSITION ROTARY SWITCH

Position B is a standard humbucking bridge position with a slight twist. The master volume controls the output level of the pickup. The blend volume controls the output of the outer coil. The outer coil can be blended in or completely cut leaving a single coil bridge using the inner coil.

Position R is the most usable out of phase option available in an HH setup. The bridge pickup is wired in parallel and oriented in series with the neck pickup, in reverse phase. This option retains the low end while providing nasaly out-of-phase tone without a volume drop. It also retains the natural boinginess of humbucking tone. Suggestions: Try some chicken pickin or pedal steel style licks. This option also works well when complementing a second guitar allowing both guitars to stand out better in the mix.

Output is controlled by the Master Volume. The blend volume allows you to control how much bridge pickup to add - effectively allowing a balance between Reverse Phase and a standard humbucking neck position.

Position M orients the outer coils of the neck and bridge pickup in series and replaces the standard middle position. This wiring is not muddy like standard middle toggle can be, and the tone has more of a mid cut. There is no loss of output and the signal is still humbucking with no loss of volume. Works well when you want meaty tone with some “bite”.

Output is controlled by the Master Volume. The Blend Volume can be used to control how much of the bridge pickup outer coil is mixed in with the neck pickup outer coil. Backing off with the blend control gets you back into the territory of standard middle toggle, but with a more hollow body type tone.

Position N is the standard humbucking neck position - tried and true. Output is controlled by the Master Volume only.

Position S cuts the inner coil of the neck pickup, leaving only the inner coil turned on. Output is controlled by the Master Volume only. There is a noticeable drop in output in this position. The blend volume adds the inner coil back in as it is backed off.

Position O effectively switches the guitar off, so you can lean it against your amp while you take a break.

The Master Volume knob controls the overall output of the pickups in every position. It is wired with a bypass capacitor to compensate for inherent treble bleed that happens when volume is turned down. The Master Volume and Blend Volume can be disengaged using the 3-way toggle.

In positions R and M, the Blend Volume knob allows a mix between the Pickup Selection as described and a Standard Neck Humbucker. In Position B and S it controls the level of one of the coils.

The Master Tone knob allows the player to roll off the trebles and controls the tone in all positions. The Master Tone control can also be disengaged using the 3-way toggle.

The toggle switch allows the player to either bypass the Master Tone control, or bypass both Volume controls (but not both at the same time). In the middle position, all controls are engaged. In the floor position the Master Tone control is bypassed. In the roof position, both Volume controls are bypassed.

Suggested Uses: Preset your rolled off Jazz tone using the Master Tone and use the bypass switch to instantly switch between Full Bright and Jazz. Or, preset your Volume levels for rhythm and lead playing and use the toggle to instantly switch between the two.

The wiring options presented here were extensively prototyped and selected for usefulness. After all that tinkering, it became evident that humbucking pickup coils are designed to sound good in series. Series options were favored for many other reasons, including avoiding the volume drop inherent in coil cut/tap/parallel options. Settings that were very close were evaluated for tone and redundant options removed. This wiring is designed to minimize the amount of work the player needs to do to get from one option to the next. Above all else, the player has a superior palate of tone available at their fingertips, all within the bounds of what an HH guitar is designed to do.