Guitar Solo Switch
Caution: If your guitar is under warranty, doing any kind of unauthorized work
will void it.
This guitar modification only requires a double pole double throw
(DPDT) switch. If you use a "push pull" potentiometer with an attached
DPDT switch , then this won't change the appearance of your guitar.
If you choose to use a toggle switch then it will.
So what does this switch do? It totally bypasses the volume and tone controls. This comes in handy
for soloing because, you can go from a quiet, mellow sound to a screaming, biting, full volume, full tone attack and
just as easily return to the previous settings without the need to touch the
volume or tone controls.
Actually, you can have all the volume and tone settings at zero, but when the solo switch
is "on", it's just as if you had everything set to "10".
(Actually, the sound is a little bit brighter than "10"
because even at their maximum settings volume and tone controls still put a "load" on the output signal).
Solo Switch Circuit for a 1 Volume 1 Tone Control Guitar
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This circuit is rather easy to wire and the 'before' and 'after' diagrams are helpful in figuring out how
everything will get connected. Just proceed carefully and you should have no problems.
That's all well and good if your guitar only has one volume and one tone control.
However, we know that all guitars are not made the same. So, we'll show two other diagrams that can be
used in two very popular guitar circuits.
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Solo Switch Circuit for
Fender Stratocaster™ Type Guitars
This section deals with wiring a "Solo Switch" for a guitar with the circuitry of the Fender Stratocaster™
or one of the countless copies manufactured with the same design. If you have a 3 pickup guitar (usually
3 single coils), that has one "five-way" switch, one master volume control and 2 tone controls, this is how to wire a
solo switch into it.
Diagram 1 is the way your guitar is currently wired.
Diagram 2 is a detail of a small section of Diagram 1. This is where the rewiring has to be done.
There is a jumper wire on the five way switch that goes from the upper left lug to the lower right. Cut
this wire and carefully remove ¼" insulation from the 2 ends. Do the same with the wire from the middle
terminal of the Volume Control. Solder some wire extensions to these 4 points, making sure these wires
are long enough to reach wherever the solo switch will be mounted. Tape the 4 solder connections.
Now, solder these four wires to the DPDT switch making certain that each wire goes to the corresponding
terminal. (The wires and terminals have been given letters to make your job a little easier).
You have now finished. Recheck and test your work until you are certain that everything's wired okay.
Plug it in and enjoy your latest guitar modification.
Solo Switch Circuit for a
2 Volume 2 Tone Control Guitar
Due to the complexity of the wiring of dual volume and tone control guitars, it is not possible to
bypass 2 volume controls, 2 tone controls and 2 capacitors with just one DPDT switch so some compromise
had to be made. One disadvantage is that, unlike the other 2 circuits, this "Solo Switch" can only
activate the bridge pickup.
However, one advantage is that it will bring the bridge pickup into the circuit no matter what position
the pickup selector is in. (This does not apply to the other 2 circuits).
The above diagram is the circuit for the Gibson Les Paul™, the Gibson SG™ and the many
copies of these guitars. Basically, if you have a guitar with 2 volume and 2 tone controls, it would
probably be wired in just this way.
For this modification, you will have to cut the wires at the positions indicated by the red arrows.
Solder 4 extension wires at these locations.
To make certain that you wire the circuit properly, the detailed graphic below is much easier to
follow.
Using electrical tape, insulate the 4 solder connections you just made.
Now, following the letters exactly, solder the 4 wires to the DPDT switch.
When you are certain the wiring is correct, close up the guitar, plug it in and try out that new solo switch
you just wired in.
Go To Guitar Wiring Page 5
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