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OK I can take a saxophone apart (hundreds of pieces) and put it together, but this is my first adventure with a broken guitar. I have a Parker Maxxfly USA made guitar. The pickup switch is a blade but the switch that selects either the magnetic pickups, piezo pickup or both is a toggle.The mag/piezo toggle fell apart. From what I can see it looks like two switches with a nylon probe between them attached to the toggle. In the center position both switches seem to be closed with two metal blades touching each other. When the switch is moved to either extreme, it separates the blades on the opposite side, leaving only one side closed. There are four solder lands on the edge of the switch. The two outside are ground and the two inside go to the pickups, one to the piezo and the other to the mags. Is this a DPDT on/on/on switch? If not, please correct me. (I've been googling but since my local guitar store doesn't have a replacement and I have to have it sent to me, I want to make sure I get it right the first time). The nut that holds it to the guitar, thus I assume the hole is 7/16" - at least by holding it up to a ruler. What would you recommend for the sturdiest, most reliable replacement? Thanks: The guitar, the switch farthest from the neck is the one in question. Couldn't get the pictures to post (I don't know why) so here are the links' http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/NN08_right.jpg  Switch pictures to follow: http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_001.jpg http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_002.jpg http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_003.jpg http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_004.jpg Thanks! Notes
Last edited by Notes Norton; 06/14/19 02:01 PM. Reason: Pictures didn't show up
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
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OK I can take a saxophone apart (hundreds of pieces) and put it together, but this is my first adventure with a broken guitar. I have a Parker Maxxfly USA made guitar. The pickup switch is a blade but the switch that selects either the magnetic pickups, piezo pickup or both is a toggle.The mag/piezo toggle fell apart. From what I can see it looks like two switches with a nylon probe between them attached to the toggle. In the center position both switches seem to be closed with two metal blades touching each other. When the switch is moved to either extreme, it separates the blades on the opposite side, leaving only one side closed. There are four solder lands on the edge of the switch. The two outside are ground and the two inside go to the pickups, one to the piezo and the other to the mags. Is this a DPDT on/on/on switch? If not, please correct me. (I've been googling but since my local guitar store doesn't have a replacement and I have to have it sent to me, I want to make sure I get it right the first time). The nut that holds it to the guitar, thus I assume the hole is 7/16" - at least by holding it up to a ruler. What would you recommend for the sturdiest, most reliable replacement? Thanks: The guitar, the switch farthest from the neck is the one in question. Couldn't get the pictures to post (I don't know why) so here are the links' http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/NN08_right.jpg Switch pictures to follow: http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_001.jpg http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_002.jpg http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_003.jpg http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_004.jpg Thanks! Notes Notes, you're close when you state double-pole double-throw (DPDT) however, that description doesn't fit this switch. The center position of a DPDT switch is OFF. In your case the center position is that both inputs are on. It is a unique switch in that the center position connects both inputs. A standard DPDT switch would be ON/OFF/ON, yours is one/both/two. You could use a DPDT (with no center Off position) to select one or the other inputs, but not both. Sorry I can't help more, except to say that a standard DPDT switch will not be the correct replacement. Someone with guitar experience will chip in for sure.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Thanks to you both for responding.
Video Track, the on/off/on switch is what the kid in Guitar Center sold me (my local Mom and Pop store went out of business a couple of months ago). And that is exactly what I'm getting mags/none/piezo.
Since my main use for the piezo is t blend a little twang with the mags, it doesn't do what I want it to.
Dave, thanks, but the standard LP switch has only three lands, I need 4.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
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OK here is a schematic of the switch (excuse the poor mouse drawing skills). There are two discreet leaf switches, normally closed, with a toggle in between. When the toggle is in center position, both switches are closed. When the toggle is forced to either extreme, it bends the ground leaf opening the circuit by separating the contacts.  Again the picture didn't work, I don't know why, so here is the link" http://www.nortonmusic.com/pix/Parker_Switch_005.jpg I need to know what kind of switch this is. Thanks, Bob
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
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Assuming your diagram is correct, it is working the same as a three terminal switch. Those outer two terminals are connected together (via the ground) so are acting as one terminal, which would be the common terminal in a Gibson type pickup switch.
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Notes, are the Red and Blue wires also connected to the pickups?
Presuming the guitar is Mono output, that circuit doesn't make sense to me. I can't follow how the pickups are wired into the circuit. Does the ground connection really go to ground?
Last edited by VideoTrack; 06/15/19 10:22 AM. Reason: Further question.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Notes, are the Red and Blue wires also connected to the pickups?
Presuming the guitar is Mono output, that circuit doesn't make sense to me. I can't follow how the pickups are wired into the circuit. Does the ground connection really go to ground? The output is mono, but the red and the blue go to the preamp which is inside the guitar, and pickups feed the preamp in different locations on the circuit board. Thanks. Funny, I inquired on the Parker Forum, and nobody posted this link. But then since Parker ceased production, the forum is only a ghost of it's former self. Most of the regulars are gone, and it's turned into not much more than a trading post. I have the newer Dragonfly with the Ghost piezo instead of the Fishman, so I'm hoping they hook up the same. I've bookmarked the link and will get to it this afternoon. I'll let you know if it works. Thanks again, Bob
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
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Bob, did any of the switches I searched for and listed above come close to what you are requiring?
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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It looks like the third one might work, I inquired to get the schematics and am waiting for a response.
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I figured out why I couldn't see the pictures, Firefox addition https everywhere didn't like that my own domain doesn't have https (it does, but only when you get to the shopping cart).
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Dave, if I can't find a direct replacement, I might try the mod listed in the Parker Forum article you posted. Stock worked fine with me, and I'd rather keep it that way.
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Once I find a suitable replacement, I'm going to get 3, one for the broken Parker, if the switch is better constructed than the original, I'll go ahead and replace the other Parker, and the last one will live in the guitar case until needed.
The guitar came in a wood/tolex case. I tried to find a flight case for it, but couldn't find one that would work. It's strat shaped but thinner and shorter.
What I think happened, is while setting up equipment, the case tipped over from standing on the edge to the face, and the force of the fall or the guitar moving in the case broke the switch. I found a foam 'donut' that I'm now putting around the switch in the case to cushion it in case that happens again.
Thanks again for all your help.
Bob
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
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Ok, I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I got my other Parker back, took it apart and removed the switch. Since the switch was in one piece instead of pieces like the broken one was, I could see what was happening. The schematic I drew piecing the broken switch together the best I could was wrong. In the center toggle position there is no connection, toggling closes one or another. I can only assume that when the connection is closed, the preamp opens that circuit. So I sent the schematic to Stew-Mac and we'll see what we shall see.  The upper arrow being the toggle not part of the circuit. Is this on/off/on configuration? Notes
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That makes more sense I think you said before that the middle position selects both pickups. If that is the case, when the switch is closed (connected to ground) the preamp is not active. So in your above diagram, far left the blue is active, middle both are active, far right the red is active. You can do it with a three pole on-off-on switch. Connect the center terminal to ground, left terminal to blue, right terminal to red. This one should work: https://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Electronics/Pedal_Kits_and_Parts/Mini_Toggle_Switches_SPDT.html (#7465)
Last edited by BlueAttitude; 06/25/19 05:21 AM. Reason: more info
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Thanks Dave! That switch looks sealed which I think is a great idea. I gig in what seems like the corrosion capital of the US. The old switch came apart and I suppose when I tried to hold it back together, I used too much force, or put something on backwards, or didn't know what it was supposed to look like. The old switch must have been made on a Friday afternoon or Monday morning, because the identical switch in my other Parker seems sturdy. I'll probably replace it anyway if I get something more reliable. That'll teach me to loan out my other Parker. I should have loaned him my LTD Faux LP  Murphy's law rules, as soon as you loan something out, you need it. So I put two "wrong" switches in, and hopefully the next one with be right. It seems like I'm going to "Introduction to Guitar Maintenance" school now. but that's OK, I like learning new things. Too bad Parker went out of business, I'd like to get more info on how that preamp works. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
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Thanks again Dave,
BTW it is the same switch Stew-Mac recommended but your post came a day earlier than their response.
It's on the way. My guitar will be happy again.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
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& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Thanks for that update, Notes.
Yes, that circuit would work, but the earlier one had me completely confused. It couldn't work.
(I'm qualified in Industrial Electronics and Electronic Instrumentation)
Grounding the unused pickup is how I had expected the circuit to operate.
It's not quite a standard On/Off/On configuration, as there are two isolated connections. A standard standard On/Off/On would have a common connection (3 wires for a single pole switch).
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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But in effect it does have a common connection because the two outside terminals are connected to ground.
Electrically identical to using a three pole on-off-on switch with the center terminal connected to ground.
(Two years technical school to become an electronic technician, I job I worked at for 15 years before going back to school for software engineering)
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Yes, good point Dave, however the difference is that it has been externally wired to have a common connection. The switch itself has 4 terminals, allowing isolation between the connections if required.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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