Mini toggle switch on Moar Overdrive?

[ferrinbonn]

Hi all. Total noob here trying to muddle through my first build. I received all the components in the mail today and am beginning to put it all together. I realized I made one mistake with my order. Instead of getting a dpdt on-on, I got a dpdt on-on-on. The switch in this build switches the pedal between hard and soft clipping.

My question is, in a on-on-on switch, what does the middle on do? Is it both circuits on at the same time rather than one or the other? What would happen if I tried to use this switch with this build? Hard and soft clipping at the same time?

More curious than anything. I can get the right switch easy enough, but I'm not sure if I could just make this one work.

Thanks for your help!

[Drew Hallenbeck]

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/category/wiring_resources_guitar_wiring_diagrams.wiring_faqs.pickup_and_mini_switch_terminal_diagrams/

Check this page out for a bunch of diagrams on how different switches work.

Looking at the schematic, the toggle is switching two separate sets of clipping diodes in or out of the circuit.
The on-on-on toggle would work as intended with the switch in the up or down position.
The way the contacts work with the on-on-on would mean that in the middle position, one set of diodes would be in the circuit and the other would be out. You should get a sort of "middle" setting between soft and hard clipping.
Might be a cool third option to try out.......?

So, in this case I think changing the switch would work. However, DPDT on-on-on switches are NOT always an acceptable substitute for DPDT on-on or on-off-on switches.

[Drew Hallenbeck]

OOPS!

Just looked at the schematic again.
The switch in the UP position will have one set of diodes in the circuit.
The switch in the DOWN position will have the other set of diodes in the circuit.
Depending on how the pinout of the switch matches up with the board, the middle position would give you either BOTH sets of diodes in the circuit or NEITHER set of diodes in the circuit.
Could still be an interesting option to explore......?

[ferrinbonn]

So no risk of damage at least?

[Drew Hallenbeck]

Nope, I don't see any risk of damage. You might just end up with a less than ideal setting in the middle position.
If you decide to give it a whirl, make sure to report back and let us know what you think. I have plans to build one of these in the near future so I'd be interested to see what you think.

[ferrinbonn]

I'll probably chicken out and find the right kind of switch. I'd love to get wild and see what happens, but for my first build, I think I should eliminate as many possible sources of error as I can since my knowledge to troubleshoot is almost non-existent.

[Drew Hallenbeck]

Not a bad call. Maybe I'll guinea pig this idea once I get around to building mine.