A/B 1/2

[tunatuk]

I'm a relative novice (alright, fine, I'm a complete novice), and am trying to start getting into it.  I've built a Synthrotek Tube Screamer, which didn't work, so I'm trying to start with something easy.

I've got a diagram for an A/B switch, but I'm wanting to also do one other thing.  I'm wanting to use one pedalboard for acoustic and electric, instead of trying to have two to bring with me to gigs.  I'm going to make it all from scratch, minus some pedals, but am trying to get a switch layout that I can have both acoustic and electric guitar plugged into it, and also go to my mixer/PA and to my amp.  I'm also wanting it to where my acoustic will only go to the PA and the electric only to the amp.  Basically I want it to switch both functions at once.

Can anyone help me figure out exactly how that would work? And/Or post a diagram showing which connections to make?

Oh, and if anyone has any ideas about the synthrotek build, let me know.  I'll get some pictures.

[GermanCdn]

Assuming you just want to go acoustic straight through to mixer and electric straight to amp, this should be pretty easy.  Run your electric input to one of the outside lugs of a 3PDT and the amp out to the adjacent lug, do the same for the acoustic side on the other set of outside lugs, jumper the corresponding two middle lugs and use the last row of lugs for your LEDs.  Hook up all your grounds in a star grounding arrangements and you should be good.

That being said, you might be better off with a 4PDT stomp so you can ground out the guitar not being used, or you could create an effects loop for each side if you don't want LED indication.

Welcome to the forum!

[tunatuk]

Since I'm completely green at this, I'm trying to draw what you said out on a chart of the pins of a 3pdt switch...but I'm not having much luck.

Here is what I think you're saying, but I want to be sure.  Please see the attached.

[GermanCdn]

Nope, swap you're Electric In and P/A out and you're there. 

[tunatuk]

Well, I've updated a little bit, but this is where I'm stuck at.  I don't know where the negative side of the LEDs gets wired up, nor do I know where the power would hook into the switch.  I'm hoping I don't have the switch turned 90 degrees from where it should be in the diagram, but if so, just let me know and we  can reference the other points using this diagram with the understanding that its 90 off axis.

[GermanCdn]

Your jumper is going in the wrong direction.  The way a 3pdt works is that the three columns are joined; in one position the top and the middle are joined, in the other the bottom and middle are joined, so the middle row is common.  The jumper connects your ins and outs, and the way you have it nothing is connected.

The negatives from your LEDs go to the two free outer lugs you have left; the ground goes to the one remaining free middle lug.  All of your grounds need to be connected as well as the groung from your switch and dc power supply.  I don't think you series wiring for the 9v will work, probably better to run two leads in parallel.

[tunatuk]

OK...let's see if I have it right now...Adjustments made, and I'm hoping (Praying, really) that I'm right!

[GermanCdn]

You're getting close .  The one thing you'll find with the way you've got the grounding laid out is that you have all your ground wires running to one small lug in the middle of the 3PDT, and there isn't a lot of real estate in there to do that kind of thing (and the center lug of the 3PDT is the hardest to solder too).  What I would suggest you do is use one of the grounding lugs on the jacks as your main ground (this is often referred to as "star grounding") and connect all grounds (from the 3PDT, the DC jack, and all of the jacks) to that lug; you've got way more space to run them all through there.

Have fun!

[tunatuk]

Gotcha...so daisy chain all the jacks together, and then run another lead to the grounding lug to finish it off...right?

[jkokura]

Right. Unless you're using metal jacks and a metal enclosure - then the grounds all connect to the enclosure, and you just have to run one wire from the switch to one sleeve lug on a jack.

Jacob

[tunatuk]

I am, and I am. Awesome! Thanks for EVERYONE'S help on this...One of these days I'm gonna figure out how to do all this stuff on my own! I can follow pictures really well, but I'm trying to learn what everything means/does!

[Leevibe]

I think you still may not be quite there yet.  It seems that this circuit is function as a double sided mute switch to me.  I believe if you are trying to use 1 f/x rig with two guitars and two amps (or amp and P/A) you will need to also add a pair of jacks for a loop to/from your pedal board and a 4pdt switch.