Wiring diagram for adding a piezo / humbucker switch to SE HB ii Piezo

[RickF]

Hello,

Is there a wiring diagram for adding a 3-way switch to the SE Hollowbody ii Piezo anywhere to be shared?

This guitar is really, really amazing. I get a ton of compliments on how good it sounds. The one thing lacking from a performance perspective is a switch. Having to spin the humbucker / piezo volumes during songs is a drag. I am an avid looper so in my duo I layer different sounds for probably 90%+ of our songs on gigs. Hitting a switch would be much more efficient.

I have seen some pics with it done. I just don't know what goes where. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[JasonE]

I remember a number of people wanting to do this to the SE model because the core has it and it is very useful. I remember reading that some have tried and that it isn't possible with the system that is in the SE model. Maybe someone has figured out how to do it now but I would think you would start seeing a lot of them with it added and I haven't seen even one yet.

 

[Aether]

Several of us have successfully made this mod. I also swapped the location between the tone and piezo volume so that I could change the tone to a push-pull for coil splitting. Unfortunately, I didn’t document how I did it, but bottom line is you focus on using the output from each of the volume pots as input to the mini toggle. I believe another forum member posted an in depth article on here. A search should find it.





A word of advice, a dentist tool kit comes in REAL handy when working on a Hollowbody!

 

[Aether]

Ah, see here…. https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/se-hollowbody-piezo-electronics-wiring-thread.47423/

 

[JasonE]

Ah, see here…. https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/se-hollowbody-piezo-electronics-wiring-thread.47423/

The pictures are not loading for me in that thread. Looks like a decent thread but seeing the pictures would be needed. Hopefully they show for others.

Does the mini toggle work like the core model when you do this?

 

[RickF]

The pictures are not loading for me in that thread. Looks like a decent thread but seeing the pictures would be needed. Hopefully they show for others.

Does the mini toggle work like the core model when you do this?

I don't see all the images either....

 

[JasonE]

I don't see all the images either....

That is a shame. I think that takes so much away from the thread that it may be hard to follow what needs done.

 

[Aether]

The pictures are not loading for me in that thread. Looks like a decent thread but seeing the pictures would be needed. Hopefully they show for others.

Does the mini toggle work like the core model when you do this?

Yes, the mini toggle functions the same. As with a large three way pickup selector, you are choosing between one input, the other input, or both. That’s why you want to feed the switch from the volume outputs from each pot. The only thing that functions different than core is that the core doesn’t have an independent Piezo volume - instead it’s a blend knob. I much prefer the SE setup with the toggle as it allows individually setting the volume of each pickup type - and with the 3-way added, the ability to quickly switch between the sounds.

Yep, looks like the pictures are gone - they initially still showed for me as they were still cached. Looks like the poster was last on the forum a few weeks ago, so you may want to message him to see if he can update the links or send them to you.

 

[JasonE]

Yes, the mini toggle functions the same. As with a large three way pickup selector, you are choosing between one input, the other input, or both. That’s why you want to feed the switch from the volume outputs from each pot. The only thing that functions different than core is that the core doesn’t have an independent Piezo volume - instead it’s a blend knob. I much prefer the SE setup with the toggle as it allows individually setting the volume of each pickup type - and with the 3-way added, the ability to quickly switch between the sounds.

The core has a volume knob for each. In the documentation they term it in one place as "piezo blend / volume" knob. They use the term "volume" in the rest of the document. It is only a blend knob if you are using the combined output. I typically run mine with separate cables or wireless units. Running it the way I do, the knob truly is the volume knob for the Piezo pickup only.

 

[Slcpag]

Several of us have successfully made this mod. I also swapped the location between the tone and piezo volume so that I could change the tone to a push-pull for coil splitting. Unfortunately, I didn’t document how I did it, but bottom line is you focus on using the output from each of the volume pots as input to the mini toggle. I believe another forum member posted an in depth article on here. A search should find it.





A word of advice, a dentist tool kit comes in REAL handy when working on a Hollowbody!

Hi, I had a 3 way switch installed on my hollowbody II piezo, but there is a loud pop in the PA when I switch over to the piezo which is annoying. Is anyone else experiencing this issue? If so any solutions on how to fix it? Thanks

 

[Aether]

Hi, I had a 3 way switch installed on my hollowbody II piezo, but there is a loud pop in the PA when I switch over to the piezo which is annoying. Is anyone else experiencing this issue? If so any solutions on how to fix it? Thanks

No, not for me. It depends on where exactly the person who did the install tapped into the wiring. It sounds like on yours it may have been wired at a different point in the chain for the piezo where it’s cutting in and out the power to the onboard preamp.

 

[Slcpag]

That would make sense. I will discuss with the guitar shop. I assume it should be wired after the pre amp?

 

[Aether]

That would make sense. I will discuss with the guitar shop. I assume it should be wired after the pre amp?

Yep, it should be coming off the output of the piezo volume pot.

 

[Slcpag]

Thank you so much.