How much of a blow should a blower switch blow?

Treewig1

I've got a guitar with two McNelly duel blade goldfoils. 

It has a blower switch on the tone pot. 

Should I hear a very audible difference when the blower switch is engaged?  The switch works (well, it pops out) but I hear no audible difference at all.  Is there something else I should do/some other way of testing if it is engaged?

professorben

AFAIK a blower switch should bypass all the controls and wire the bridge pickup directly to the output jack. 

Have you tried selecting the neck pickup our winding down the tone control then engaging the blower switch? 

thegummy

Treewig1 said:

I've got a guitar with two McNelly duel blade goldfoils. 

It has a blower switch on the tone pot. 

Should I hear a very audible difference when the blower switch is engaged?  The switch works (well, it pops out) but I hear no audible difference at all.  Is there something else I should do/some other way of testing if it is engaged?

If "blower" means the pickup straight to the output jack, like I've heard the term used before, then it's a very tiny difference between that and the tone control up full.

The only reason it's different at all is that a tone control pot still has a tiny amount of effect even when at 10, unless it's a no-load pot.

I don't know why anyone would bother with a switch for that personally.

springhead

It’s not just for bypassing the tone pot. If you’re on the neck pickup with volume and tone down a bit it should switch straight to raw bridge pickup with all controls bypassed.  

professorben

springhead said:

It’s not just for bypassing the tone pot. If you’re on the neck pickup with volume and tone down a bit it should switch straight to raw bridge pickup with all controls bypassed.  

Yes this. 

That finely balanced neck pickup tone for the verses, and then a big chunky full output for the choruses and solo etc. 

Treewig1

Thanks all.  I hadn’t thought of the point @professorben ; @springhead raised.  I shall listen again.  

thegummy

springhead said:

It’s not just for bypassing the tone pot. If you’re on the neck pickup with volume and tone down a bit it should switch straight to raw bridge pickup with all controls bypassed.  

Now I know why some people might bother with it

I suppose it's a similar benefit to have more than 1 volume and/or tone knob on a guitar.

axisus

springhead said:

It’s not just for bypassing the tone pot. If you’re on the neck pickup with volume and tone down a bit it should switch straight to raw bridge pickup with all controls bypassed.  

That's exactly what I do with it. Can be useful for a quick change up in a song.

hubobulous

I love the blower switch on my Suhrs. Great for hitting a solo phrase within a verse amongst other uses as mentioned above

Funkfingers

Treewig1 said:

Should I hear a very audible difference when the blower switch is engaged?

Seems as if your blower switch sucks. Perhaps, it has been wired the wrong way around?

Rocker

I think the Blower switch is a brilliant idea and simple to use.  Operate the blower switch and set  the lead volume and tone on the amplifier.  Turn off the blower switch and adjust the rhythm volume and tone on the guitar.

If you play guitar with the guitar volume control at or near 10, the blower switch has little or no effect.  Move the guitar volume control to 5 and the blower switch kicks in with a bang.

Treewig1

I’ve tried everything suggested.  I think the blower switch is mis-wired or broken because it has zero affect no matter what.  I shall find a wiring diagram and see what’s what.

 The three-way selector switch is interesting.  It has 8 numbered contact points down one side and some are permanently joined ...

ICBM

Treewig1 said:

I’ve tried everything suggested.  I think the blower switch is mis-wired or broken because it has zero affect no matter what.  I shall find a wiring diagram and see what’s what.

 The three-way selector switch is interesting.  It has 8 numbered contact points down one side and some are permanently joined ...

That’s standard for some varieties of cheap lever switch, but it isn’t the problem. The blower switch should disconnect the bridge pickup from the switch and connect it directly to the jack, while also disconnecting the jack from the pots... if that makes sense.

The blower switch should have 6 terminals:

1 4
2 5
3 6

If 1 and 4 are at the end where the switch is in ‘normal’ mode, then connect:

1 to bridge pickup terminal on selector switch
2 to bridge pickup
3 to jack
4 to volume pot output
5 to jack
6 no connection (or for extra reliability, also connect it to 2)

Treewig1

Thanks @icbm.  The blower switch is a push pull tone pot, but I think your suggestion still fits.  I shall give it a go.  Cheers 

ICBM

Treewig1 said:

The blower switch is a push pull tone pot, but I think your suggestion still fits.

Yes, the push-pull should be a DPDT switch with 6 terminals - if it’s the standard type they will be on the switch body. 1 and 4 are at the end furthest from the pot part if you want ‘down’ to be ‘normal’.

(If it’s a new CTS push-pull they’re on a small PCB.)

Treewig1

This is defeating me and driving me nuts: I see no logic in the current wiring but I don’t know what to try next.  Maybe time to ship it off but I may have one last attempt left in me before I give up.

This is what the current set up is (each pickup has 5 wires - red, green, black, white and bare).

Both sets of red and green wires are taped off together.  Both white wires go to the three-way selector switch.  Both sets of black and bare wires go to a terminal on each end of the selector switch.

The push pull tone pot is connected only to the volume pot.

The blower switch (which is the tone pot) dies nothing and the tone pot dies not affect 5h3 tone at all.

Im completely at a loss and no diagrams on the interweb come close to helping.  This wasn’t a cheap guitar (it’s. TLL Marvin) and I’d be surprised if it left TLL (or NAG) like this.  The soldering looks pretty rough and the components are basic.

FelineGuitars

very few companies get the blower switch right 
Tom Anderson and Suhr do

To do it right is a lot more complex than some people realise as you have to lift BOTH the hot and the live of the pickup from the the cicuit and connect it directly to the jack 

You do pretty much need a 9 or 12 pole switch 

Kebabkid

springhead said:

It’s not just for bypassing the tone pot. If you’re on the neck pickup with volume and tone down a bit it should switch straight to raw bridge pickup with all controls bypassed.  That's my experience of one when I had them on a Tom Anderson and Suhr. Useful things.

Treewig1

I understood springhead’s point the first time.  My blower switch still does nothing at all.

ICBM

Treewig1 said:

I understood springhead’s point the first time.  My blower switch still does nothing at all.

Is it wired as I described? That will work, guaranteed. If it doesn’t then the switch is physically broken, ie not switching electrically despite the mechanical movement.

(Just for clarity, my labelling is for the hot connections - all grounds are connected as normal.)

Treewig1

Hi @icbm.  To be honest, I don’t know.  I am a dabbler and my brain just doesn’t work in the right way to envisage what is required with wiring.  I have literally binned my soldering iron today.  I just don’t get it.  Thank @icbm for your suggestions.  You are a credit to the forum.