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Coil-split vs coil-tap vs series/parallel ...


csm

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Currently considering various wiring options to increase humbucker versatility. I know approximately what the technical differences are between the tree options mentioned in the thread title, but it's be nice to get some impressions of what the audible tonal differences might be.

 

I have a 2HB guitar with coil-splits already, and this produces a thoroughly usable tone, with less low-end and less output, than the full-on HBs, but I'd like to know who's experimented with these options, which you prefer and why, and which would provide the most authentically Fendery faux-single-coil sound out of a pair of PAF-alikes.

 

*Jean-Luc Picard voice*

 

Gentlemen! Suggestions!

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Currently considering various wiring options to increase humbucker versatility. I know approximately what the technical differences are between the tree options mentioned in the thread title, but it's be nice to get some impressions of what the audible tonal differences might be.


I have a 2HB guitar with coil-splits already, and this produces a thoroughly usable tone, with less low-end and less output, than the full-on HBs, but I'd like to know who's experimented with these options, which you prefer and why, and which would provide the most authentically Fendery faux-single-coil sound out of a pair of PAF-alikes.


*Jean-Luc Picard voice*


Gentlemen! Suggestions!


:)

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csm,

You are searching for the Holy Grail, Strat sounds out of a Les Paul. I know that Larry DiMarzio offers various wiring diagrams for humbucker setups on their website so you might try that.

Seymour Duncan do likewise I am told.

 

 

Tom, Tom, Tom, I don't see the words Les or Paul anywhere in Charles' post;)

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csm,

You are searching for the Holy Grail, Strat sounds out of a Les Paul. I know that Larry DiMarzio offers various wiring diagrams for humbucker setups on their website so you might try that.

Seymour Duncan do likewise I am told.

 

 

The destination guitar isn't going to be a Les Paul as such, but a 'Tele-Gib' ie a 2HB Tele. The body of a Tele demonically possessed by the soul of a Les Paul, if you like.

 

Principle remains the same, tho'.

 

The coilsplits on my Ibanez AS50 produce, as I said, pleasant and usable tones but nothing that would render a halfway-decent Strat or Tele redundant.

 

In the collective experience of this forum, do any of these methods produce serious results, or should I just accept that the guitar in my hands is the one I'm playing?

 

(So to speak.)

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Hi. Did you see the post I made a couple of weeks ago about my lp? I think what I did to mine is like what Jimmy Page did, with push/pull knobs. It has coil split, reverse phase and series/parallel. I'm really happy with it, it has so many differenf sounds. I can get really quite tinny treble sounds along with the usual thick lp sounds. Would you like me to find the diagram for you?

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find a pickup maker to copy the original Fender Wide Range humbuckers for you. they were Seth Lover's design for Fender.

 

i've got Dimarzio Virtual PAFs in my PRS Custom 24. 3 way switch and series/parallel operation on each pup via push/pull pots. it doesn't sound like a single coil in parallel but it gets a nice bright, lower gain sound.

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This is what I had in mind Charles


3484_detail.gif

 

If A & D (3rd position in the top-left diagram) produces the 'Peter Green' tone (as in F. Mac's Black Magic Woman and Need Your Love So Bad) from a pair of PAF-alikes then we could have ourselves a winner ...

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The destination guitar isn't going to be a Les Paul as such, but a 'Tele-Gib' ie a 2HB Tele. The body of a Tele demonically possessed by the soul of a Les Paul, if you like.


Principle remains the same, tho'.


The coilsplits on my Ibanez AS50 produce, as I said, pleasant and usable tones but nothing that would render a halfway-decent Strat or Tele redundant.


In the collective experience of this forum, do any of these methods produce serious results, or should I just accept that the guitar in my hands is the one I'm playing?


(So to speak.)

 

 

I had a Tele-Gib that I bastardised myself (afew years ago now) based on the Seymour Duncan made version for Jeff Beck, which you know all about, probably more than me in fact but I didn't have coil taps on mine. There are wiring variations on most pickup manufacturers web sites which should point you in the right direction. With the one I had, with two Dimarzio super distortions I had problems with string pull and I didn't get on with the 25 1/2" scale length so I sold it eventually. I would be interested to hear how you get on with this as it would be very sweet to go from Roy Buchanan to Jeff Beck's "Truth " tone at the touch of a switch.

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With the one I had, with two Dimarzio super distortions I had problems with string pull and I didn't get on with the 25 1/2" scale length so I sold it eventually. I would be interested to hear how you get on with this as it would be very sweet to go from Roy Buchanan to Jeff Beck's "Truth " tone at the touch of a switch.

 

 

The TeleGib Sean and I are co-plotting (relax if you're reading this, Stratogirl, nuthin's gonna happen on this project until your guitar is sorted and sent) will feature lo/medium gain PAF-alikes rather than testosterone monsterbuckers with heavy string pull. And the 25 1/2" Fender scale is my home turf.

 

And I've just found a very similar debate a few threads over, like so:

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1808553

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The TeleGib Sean and I are co-plotting (relax if you're reading this, Stratogirl, nuthin's gonna happen on this project until your guitar is sorted and sent) will feature lo/medium gain PAF-alikes rather than testosterone monsterbuckers with heavy string pull. And the 25 1/2" Fender scale is my home turf.


And I've just found a very similar debate a few threads over, like so:


 

 

Yep, I was a gimboid and picked the wrong pickups but this was a long time ago when I didn't know any better. I'll still be interested to hear how this project pans out. Good luck.

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The TeleGib Sean and I are co-plotting (relax if you're reading this, Stratogirl, nuthin's gonna happen on this project until your guitar is sorted and sent) will feature lo/medium gain PAF-alikes rather than testosterone monsterbuckers with heavy string pull. And the 25 1/2" Fender scale is my home turf.


And I've just found a very similar debate a few threads over, like so:


http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1808553

 

 

S'OK Charles I have a Schaller Super switch somewhere. The dude at Catswhiskers is gonna sort out a bridge bucker with a baseplate and wind the two coils with different windings, for Tele noises, and the neck pickup that pete Biltoft wound for me which is pretty toppy has easily swappable magnets, so we can spin one round for the Greeny thing and get a decent Strat sound from it as it's wound to sound like an Eric Johnson neck bucker

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S'OK Charles I have a Schaller Super switch somewhere. The dude at Catswhiskers is gonna sort out a bridge bucker with a baseplate and wind the two coils with different windings, for Tele noises, and the neck pickup that pete Biltoft wound for me which is pretty toppy has easily swappable magnets, so we can spin one round for the Greeny thing and get a decent Strat sound from it as it's wound to sound like an Eric Johnson neck bucker

 

 

Yay us!

 

Just to make this discussion a little less inpenetrable for anyone who isn't me or Sean (bka Ratae), the 'TeleGib' is something Sean is going to build for me once the Stratogirl project is complete.

 

Basically, it'll be a riff on the famous TeleGib which Seymour Duncan once made for Jeff Beck -- except that this one'll have a bigass JB-Strat-Mk-1 neck with a rosewood board, and some fancy 5-way switching to provide Tele-bridge and Strat-neck coil-split options and a 'Peter Green' out-of-phase 2HB middle position.

 

Gonna be BIIIIIG FUUUUUNNNNNN ...

 

(And if we ask Sean INCREDIBLY NICELY, there might even be an ongoing build thread w/pix.)

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Currently considering various wiring options to increase humbucker versatility. I know approximately what the technical differences are between the tree options mentioned in the thread title, but it's be nice to get some impressions of what the audible tonal differences might be.


I have a 2HB guitar with coil-splits already, and this produces a thoroughly usable tone, with less low-end and less output, than the full-on HBs, but I'd like to know who's experimented with these options, which you prefer and why, and which would provide the most authentically Fendery faux-single-coil sound out of a pair of PAF-alikes.


*Jean-Luc Picard voice*


Gentlemen! Suggestions!

The only way to do a coil tap is to rewind the pickups.

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This is what I had in mind Charles

3484_detail.gif


I like that switching. I can get those same options on my coils split SX KY1 CUS22, but since I used a push pull to split the pups I can also get A or D alone.

On the OPs question though, I have 3 coil split guitars and one serial/parallel. If you are after single coil sound, I would go coil split. Parallel HBs are mellower (lower output same as split) and to me give a more acoustic sound.

Also, although I have never owned one, I like Paul Reed Smith's approach to his pickups that were intended to split to have one winding on the HB with screws and the other with magnetic slugs. The idea was to make that half just like a Strat pup to get a better SC sound when they are split.

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Please Sean, please do us a picture laden, build thread. Please.
:wave:
It's the best kind of thread, really.






And pay no attention to the naysayers who accuse you of doing it just to get into Mr. Murray's britches.
:cry:



I said to ask him INCREDIBLY NICELY! Keep up that kinda talk and he's liable to change his mind about the whole thing ...

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This pretty much does it for me: You can coil tap either pickup. Also run the pickup in series and phase cancel. Running in series beefs up the sound nicely while also phase canceling. It also helps in increasing volume when coil tapping one or both pickups. Anyway it's got everything useful and nothing that isn't. I use humbuckers with one coil wound more than the other to get the best tone when split...usually Fralin Unbuckers but also Pearly Gates and Burstbuckers.

 

 

wdu_hh3t22_04_jpmod

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My Dean Tonic stock has a 5 way control.

The pickups are Dean's own Mini Silver Rail models (essentially single-coil-size blade humbuckers), and the five-way pickup selector offers some tantalizing options: Bridge, Bridge Tap, Bridge and Neck Tap, Neck Tap and Neck. Master Volume and Tone controls complete the Tonic D's electronics.

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I've done both coil-split and series/parallel mods on various guitars. I was going to do a coil-split on a Duncan Jazz that I was putting in the neck of a Les Paul, but after some advice here on the forum I decided to go with the series/parallel. I'm glad I did. It sounds great - there is less of a volume drop than going from humbucker to single, and it is quieter than single coil.

Another option that I did on a PRS was to install a three way mini toggle switch for series/parallel/single - the best of all worlds.

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