(Idea for a custom) 4 Pickup guitar?

[CicadaSilence]

I've been tossing around the idea of putting together a guitar with 4 single coils, mostly because I'm so beholden to neck single coil tones, and I'd really like a Sustainer. You can't put a Sustainer and a single right next to each other in a humbucker ring; they fight each other. A Sustainer can act as a "regular" pickup, but I hear they're voiced more like a humbucker. Not really the tone I'm after, although for certain things, a neck 'bucker would be useful to have...

 

In order to get the single coil and Sustainer to work without interfering with each other, I'm thinking that you'd have to mount them about 1/2" ~ 3/4" apart, and I'm kinda picky about aesthetics, so I'd do the same with two separate single coils in the bridge position. Maybe a rail-type 'bucker as well as a traditional single coil. I like both bridge position tones for different applications, and I don't think I'd be able to pick just one.

 

So what I was thinking was to wire up two sets of two single coils each, with each set wired to a standard three way toggle, sort of like a neck and bridge humbucker, but with the ability to configure the neck and bridge "setttings" on the three way toggle between either single coil, both in series, both in parallel. I figure I could do that via rotary switches, or a 4-way Tele-style blade switch.

 

The pickup configuration would look like this:

 

 

The rotary/blade selectors would essentially act as "presets" for the positions on the master three way toggle, which would switch between a standard 2 pickup guitar scheme; neck, both, bridge. This would enable any combination of the four pickups to be available.

 

For the Sustainer mode, I still need to contact Sustainiac.com and pick their brains a bit, but I don't think it would be a problem to wire the Sustainer to use the "preset" bridge combination rather than being forced to use one specific pickup for that mode. Usually, with a Sustainer, you get the bridge position tone only when you turn on the sustain mode. I'm basically thinking of the two separate single coils as a humbucker, so I think it'll work.

 

Anyone messed around with anything like that before? Specifically, a Sustainer into two pickups? I'm a little worried about "Strat-itis," that string pull problem caused by too many magnets being pointed at the strings. But those Steve Vai/shredder type guitars have two 'buckers and a single coil, so am I just being overly concerned?

[wartoxin]

 

Maybe a rail-type 'bucker as well as a traditional single coil. I like both bridge position tones for different applications, and I don't think I'd be able to pick just one.

 

 

At that point why bother with any rail/humbuckers, just enable series/parallel wiring switching. However, in my experience too many options and too much switching gets to be annoying on one guitar, but it's a preference thing. I don't anticipate any problems from having more magnets, I don't know if I understood all of your explanation.

[CicadaSilence]

 

At that point why bother with any rail/humbuckers, just enable series/parallel wiring switching . However, in my experience too many options and too much switching gets to be annoying on one guitar, but it's a preference thing. I don't anticipate any problems from having more magnets, I don't know if I understood all of your explanation.

 

 

Yeah, that's the idea. If the four pickups were labeled A, B, C, and D, from the neck to the bridge, the "bridge preset" would be C, D, C+D in series, and C+D in parallel. I'm just not entirely certain if running the Sustainer into two pickups is doable, and Sustainers seem to perform better with a humbucker in the bridge position, so I may have to have a single pickup dedicated to the Sustainer function.

 

The switching I'm not worried about so much. I view the concept more as "presets;" sort of like switching between a humbucker guitar and a single coil guitar, most of which would be done between songs. My pedal board is full of bull{censored}, and it's not something I even think about anymore, so I don't see myself having an issue with the switching.

 

Thanks for your input.

[ambient]

Paging V, V to post 5. That's V, V to post 5.

[V]

Ha ha I read this thread title and figured I would probably be paged.

 

Re-reading the post right now to make sure I get it entirely.

[CicadaSilence]

[V]

Ok, so I've re-read the post and what you want to do sounds very much like my strat (except mine is more complicated because it's also a stereo guitar).

 

So basically, you have two or three options for the wiring scheme (keep in mind I am not really well-versed with sustainiac pickups so I'll have to look a little more into that).

 

You can do what I did to set up presents on my guitar (mine is four pickup but five coils so I have an extra rotary switch to select between coils on the humbucker).

 

What I would do in this situation is use two four way tele switches to control the two pickup sets (so one switch for both bridge coils and one switch for both neck coils). And then use either a jaguar plate with three switches to mix them together in series/parallel/one set/the other set. I can whip up a schematic for this.

 

Or you could use two four way tele switches (one for each pickup set) and a third four way switch to control signal routing between the two sets in exactly the same manner.

 

Or you could do two five position rotaries to select within each set (same options as the four way tele but they don't make a lot of four way rotary switches so you could set up a preset for out of phase wiring or whatever you like) and then either a jag plate with three switches or a 4 way tele switch (or a three way if you don't want the series between sets option).

 

Now the matter of the sustainer. I'm not sure if putting it that near the other neck pickup is far enough away, but I haven't used one before. Is it possible to get the sustainer to work in the middle position?

 

I don't think the actual signal it puts out will overload anything. My guitar has an input jack and I run all sorts of boosted signals through the pickups with no ill effects.

 

Anyway, I can draw up a diagram for you if you figure out what controls you'd prefer.

[CicadaSilence]

Now the matter of the sustainer. I'm not sure if putting it that near the other neck pickup is far enough away, but I haven't used one before. Is it possible to get the sustainer to work in the middle position? I don't think the actual signal it puts out will overload anything. My guitar has an input jack and I run all sorts of boosted signals through the pickups with no ill effects. Anyway, I can draw up a diagram for you if you figure out what controls you'd prefer.

 

The Sustainer pickup is the X-factor in all of this. I think I'll talk to Sustainiac and give them a run-down of what it is I'm trying to get done, and they'll be able to tell me if the neck distances will work. Maybe. Middle position is a no-go for Sustainers; they need to be as far from the bridge pickup(s) as possible. Otherwise, you end up a lot of out of control oscillation and weird wolftones, apparently. (Which might not be a bad thing, for certain effects. An added side benefit of the neckward bridge pickup? )

 

I think a lot of the schem is going to be dependent on how the Sustainer needs to be wired, so I'm not setting anything in stone until I talk to Sustainiac. I appreciate the offer on the schematic, but I wired my Firebird full of coil taps and phase switches and stuff, so I should be able to hack it myself. Don't want to burden you with the trouble of something I'm not going to put together immediately anyway.

 

Good point on the dearth of 4-way rotary switches. Maybe I'll do the Tele-blades after all. I really dig chicken head knobs, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[V]

Well you could always go with five way rotaries and then use the fifth position for something like both coils in series but out of phase with the other set for the neck pickups and a cool position I've found on my strat (which would be a similar spacing for you) is two bridge coils out of phase with one another (though for this to hum cancel rather than double you need them to be non hum cancelling otherwise.

 

I do find the four way tele switches to be the simplest to deal with and use, though, to be honest. You can always tell exactly what position they're in and they're simpler to flip on the fly.