1st Project - 3 Pickups Or 2?

[humbuckr]

Building my first guitar... specs on the in progress forum.

I am trying to create a tone monster. Honduran Mahagony 1 1/8", 5/8" hard maple carve top with semi-hollow body, warmoth Pro 25 1/2" scale neck (mahagony.ebony).

Plans call for bridge and neck humbuckers but someone suggested adding a third single coil in the middle (e.g. SD SSL1) to give the guitar some more variety. good idea? not necessary?

Since I've never built a guitar before I'm wide open for options on pickup and wiring combinations. I am planning on 1 volume, 1 tone and a pickup selector switch with a push pull for series/parallel split.

thanks

[mikhailgtrski]

If you're a switcheroo guy and don't like to switch geetars (or only have one), H/S/H can be a wonderful thang.

My current setup:

SD '59 bridge & neck, SSL-2 vintage flat middle

standard 5-way switch

push pull volume (turns on neck p/u to get bridge+neck -or- all three depending on 5-way)

DPDT on-off-on switch wired for dual coil-split (inside/outside coils)

tone (don't use it much)

My up and coming setup:

SD '59 bridge & neck, SSL-2 vintage flat middle

5-way switch (megaswitch E) (position 3 gives bridge + neck in lieu of the middle p/u)

push pull volume (turns on middle to get all three)

3/4/5 position rotary switch for coil splitting + changing potentiometer value (still working on this)

LR Baggs T-Bridge (piezo)

T-Bridge volume

SPDT switch (magnetics-both-piezo)

no tone control

I love it... in practice it's not as complicated as it sounds, and it still looks clean - no forest of little switches.

Mike

[Robert_the_damned]

if you're after some serious switching options go with a mega switch like mikhailgtrski, something like this: http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/shop/products.php...18&product=4223

If you use that switch you can get loads of tones with just two pickups. I'd do switching like this:

pos 1 : neck Humbucker

pos 2 : neck humbucker coil tapped

pos 3 : neck humbucker coil tapped in parrallel to bridge humbucker coil tapped

pos 4 : bridge humbucker coil tapped

pos 5 : bridge humbucker

I think 2 pickups is enough to get lots of tones, all my guitars are H-H design bar one which is S-H-S (I'm weird ok).

If you did go for a middle single all I'd do would be to add it in in pos 2 and 4 to make them humbucking as well.

Robert

[mikhailgtrski]

Depends on what tones you really want, and how much hardware you like to see...

You can't really get a good Strat 2 or 4 position out of an H/H setup - IMO.

It's not perfect with the H/S/H split 'buckers either, but it's close (especially the neck and neck+middle). I get all the normal humbucker sounds, pretty good approximations of all the strat sounds, and the outside bridge+neck coils give me a ballpark tele middle-position tone. All three together is nice sometimes, too. Now, I don't use all 13 tones in one night, usually just 4 or 5, but I like having the flexibility.

If you mainly use humbuckers, but want the option of some good Fender-ish sounds, it works really well - again, IMO.

(Forgot to mention - the SSL-2 is RW/RP so it's humbucking with the outside coils.)

[psw]

Tone Monster...

[Nitefly SA]

BIG BOTTOM.....BIG BOTTOM... thats a crazy guitar.

[The Fatalities]

just go for a H-H-H setup, which isnt extreme as the one that psw posted.

would that be a H setup or S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S setup?

[Robert_the_damned]

H-H-H-H I think though I think the point Pete was trying to make is that more pickups doesn't always mean better tone

Robert

[Mickguard]

I just put a varitone (from BigD) into the Rocket...that thing is incredible, I love the way just turning the switch gives you completely different sounds.

I ditched the tone knobs, the varitone takes the space of one of those. I put a mini-switch in the other space, the middle pickup is connected to that --I spun the middle pickup so that it's in the reversed direction from what it's supposed to be. Flick the switch, I get this nice Strat-like out of phase thing. Eventually, I'll place a volume knob in its place, then I can really blend the pickup with the others.

Of course, what I'd really like would be a sustainer....if there was a way to build one into a toaster pickup housing, I'd consider doing that.

[psw]

BIG BOTTOM

...WE GOT 'EM, talk about...ooopps, family forum...

H-H-H-H I think though I think the point Pete was trying to make is that more pickups doesn't always mean better tone

Oh...I thought it was a single pickup, with three times the humbucking ability and six times the power of a single coil...wait till I get a hold of that Ernie's Balls!!!

Of course, what I'd really like would be a sustainer....if there was a way to build one into a toaster pickup housing, I'd consider doing that.

No problem at all...you just got to work out how to take it apart and pot the driver in there to prevent feedback...ironical really since that's how a sustainer works...it's just this kind of thing that makes the sustainer thread so bl##dy long!

Actually, I really do like three...but I think I could get by with just one good one these days, and my sustainer of course, and maybe a preamp and a varitone or similar... pete

[Robert_the_damned]

wait till I get a hold of that Ernie's Balls!!!

funniest thing I've heard all day

I agree that varitones are a good idea (cheep to build too) that blended in with a tone pot gives even more tone options.

I wonder who's going to kill me for suggesting individual coil switches and phase/parrallel/series switching

There's soooo many options available....I think it comes down to personal preferance and, of course, what's going to be most useful for that guitar in the situtations its going to be used in (home or gig and what music style).....a varitone is great if you're going to play blues...not so useful for metal....equally indvidual switching is great if you've got all the time in the world to set your pickups (eg recording at home)....its not so great if you want to go from your rythm setting to lead setting in under a second flat for a solo at a gig!

Robert

[humbuckr]

If you're a switcheroo guy and don't like to switch geetars (or only have one), H/S/H can be a wonderful thang.

thanks for the thoughts on this thread. I am pretty new to this stuff and I just had twins so perhaps in the middle of the night I can start to read more about all the ideas. for this project I'm trying to simply get the most variety out of the guitar. I may do a thoroughbred for #2,3,4...

-- Carl

My current setup:

SD '59 bridge & neck, SSL-2 vintage flat middle

standard 5-way switch

push pull volume (turns on neck p/u to get bridge+neck -or- all three depending on 5-way)

DPDT on-off-on switch wired for dual coil-split (inside/outside coils)

tone (don't use it much)

what about adding the varitone instead of the tone know in the setup above?

My up and coming setup:

SD '59 bridge & neck, SSL-2 vintage flat middle

5-way switch (megaswitch E) (position 3 gives bridge + neck in lieu of the middle p/u)

push pull volume (turns on middle to get all three)

3/4/5 position rotary switch for coil splitting + changing potentiometer value (still working on this)

LR Baggs T-Bridge (piezo)

T-Bridge volume

SPDT switch (magnetics-both-piezo)

no tone control

this setups a bit over my head. how many holes in the guitar to do this one?