Series/parallel And Phase Switch With Single+humbucker

[~davie]

hey, i currently have a SSS (3 single coil) setup and i have a series/parallel switch and phase switching, so i can get 11 DIFFERENT tones from this custom wiring setup (5 strat stock positions, 2 series+reverse phase, 2 parallel+reverse, 2 series+normal phase).

so i was wondering.. cus i might change it up to a SSH (2 single coils+1 humbucker) setup. so i was wondering if there is a difference in tone between series S-H and series-reverse S-H? also what about between parallel S-H and parallel-reverse S-H.

i'm not an expert on electronics or whatever, i just wanna make sure if any of these pickup settings are redundant or not in terms of sound.

i DO enjoy the sonic variability of the SSS with this setup. however i just wanna try to embrace some more flexibility in terms of style with the humbucker sound using the same setup, but just using SSH instead. if there are more tonal options to be offered then i'll invest myself in a good humbucker pickup.

note: the phase-reversal is obtained through swapping + and - terminals of the middle pickup using a switch

thanks in advance!

Edited July 29, 2008 by ~davie

[Tim37]

http://www.1728.com/indexfun.htm

try this site there are tons of variations he gives you the info you need to put together what ever you want.

[~davie]

anyone else know anything? or anyone has tried these modes used between a single coil and humbucker pup?

[avengers63]

The Seymour Duncan website has a ton of wiring schematics as well.

My main ax has 2 HBs and a 3-way selector. Both pups are wired to go series & paralell and there is a phase switch in between. When it's all said & done, I have 9 separate tones. Honestly, there are a few that are pointless. The difference between the tones is so subtle that unless you know what the setting id, you won't know the difference, and then only if you're listening. On top of that, if there is more than a medium overdrive, those subtle differences become even more obsured.

So... in my experinece, there is only so much you can do before it just becomes silly and pointless. Don't get me wrong - I like the extra switches and wiring tricks. I'm just saying that it's easy to go overboard. One dude here had it figured out how to get 20+ tones from 3-pup setup. You'll never convince me that they were clear and discinct, but technically, they were different.

There's an old acronym: KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

My suggestions for a H-S-S setup:

normal 5-position switch

jumper between the bridge & neck pup so all 3 can be on, or just the outside 2

phase switch on the middle pup

series/paralell or coil tap on the bridge

This can be done without extra drilling, just swappping out some pots. You'll replace one volume for the jumper, one with a push/pull for the phase, and the tone with a push/pull for the bridge HB. This will give you 15 separate options. Observe: The numeral is the number of coils active, p=phased

1--

11-

1p-

112

1p2

111

1p1

-12

-p2

-11

-p1

--2

--1

1-2

1-1

There won't be much of a difference between some of them, but it'd be there if you listened hard enough.

IIRC: The purpose of the r/w middle pup is for hum-cancelling, but I may not have that right.

Edited July 30, 2008 by avengers63

[~davie]

in my custom SSS setup, with the 11 different settings, each setting is actually very distinct from each other. like for example. when mid+bridge pups are in series+reverse phase it sounds like a trebley humbucker, kinda like a tele deluxe. whereas the neck+mid pups in series-normal phase sound like some fat-ass bassy pickup. lol. note that these are on overwound single-coils.. like ~9kohms

but i was just curious on the interaction of 3 coils (1 single+1humbucker) and the effect it has on tone.