Pickup wiring schematic for series parallel and coil tap

Heady Jam Fan · February 04, 2012, 01:09:41 PM

I am getting a new (used) guitar soon and I want to do the series/parallel and coil tap mods, but my understanding is there are a number of ways to do this. I was hoping to get close to how big red has it set up and haven't found a schematic yet (I saw happy posted the same question a while back in the SD forum

).

manicstarseed · February 04, 2012, 02:22:10 PM

Seymour Duncan has some good wiring diagrams: http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/

Parallel, split (single) and series (humbucker) are typical options.

Heady Jam Fan · February 04, 2012, 03:34:26 PM

Thanks Manic - the two switches for coil drop and series are 2 way toggles? So one way it tap, one way is humbucker for one switch, the other is series on direction and parallel the other? And which coil is dropped in each pup, the outisde (closest to neck/bridge) or inside? Does the series feed bridge toward neck or neck towards bridge?

IamWILSON · February 04, 2012, 03:53:41 PM

It makes sense to me that the inside coils would be dropped, leaving the outside coils to provide that opposite end range of tones your pickups provide. I've read some posts in here in the past that are very insightful to how many different options there are with series/parallel and coil tapping. I think Picture of Nectar really explored the options and had some great ideas on why you might want to do it differently than Trey's set up. Also, Andrew Olson of AO guitars chimes in here every once in a while and I'm pretty sure he knows how Trey's guitar is set up and can explain it very easily.

Heady Jam Fan · February 04, 2012, 04:13:46 PM

Thanks guys, I will take a look around some older threads here, I have been searching on google and TGP and hadn't found anything conclusive.

Happyorange27 · February 04, 2012, 04:17:18 PM

I read that Paul gave a hint to try a three position switch. You'll want the options. Then you can get more.

Heady Jam Fan · February 04, 2012, 04:44:28 PM

So it seems most people prefer the 3 way toggle for each pup rather than separate master switches. This is interesting, but makes some sense, though Languedoc's hint was using 3 way toggles, yet he still uses two master switches, which I don't get.

Also, I have read that series and parallel refer to using both humbuckers aligned in series or parallel (which would negate the selector switch as it would essentially be in the center position), but I also read it refers to the separate single coils within one humbucker. If that latter is the case, then wouldn't that make negate the coil-drop switch? Because if the two coils are in series or parallel, then both are being used and cannot be dropped (or if one is dropped, they aren't be used together).

the_great_lemon · February 04, 2012, 04:59:16 PM

My friends guitar has the 3 way switches. He is thinking about switching to the 2 way just for ease of use onstage. He finds that in the heat of battle, it's more difficult to get to the middle position than the other two. I've seen his band, and he spends substantial amounts of time to stop playing so he flick the switches more accurately. Just another thing to think about...

Heady Jam Fan · February 17, 2012, 08:50:40 PM

QuoteI tried several different kinds, and these just have the right magnets and the right number of windings on the coils. If I was going to be making pickups on my own, these are probably what I'd be making. I do modify them a bit, but generally they're stock pickups. There's a coil drop switch for both pickups, and then another switch that puts them in series with each other, which is sort of like turning it into one big pickup, which gives you a really fat, warm sound. It's pretty much what's available, but if someone wants something else, I'd be happy to do it.

~Paul @ http://www.jambands.com/features/2006/08/18/guitar-talk-with-paul-languedoc

So I think this is the wiring diagram (though Paul said this site often has minor errors, ie, this doesn't have a tone control):
http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/WD2HH3T10_05/2-Humbuckers3-Way-Toggle-Switch1-VolumeSeries-Parallel.html

ShockedAndPersuaded · February 17, 2012, 10:30:50 PM

I know it's an older interview, but I find it interesting that Paul mentions how Trey is using less and less of the TS's.

Heady Jam Fan · February 18, 2012, 02:13:11 AM

Yea, I pretty much posted that for a definitive answer on the wiring, but I found what you are talking about and it isn't clear - does it suggest he sometimes plays without a Screamer? I doubt it - non of his sound lacks the tonal focus. So I don't really know how to read that.

ShockedAndPersuaded · February 18, 2012, 10:02:03 AM

I took it as maybe he's using less drive. Maybe the "cleaner" TS is being used to push his DR harder. From 2000 on his DR tone was pretty gritty all by itself. Could be where the clarity of his tone is coming from. To me too much drive from the TS into an overdriven amp (DR or lead channel of the Boogie for example) just mushes things out.

Heady Jam Fan · February 18, 2012, 10:19:16 AM

Thats interesting... I always thought he kept the DR pretty clean (I don't know why I assumed that or if I read it somewhere). It can't be too dirty though or else he would have trouble cleaning up enough for some tunes. Though last night I was playing with my amp as loud as I could without it breaking up too much and I ended up keeping my TS as clean as I could.

As for the wiring - I think that is really interesting that almost no one seems to put both pups in series with each other. I still don't understand other posts about why Paul would suggest using 3 way switches - I can't figure out what the third position would be.?.

ShockedAndPersuaded · February 18, 2012, 10:51:50 AM

The three way would let you choose from series/split/parallel. Parallel being a standard humbucker. I may be wrong but I don't think the pick ups are in series as one big pick up. You get the same effect by switching them to series and putting the pup selector in the middle position. I have the 3 way switches on my guitar for both pups and it's a pretty versatile set up.

Heady Jam Fan · February 18, 2012, 11:18:42 AM

Quote from: ShockedAndPersuaded on February 18, 2012, 10:51:50 AM
The three way would let you choose from series/split/parallel. Parallel being a standard humbucker. I may be wrong but I don't think the pick ups are in series as one big pick up. You get the same effect by switching them to series and putting the pup selector in the middle position. I have the 3 way switches on my guitar for both pups and it's a pretty versatile set up.

Sorry, I am a bit confused since it is hard to keep track of when we are talking about parallel or series for each single coil in a humbucker or between the two humbuckers. Like when you say, "Parallel being a standard humbucker," you mean the way the two humbuckers work together in parallel is standard? Yea, for sure, but a standard humbucker runs the two single coils in series as standard.

So on your guitar the two humbuckers are in series when the selector is in the middle and the toggle is on series? That is interesting, I am not great with tech/wiring, but I can't see how that would work when the mini toggles control the pups separately - I think that would result in standard humbuckers (each single coil in series with its paired single coil) in parallel with each other.

The only thing I can think for adding a 3 way mini toggle (that matches the best information I found from Paul) would be having a master split/series/parallel that controls how each pair of single coils interacts within a humbucker, then a 2 way toggle for series/parallel effecting how the two humbuckers interact: separate (parallel) or together (one big bucker).