Pickup wiring schematic for series parallel and coil tap

[Heady Jam Fan]

So I finally got to try my guitar with the above described wiring: one selector to put both humbuckers in series with each other, one switch for coil drop. I only had a couple minutes with my amp cranked before my roommate stumbled in saying she was napping  Then I played at sub-bedroom volumes, but got a good idea of some of the tones, I will try to describe below.

First, the series setting is pretty killer! I know many of you don't have your axe wired that way, but I would highly recommend trying it, especially if you are covering Phish. I literally had infinite sustain - I held a note until I got too bored to keep it going any longer (and this was sub-bedroom volumes) - this was not feedback, it was clean, consistent, no changes in volume or tone - it was THE NOTE!

I should mention, series wasn't as dark as one might expect, nor was it muddy. If the neck bucker is a good rock/jam tone, the series worked for a jazz tone.

With the split coil setting, you can also put the outside single coil of each humbucker in series (coil drop and series switch engaged), which was pretty interesting too. I need to play with it more to see how/if it is useful and see if I can figure out if/when the red guy uses it, just out of curiosity.

NOTES ABOUT THE SERIES SWITCH: The series only works when the pup selector is in the neck position. This is different than most people's wiring that have the same series switch I have (theirs disengages the pup selector). Also, I read how some people had trouble figuring out which setting is the series setting with all the switches and such, and I wasn't sure how my wiring works (though once you find it, it sounds fairly obvious), I am slightly embarrassed to say it took some playing around for me to find (which was cuz of the pup selector only allowing series in the neck position), but I was able to confirm it by pulling an old string tight between my hands over one pickup at a time and plucking it and seeing if the pup was engaged.

The coil drop really hits a lot of Trey's tones that I love, especially the clean rhythm in the neck pup. As much as the series buckers I mentioned above is necessary for 'The Note,' I think the coil drop is necessary for so many Phish songs - even to the point I might choose singles in a hollowbody over buckers if I had to pick one. The singles are a bit noisier though, but I don't think it will be unmanageable (though I need some more stage-volume testing to confirm).

As many of you probably know, have found or could guess, the treble bleed is absolutely necessary. While the coil drop could probably get you from dirty to clean depending on your TS setting, the volume knob is clutch.

I also had to switch out the Duncan 59's that I got with my guitar for some gold-cover Schaller Golden 50's I had laying around. They are very very similar as far as I can recall the 59's from about a week ago, but the Duncan's didn't have the 4 conductors.

I hope this helps others choose their wiring, though I want to say it does not completely match my understanding of how a Doc works: I think I have all the same settings, but it seems his wiring works more smoothly (such as going to series if that switch is hit, regardless of where the pup selector is). Also, I doubt anyone can emulate Paul's ability to rewire a pup so the single coil is a bit hotter than the stock pup. So this is not a replacement for Paul's work, but a way to get closer to Trey's versatility and tone, not to mention trying to find another guitar with the same build quality, fret scale, etc.

The last thing I would toss in as something I might consider for the future. In my limited time on the guitar, and even more limited thus far with this new wiring, I haven't found much use for my tone knob. I use it very very often on my solid body (gets strat like tones), but not much so far on this guitar. I would consider adding a third switch in place of it to put each single coil in parallel within a humbucker (rather than the two singles in series as it a typical humbucker). This is not a standard option on a Doc and my understanding is that a third switch is needed in the wiring I have (with the switch to put both buckers in series). I think this would add some more versatility and some cool sounds, while it is less output than a single coil, it has the hum-canceling, which is nice.

[Happyorange27]

Damn good report sir. That is how my guitar is wired and yesi had to figure it out by trial and error. I can agree with about everything you said but I do try to use the tone knob frequently although I don't like how muddy it gets at times when I cut all the tone. You are doing great. Thanks.

[Heady Jam Fan]

Thanks Happy! Nice to hear I got it right (the wiring and the opinions).

As for the tone knob, I didn't get to try much with the single coils, but with humbuckers and a lot of mahogany on the Artinger, it was plenty warm already. I don't think I will end up taking out the tone knob, it was just a consideration for more versatility. I guess other options are phase switching and stuff I read about like having 3 single pups in parallel, but that is a slippery slope where I start adding switching to engage every single coil individually, put them in and out of phase and series, etc... I'll end up with more switches than wood!

[IamWILSON]

Nice review Heady.  While it still all sounds confusing to me (had this explained to me a couple times now), I'm starting to get a better picture of how this all works.  I got a question about the Golden 50 pickups.  I have some sitting around too, and I was actually thinking about putting them in my Ibanez AS-80, and having my tech either install the switches to do all the series/parallel/coil tap stuff, or at least installing push pull pots to do some of that stuff (so he doesn't have to drill extra holes into the guitar - in case I decide to change pickups and don't use the switches).  So my questions:

1- Can you describe any difference in the tone or feel of the Golden 50's compared to the '59s?  I've always assumed that the Schaller's have a little more hair or bite to them, just because Trey's tone in the early 90's had more, but I'm not sure if that was just due to the pickups.

2- As far as all the wiring and stuff.  If you could do it again, is there anything you would certainly have to change?  Adding more/doing less then how it is currently wired?

[Heady Jam Fan]

Good questions! I wish I could offer a definitive answer, but I did not have long enough last night to play that I would say you should definitely do one thing or another on your guitar. That said, I will be out of town on saturday through thursday, but hopefully before then I can get a more concrete opinion formed.

I did not get to do a side by side comparison of the 50's to the 59's, in fact it was over a week between hearing the two. The first thing I tried when I got the guitar back is comparing the amount of overdrive and the tone of the humbucker settings so I could try to judge this aspect, and I really couldn't tell any huge difference. The 59's are supposedly copies of the 50's and Duncan did some good work I guess. I suspect there could be as much difference between a set of either the 50's or 59's than between the two companies, especially considering that neither set of pups was brand new and the parts that make up a pup tend to change a little over time. Comparing Trey's tone, I dont know exactly when he made the change (if he ever actually used Schallers), but I think there is so much other change in his rig, this would be a minor factor, like accidently bumping the dirt knob on a TS one way or the other.

Anything I would change - not at this point. It would be nice if hitting the series switch would override the pickup toggle I think. I don't know how to make that happen, but it would be a nice, quick way to get from a clean tone to a soaring lead, such as Gumbo, probably just hitting the series switch and from single coil to humbucker (not to mention turning on the 2nd TS9, turning up the guitar volume and stomping the amp-channel switch  ).

I would suggest using push-pull pots for sure if you don't have space for switches already. I had 2 volume, 2 tone knobs and took one of each out to make space for my switches and I certainly would not drill holes in my guitar. I suppose I could have seen if it was possible to pop in push-pulls on my guitar so that I could do series/parallel within each humbucker... I might tend to use that setting in exchange for the coil drop, but it has less volume than one single coil alone, so that would probably be more volume change than I would want in comparison to humbuckers (it might be innately clean, and Paul rewires the pups he uses on guitars to have more similar volume between single and humbucker to begin with, so the parallel setting is even further from what big red has going on). However, it would still have the hum canceling, which would be nice.

EDIT: I should also say that neither the 59's or the 50's are considered out of this world pups, but the builders of these types of guitars seem to feel they are the best option for their work. One benefit of the 50's is I believe many of theme have extra holes for screws on the mounting, which can allow you to adjust their angle so the single coil setting is a more similar output volume relative to the humbucker setting.

Also, comparing pups really has to be by ear rather than specs - the resistance of the two pups is very close, but consider something like Joe Bardens: very low resistance, yet a hotter output than a PAF while still maintaining the top end and having excellent articulation.

Looking at the AS80 - you could do a similar thing I did and remove two knobs for switches. I would start with that wiring and see if your tech can do push pulls for parallel in each pup (on the remaining knobs), if you want the extra versatility. I am also in discussion on the Trey Tone thread at TGP with someone who is describing a setting with 3 singles in parallel that he really likes.

As far as conceptualizing this, I almost think of it in relation to electromagnetic physics from science class way back in the day when we had to wire multiple light bulbs to a battery in various configurations. Or consider it similar to wiring your guitar pedals either in one series/chain or in multiple, parallel chains from a signal splitter. In series, each pedal imparts its tone, then passes the signal onto the next pedal that does the same thing. In parallel, each pedal acts on its own and is summed at the amplifier. I don't know how accurate this is, but might help... or be more confusing:

For light bulbs, you can imagine wiring in series as from the battery>bulb1>bulb2>bulb3>bulb4>other side of the battery. This is analogous to having all 4 single coils (2 in each humbucker) in series, making one big humbucker (as a humbucker has two single coils in series naturally, like battery>bulb1>bulb2>other side of battery). Each bulb/coil changes the energy/signal and passing that change onto the next one. This is the same as my master series setting on my guitar. Or comparable to stacking 4 dirt pedals in a single chain to your amp.

Comparing to parallel, each bulb is in its own loop from the battery: battery side one>bulb>battery side two, repeated for each bulb. So the wires going to each bulb would be parallel to each other. This is analogous to the setting on my guitar where I can have one pickup from each humbucker in parallel with each other (coil tap engaged, pickup selector in center, series switch off). Also comparable to having parallel loops in your effect chain so they act independently of each other.

From the above example, turning the series switch on would put one single coil from each humbucker in series with each other: battery>bulb1>bulb4>other side of battery (1 and 4 cuz it is the two outside single coils on my guitar, the inside ones, 2 and 3, are grounded). So this turns the two most distant single coils into one humbucker.

Also from the parallel example, if I put the pickup select toggle to either bridge or neck (rather than center), only one bulb would be active: battery>bulb>battery. This is like only having one pedal engaged in your effect chain.

The other common option that I don't have are putting each single coil within a humbucker in parallel with each other, turning a bucker from battery>bulb1>bulb2>battery into two sets of battery>bulb>battery. This setting also allows you to put the pickup selector in center and have 4 single coils in parallel with each other, like having 4 parallel effect loops going to your amp.

Now considering this, when you split your signal in your rig for parallel loops, you share signal / impedance (resistance). The same happens with pickups, so the parallel setting is less output volume than a single coil or effect on its own. In series, you have more output volume as one pickup/effect pedal feeds the next, like stacking two dirt pedals, you are above unity volume.

[ShockedAndPersuaded]

This has definitely got my gears turning. Gonna have to break out the soldering iron this weekend. 

[Heady Jam Fan]

This has definitely got my gears turning. Gonna have to break out the soldering iron this weekend. 

Need an emoticon with a welding mask

[MomaDan]

If I were only getting 2 push/pulls on my volume knobs would you reccomend 1 for coil tap and the other for series? I was thinking of both being coil taps but it seems like series would be pretty good also.

[Heady Jam Fan]

I don't know much about wiring or what is possible with push pulls. There are benefits to both and I think it really comes down to how much you want Trey's tones and which ones. If you want his really powerful leads, I think the series is probably pretty important.

If you prefer more variations in the lower output settings, then I think separate coil taps are definitely cool. I have exactly that on another guitar (though it also has a middle single and is a solid body) and it is pretty sweet being able to combine something like a neck single and bridge humbucker or switching between the two.

I would say that hollowbodies tend to be warmer, I think my Artinger is on the warmer side at that and I don't find my bridge single to be overly bright, so the single coil works just fine (I don't have a huge need to switch from neck single to bridge bucker quickly, if I want to, the coil tap switch is easy to hit). However, I can't do an in between setting (pup selector center) with a neck single and bridge bucker. If something like that is important to you, then the controls for individual pups is probably more ideal.

I jammed for a bit with a friend today after I played around on my own for a bit and found myself using the singles much of the time, especially for rhythm work. For leads, I ended up doing a bit of switching an testing and I thought pretty much everything sounded pleasing, but I will say that putting both humbuckers in series adds something you just can't really get, IMO, without that option. I tend to think of Trey's gain-staging as a number of volume and midrange gradients and that setting just steps both of those up a notch. For me, when I first heard it through my guitar, it reminded me of several leads/solos that I would be fairly certain he is using that setting on. I would say it was similar for me to adding a midrange boost to my signal chain to emulate the second channel of his amp - you can't hear that it gets you that much closer until you add it, then your like 'oh... right, makes sense now..."

I guess I should add that I did not find switching settings to be cumbersome, actually quite natural. I was pretty surprised because last night I pretty much only had enough time to learn an remember what was what, but when I picked her up today, I was able to get where I wanted to go without concentrating on it. That is important in whatever configuration you choose.

[MomaDan]

You've convinced me I'm getting this setup done next week with push/pulls instead of switches. I dont feel the need to start cutting up a LP Studio to put switches in there. I went with Wolfetone Dr Vintage for my new pickups, expecting amazing results in the bridge cause those stock Gibson pups are just too damn hot. Will report back when its all completed by my tech.

[Heady Jam Fan]

Cool!

I am loving the Master Series - for more applications than I thought. It even works great for a fat, clean rhythm - it is fatter and brighter, really just a tighter sound, than any of the other settings.

The one thing I find is that my neck is significantly warmer/bassier than my bridge pup. This could be that I am playing on my Bassman, which has more low end than a lot of amps. I find that sometimes I feel that the tone knob would be more helpful if it only controlled the bridge pickup.

I haven't gotten a lot more time since my last post since I was out of town, but I am looking forward to hearing your opinions after you get yours all wired up - fortunately a Les Paul is easier to change compared to a Hollowbody, so if you decide you want something different, it is much easier to adjust.

[Poster]

You've convinced me I'm getting this setup done next week with push/pulls instead of switches. I dont feel the need to start cutting up a LP Studio to put switches in there. I went with Wolfetone Dr Vintage for my new pickups, expecting amazing results in the bridge cause those stock Gibson pups are just too damn hot. Will report back when its all completed by my tech.

thats too bad, pull pots pop, and are completely impractical unless your hiding behind a couple other guitar players. well placed mini toggles can be turned on with hesitation. I found the wolftones to be too bassy for a hollowbody, perhaps theyll sound better in a lp studio. And that guitar isnt worth much, id be drilling holes in it like a dutch prostitute. 

[MomaDan]

If it worked for Jimmy Page I think it will work for me. In the end cost was the deciding factor, pull pots didnt cost any extra cause I was gonna upgrade the volume pots to 500K anyways. The pop isnt a dealbreaker for me, I'm using a DL4 with the hated stock switches after all.

[Heady Jam Fan]

I think mini toggles are more convenient as they are equally easy to switch in either setting, while push/pulls are sometimes difficult to pull, especially if the knob isn't set to one or the other extreme (sometimes I accidently turn the knob). On the other hand, I never had a popping sound with my push pulls - I have two on my solid body for coil drop (one for each pup). They are Joe Barden pups and, I don't know the technical aspect, but I thought their coil drop worked differently... maybe thats the difference.

[Poster]

If it worked for Jimmy Page I think it will work for me. In the end cost was the deciding factor, pull pots didnt cost any extra cause I was gonna upgrade the volume pots to 500K anyways. The pop isnt a dealbreaker for me, I'm using a DL4 with the hated stock switches after all.

well by that line of reasoning, go shoot 200 in smack, and kick your cabinet over. :0) kidding! sort of. I have just about every single Zep bootleg thats in circulation, and ole Jimmy has some of the noisiest gear in rock n roll history, and if your going for gods of rock, its fine. But for loud cleans, jazz, funk, etc it just doesnt cut it.