Is my middle position series or parallel?

[DenDenDen]

Hi guys,

I have a guitar with a LP style three-way toggle switch and master Vol and Tone. You probably know the deal - the pickups go to the switch and then the common goes to the volume etc. Thing is, the middle position sounds to me like both pickups in parallel - kinda thin and reductive. I would have thought they'd be in series, because I think the middle position on a LP are both pickups in series, and I'm using a LP switch.

Anyway, I'm thinking of adding a push/pull to allow me to switch the middle position between series and parallel, does this diagram look right? Also I'd like to wire the switch so that the pickups are in series when the knob is pushed down, could you tell me which way up I should view the diagram for that?
Thanks guys!

[jeremy]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

middle position is both pups in parallel, so id guess thats what you have as well

[DenDenDen]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

middle position is both pups in parallel, so id guess thats what you have as well

Got it, thanks. It certainly sounds that way if I were to guess.

If anyone could tell me which way up I should wire the switch to have series wiring in the down position on the push/pull I'd really appreciate it. As in the end nearest the pot part or the bottom of the switch.

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Got it, thanks. It certainly sounds that way if I were to guess.

If anyone could tell me which way up I should wire the switch to have series wiring in the down position on the push/pull I'd really appreciate it. As in the end nearest the pot part or the bottom of the switch.

[DenDenDen]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Thanks for the drawing! So in the original diagram, the top lugs should be the ones furthest from the pot.

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Thanks for the drawing! So in the original diagram, the top lugs should be the ones furthest from the pot.

Yes

[ehdwuld]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

A multimeter is your friend

Once you get set up

Insert cable into guitar jack

With the volume wide open
Select neck position

Meter set to ohms

One meter lead to tip of the cable end
One lead to the shaft of the cable end

In neck position it should read the resistance of the neck pickup
In the bridge position the meter should read the resistance of the bridge pickup

In the center position
In parallel it should read
Bridge plus neck divided by 4

In series it should read
Bridge plus neck resistance

[DenDenDen]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Thanks Jack that's super helpful.

In parallel it should read
Bridge plus neck divided by 4
In series it should read
Bridge plus neck resistance

Thanks ehdwuld, not sure if it will make a difference to your equation but the pickups aren't humbuckers, They're actually 'bucker-sized goldfoils. I'm sure I can still observe your method in some way, but I was wondering if you thought the result would be "Bridge plus neck divided by 4" because you thought there were four coils at play. Thanks all the same though, I hadn't heard of anything like this before.

[ehdwuld]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Nope that's just the way the math works

[DenDenDen]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Nope that's just the way the math works

Got it, in my ignorance I wasn't sure if it made a difference. Thanks a lot!

[DenDenDen]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Sorry to bring back an older thread, but could anyone tell me how I can expect the series/parallel switch to interact with the selector switch? From what I've read I think it'll essentially bypass it and give me both pickups in series no matter what position the selector switch is in. Can anyone say for sure?

I'm not looking to implement this mod on the same guitar I was referring to in the first post; the pickups I was using only had a hot and a shielded ground so it wasn't possible, but I've since acquired a 335 style geet and would like to do this mod with '50s wiring.

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Is my middle position series or parallel?

Sorry to bring back an older thread, but could anyone tell me how I can expect the series/parallel switch to interact with the selector switch? From what I've read I think it'll essentially bypass it and give me both pickups in series no matter what position the selector switch is in. Can anyone say for sure?

I'm not looking to implement this mod on the same guitar I was referring to in the first post; the pickups I was using only had a hot and a shielded ground so it wasn't possible, but I've since acquired a 335 style geet and would like to do this mod with '50s wiring.

For anyone else attempting to follow along: the last question above ended up getting asked in this other thread and an answer was also posted there:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?332156-Does-this-master-series-parallel-wiring-diagram-seem-valid&p=4428397&viewfull=1#post4428397