Wiring for a 2-way toggle Mod [series/parallel] into HSH +1-vol/1-tone/5-way blade?

[GuitarDoc]

First of all: you want bright and versatile...the Distortion is neither.
You want a SC in the middle and bright...the Lil 59 is neither.
The 59 does also come in a 4 conductor version.
You have the switch positions backwards...pos 1 is bridge and pos 5 is neck.

For neck: Jazz is a good choice
For middle: Mincer gave a good suggestion.
For bridge: a C/59 hybrid or a Custom 5 would be a better choice (you may like a JB, but it's not very versatile...output is too high but mostly it has that upper mids nasal tone going on that you can't get rid of).
A on/on/on will give you series/split/parallel. I suppose it is available in a 4PDT, but I would suggest having 2 DPDT on/on/on switches so you can control each humbucker separately (like in your diagram).

[Deim0s]

Hello everyone, thank you so much for the responses!

I've been putting a lot of thought into this project, so I really appreciate the help. I'm gonna start buying the pickups and electronics this week, I'm nervous and excited for my first guitar modding.

I'm currently leaning for these pickups:

Neck: SH-2n Jazz
Middle: SL59-1b Little '59 for Strat
Bridge: SH-6b Distortion Trembucker OR SH-4 JB Trembucker

Since I'll first buy the pickups, I'll need some opinions on the TB-6 Distortion or the TB-4 JB for the bridge position.
I kind of like the sound of JB better, but I've read the Distortion has better harmonics. I was thinking that the 4 Position of the Little '59 plus the distortion could make up for versatility.
I was also torn between a '59 and the Jazz for the neck, but then i realized the '59 is a 2 conductor pickup, so I can't use it for this project.

You can use a two way 4pdt toggle switch for this. Imagine two DPDT switches but both controlled by one lever. You can have series/parallel for each humbucker simultaneously but electrically separate. The contact pattern will repeat for both sides of the switch so as long as you follow the color coding of your pickup manufacturer, the connections will be exactly the same.

This is a really interesting concept, would it be possible to have an on/on/on switch for also adding coil-splitting?

I'd be careful not to get a cheap Chinese switch in this application. Get a good quality NKK, or similar. Also note, that at some suppliers, (like Mouser), an ON-ON switch may be designated as ON-NONE-ON. Same thing. They're just saying that there is no middle position.

Good call. I'm gonna get Mouser electronics from a local supplier.

The attached file is of a wiring diagram I've found online, does it look good? I know it doesn't do the same, but it seems really interesting.

[ArtieToo]

. . . focused on versatility and bright sound . . .

I'm not sure I'd select Distortions for "bright." But let others, who are actually performing musicians, weigh in on this.

It must be an on/on 4pdt with two positions. They come in smaller arm size as shown and larger arm ones which seem a bit bulky for what you need. These aren’t expensive on eBay since they’re two position switches.

I'd be careful not to get a cheap Chinese switch in this application. Get a good quality NKK, or similar. Also note, that at some suppliers, (like Mouser), an ON-ON switch may be designated as ON-NONE-ON. Same thing. They're just saying that there is no middle position.

[Bowtomecha]

It must be an on/on 4pdt with two positions. They come in smaller arm size as shown and larger arm ones which seem a bit bulky for what you need. These aren’t expensive on eBay since they’re two position switches.

[Bowtomecha]

You can use a two way 4pdt toggle switch for this. Imagine two DPDT switches but both controlled by one lever. You can have series/parallel for each humbucker simultaneously but electrically separate. The contact pattern will repeat for both sides of the switch so as long as you follow the color coding of your pickup manufacturer, the connections will be exactly the same.

[Mincer]

You would need 1 switch per pickup to switch between series + parallel. As far as changing the pickups, it really depends on what you don't like about the stock pickups. What do you want from a middle pickup? If you want versatility, I would suggest a Classic Stack in the middle for a noiseless true single coil sound. What do you want to change about the neck and bridge pickups? The Distortions are great pickups, but not the most versatile. I'd choose lower output pickups and boost them later on, if versatility is a big deal to you.

[Deim0s]

Hello everyone!

I'm really looking forward into modding my washburn x-40 guitar. What I want to do is change its pickups and add a 2-way toggle switch for changing the humbuckers between series & parallel.

The guitar has the following specs:

Construction: bolt-on
Body: basswood
Neck: maple
Fingerboard: rosewood
Scale: 25,5"
Frets: 24
Bridge: Schaller Floyd Rose
Tuners: Grover
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Head Hunter EL921,EL922,EL923
Controls: 5-Way Switch, 1 volume, 1 tone
Year: 2004

I was looking at Seymour Duncan pickups for an HSH configuration, focused on versatility and bright sound, so for the moment I'm inclined for these pickups:

Neck: SH-6n Distortion
Middle: SL59-1b Little '59 for Strat
Bridge: SH-6b Distortion

But any recommendations on pickups would be really helpful!

For the 5-way switch blade I would like to keep the default:

Pos 1. Neck HB
Pos 2. Neck HB + Middle SC
Pos 3. Middle SC
Pos 4. Bridge HB + Middle SC
Pos 5. Bridge HB

And the extra mod would be the 2-way toggle that changes the Humbuckers between series and parallel.

Is it possible? Could anyone help me with the wiring diagram?
Also, I think the current pickups on the guitar only have 2 conductor cables (not sure, haven't removed them yet), the modern ones are 4 conductors... So would I need to change all the electronics?

This is my first hands-on project on guitar and I'm really motivated to do it, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance to anyone taking the time to read!