brian may style strat
- Thread starter nepalnt21
- Start date
Re: brian may style strat
Only thing about parallel out of phase is that it's real thin and weak; series out of phase will be closer to the same volume as parallel in phase. FWIW (maybe i said this already) 90% of BM's sound is bridge and middle in series for the power chord stuff). A universal phase switch really can't be done ... Like Artie said if you reverse the phase of all the pups you are right back were you start,if you reverse two together, they will only be out of phase with the third pup.
Revering the middle would be the way to go I think, as that would give you the following out of phase positions: B+M, B+N in phase with Middle out of phase, N+M.
nepalnt21 said:
Only thing about parallel out of phase is that it's real thin and weak; series out of phase will be closer to the same volume as parallel in phase. FWIW (maybe i said this already) 90% of BM's sound is bridge and middle in series for the power chord stuff). A universal phase switch really can't be done ... Like Artie said if you reverse the phase of all the pups you are right back were you start,if you reverse two together, they will only be out of phase with the third pup.
Revering the middle would be the way to go I think, as that would give you the following out of phase positions: B+M, B+N in phase with Middle out of phase, N+M.
Re: brian may style strat
I forgot to add this, if you use three on/off/on DPDT switches in place of the 5 way lever, then you can turn each pup on or off, in phase or reversed phase in parallel. That you can do easily but, I don't see a way to do the series/parallel thing without adding that monster switch.
nepalnt21 said:
I forgot to add this, if you use three on/off/on DPDT switches in place of the 5 way lever, then you can turn each pup on or off, in phase or reversed phase in parallel. That you can do easily but, I don't see a way to do the series/parallel thing without adding that monster switch.
Re: brian may style strat
Help!!!
I throw myself on the mercy of the board.
I hope that I am quoting this diagram correctly so it shows up.
Very simply, I want to do the Brian May wiring scheme but also be able to have the three single-coil pickups in either series or parallel, plus in phase/out of phase. (Brian May's original wiring scheme is only in series, so you don't get any of the traditional Strat notch sounds.)
This diagram by ArtieToo is a perfect starting point. Now if I can just add two or three toggles to this so I can switch each (and all pickups) in and out of series/parallel.
Number of switches is not a problem. If I can get better functionality with nine DPDT toggles, then that's what I will do, but obviously the less toggles the better. I would like to stick with mini toggles if possible.
I have spent days looking for the answer on the internet. I can find diagrams for switching two pickups, not three, in and out of series/parallel. But I am not good enough to figure out how to wire the third by myself.
I thought I had found the answer, but the schematic doesn't work -- after wiring eight toggle switches and 50 soldered connections. It's not completely wrong, but it's not completely right either. So I just gave up on it.
But I don't want to give up on the project. I could just wire it in the Brian May way, but I just know there must be a way to add the series/parallel feature.
My soldering pen is heated up and ready to go ... Just give me a diagram to follow.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Ubehebe
. .
Help!!!
I throw myself on the mercy of the board.
I hope that I am quoting this diagram correctly so it shows up.
Very simply, I want to do the Brian May wiring scheme but also be able to have the three single-coil pickups in either series or parallel, plus in phase/out of phase. (Brian May's original wiring scheme is only in series, so you don't get any of the traditional Strat notch sounds.)
This diagram by ArtieToo is a perfect starting point. Now if I can just add two or three toggles to this so I can switch each (and all pickups) in and out of series/parallel.
Number of switches is not a problem. If I can get better functionality with nine DPDT toggles, then that's what I will do, but obviously the less toggles the better. I would like to stick with mini toggles if possible.
I have spent days looking for the answer on the internet. I can find diagrams for switching two pickups, not three, in and out of series/parallel. But I am not good enough to figure out how to wire the third by myself.
I thought I had found the answer, but the schematic doesn't work -- after wiring eight toggle switches and 50 soldered connections. It's not completely wrong, but it's not completely right either. So I just gave up on it.
But I don't want to give up on the project. I could just wire it in the Brian May way, but I just know there must be a way to add the series/parallel feature.
My soldering pen is heated up and ready to go ... Just give me a diagram to follow.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Ubehebe
. .
ArtieToo said:Ok . . . you don't have to wait 'til tomorrow.
Use on-off-on DPDT switches. Each switch, when in the middle, is "off". Switch "up" to turn on the pup in one phase, "down", to turn on the pup in the other phase.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: brian may style strat
Just a word of warning about the dimarzio brian may set. They sound nothing like strat pickups! They are very bright, very clean and they are not potted very well so they are very microphonic. I had to put a little super glue on the magnet which runs down the center of the pickup like an old charlie christian because it rattled. I also had to re-pott the pickup because it fed back at very low volumes and gain. The bridge pickup is too weak but the middle and neck are ok. I have a jb jr at the bridge and they sound great in combination with the jb but a little odd by themselves?
Snowdog
Just a word of warning about the dimarzio brian may set. They sound nothing like strat pickups! They are very bright, very clean and they are not potted very well so they are very microphonic. I had to put a little super glue on the magnet which runs down the center of the pickup like an old charlie christian because it rattled. I also had to re-pott the pickup because it fed back at very low volumes and gain. The bridge pickup is too weak but the middle and neck are ok. I have a jb jr at the bridge and they sound great in combination with the jb but a little odd by themselves?
Snowdog
Last edited:
Inge Malmstein
New member
Re: brian may style strat
for that reason simply used bridge and middle in series.
Another good setup is neck & bridge in series and out of phase.
Sounds more like a bridge single coil with more bite and is has no hum!
But yes, the pickups sound unusual. In series not really like a humbucker and alone not stratty like single coils usually sounds.
It's a matter of taste.
You can get very cool and unusual sounds (all pickups in series and middle out of phase - that sounded like a sitar!)
but i missed the option to have also a more traditional sound.
So i sold my Brian May guitar.
idsnowdog said:
for that reason simply used bridge and middle in series.
Another good setup is neck & bridge in series and out of phase.
Sounds more like a bridge single coil with more bite and is has no hum!
But yes, the pickups sound unusual. In series not really like a humbucker and alone not stratty like single coils usually sounds.
It's a matter of taste.
You can get very cool and unusual sounds (all pickups in series and middle out of phase - that sounded like a sitar!)
but i missed the option to have also a more traditional sound.
So i sold my Brian May guitar.
Re: brian may style strat
Thanks for your comments.
Yes, the Brian May setup sounds nothing like a Strat. That's partially because his setup is wired only in series (as well as the pickups being Trisonics). If there is a way to switch the pickups also to parallel, the Strat sounds will return to some degree. That's why I want to find a way to switch parallel and series connections with toggles for three pickups. I can have the best of both worlds: Strat pickup sounds and the very un-Strat-like sound of single-coil pickups in series.
I'm using a Burns Bison reissue that came with the Trisonics. I bought it expressly to do this mod. Then I found out that I can't do the mod because I can't find a way to switch in and out of phase and from series to parallel.
Because the Trisonics came installed in parallel in my Bison guitar, I had a chance to try them out, and I REALLY like them. Yes, they do not really sound like a Strat single coil. In fact they sound like no other pickup I have heard.
Clean, they produce a bell-like tone that actually sounds like little bells. They have a wonderful horn-like sound when distorted. However, you do have to be careful with the distortion. Too much and the Trsonics degrade into atonal white noise. These are not heavy metal screamers.
But I need wiring diagram.
In the post that went with the drawing, ArtieToo said that he had a way to do the series/parallel wiring, just not with three toggle switches. He would need more switches. As I said, I don't care how many switches I use.
I welcome anyone's schematic on adding series/parallel to the phase switching. I'm hoping -- since ArtieToo knew a way to do it a year ago -- he will see this post and add the parallel/series switching to his first diagram.
Thanks!!
Thanks for your comments.
Yes, the Brian May setup sounds nothing like a Strat. That's partially because his setup is wired only in series (as well as the pickups being Trisonics). If there is a way to switch the pickups also to parallel, the Strat sounds will return to some degree. That's why I want to find a way to switch parallel and series connections with toggles for three pickups. I can have the best of both worlds: Strat pickup sounds and the very un-Strat-like sound of single-coil pickups in series.
I'm using a Burns Bison reissue that came with the Trisonics. I bought it expressly to do this mod. Then I found out that I can't do the mod because I can't find a way to switch in and out of phase and from series to parallel.
Because the Trisonics came installed in parallel in my Bison guitar, I had a chance to try them out, and I REALLY like them. Yes, they do not really sound like a Strat single coil. In fact they sound like no other pickup I have heard.
Clean, they produce a bell-like tone that actually sounds like little bells. They have a wonderful horn-like sound when distorted. However, you do have to be careful with the distortion. Too much and the Trsonics degrade into atonal white noise. These are not heavy metal screamers.
But I need wiring diagram.
In the post that went with the drawing, ArtieToo said that he had a way to do the series/parallel wiring, just not with three toggle switches. He would need more switches. As I said, I don't care how many switches I use.
I welcome anyone's schematic on adding series/parallel to the phase switching. I'm hoping -- since ArtieToo knew a way to do it a year ago -- he will see this post and add the parallel/series switching to his first diagram.
Thanks!!
Inge Malmstein
New member
Re: brian may style strat
I think that was already posted, but there is an option to get a parallel switch WITHOUT more switches. You need to change the wiring on ONE existing phase switch, and you can get bridge & middle and bridge & neck parallel.
I think that was already posted, but there is an option to get a parallel switch WITHOUT more switches. You need to change the wiring on ONE existing phase switch, and you can get bridge & middle and bridge & neck parallel.
gripweed
Jolvisologist
Re: brian may style strat
Supposedly, this is the guy to go to for trisonics;
http://www.adeson.co.uk/
I think he did a *Seth Lover* and got the original winder and the correct specs.
Supposedly, this is the guy to go to for trisonics;
http://www.adeson.co.uk/
I think he did a *Seth Lover* and got the original winder and the correct specs.
Re: brian may style strat
Hi:
There is a mod floating around the internet that adds one or two switches to the original Brian May setups, and these one or two switches supposedly allow you to switch between Brian May's series setup and the parallel sounds of a Strat. Only problem is that I can't get the mod to work, 50 soldered connections and eight switches later. That's why I'm looking for help.
I won't go so far as to say that the current parallel/series mod is wrong. I don't know enough about wiring to say that. I will say that I have wired it twice, following the schematics exactly, and it doesn't work as advertised for me. Everything works until I add the mod, then I lose the ability to use the neck pickup by itself and the bridge-only selection gets funky.
So, once again, if any one knows how to add a series/parallel mod to Artie's diagram for the phase on/off switches. it would be greatly appreciated.
My project has ground to a halt. Like others, I find the Brian May design too restrictive with its series-only design. I want to be able to switch in and out of parallel.
As for the pickups themselves, I'm using real Burns Trisonics that came in a Bison reissue. Sound great.
Thanks again for any help you can give.
Hi:
There is a mod floating around the internet that adds one or two switches to the original Brian May setups, and these one or two switches supposedly allow you to switch between Brian May's series setup and the parallel sounds of a Strat. Only problem is that I can't get the mod to work, 50 soldered connections and eight switches later. That's why I'm looking for help.
I won't go so far as to say that the current parallel/series mod is wrong. I don't know enough about wiring to say that. I will say that I have wired it twice, following the schematics exactly, and it doesn't work as advertised for me. Everything works until I add the mod, then I lose the ability to use the neck pickup by itself and the bridge-only selection gets funky.
So, once again, if any one knows how to add a series/parallel mod to Artie's diagram for the phase on/off switches. it would be greatly appreciated.
My project has ground to a halt. Like others, I find the Brian May design too restrictive with its series-only design. I want to be able to switch in and out of parallel.
As for the pickups themselves, I'm using real Burns Trisonics that came in a Bison reissue. Sound great.
Thanks again for any help you can give.
Brow
Active member
Re: brian may style strat
If you do the 'Brian May wiring' with 6 switches (3 on/off switches and 3 phase switches as on the original guitar), it is possible to change 1 of the phase switches to be a series/parallel switch.
It is quite a common mod for users of Brian May Red Special Guitars.
If you do the 'Brian May wiring' with 6 switches (3 on/off switches and 3 phase switches as on the original guitar), it is possible to change 1 of the phase switches to be a series/parallel switch.
It is quite a common mod for users of Brian May Red Special Guitars.
