Can a single Triple Shot pickup mounting ring do this?

benriddell

New member
Hi

I'm thinking of buying a Les Paul style guitar and putting some P-Rails in it and have a wiring/switching question;

I want to have push/pulls for all the volume and tones pots so that I control which part of the pickup is active:

- Bridge volume & tone in the down position = Bridge humbucker coils in series
- Bridge volume in the up position and tone in the down position = Bridge P90
- Bridge volume in the down position and tone in the up position = Bridge single coil
- Bridge volume & tone in the up position = Brdige humbucker coils in parallel

And likewise for the neck pickup.


Now the question - can I use one switch on a single Triple Shot mounting ring to control if the pickups are in series/parallel with each other and use the other switch to put the pickups in/out of phase with each other

This guy did a demo ages ago, and while he's not using a Triple Shot he did build two switches into the bridge pickup mounting ring:
https://youtu.be/9q9VkER0dmw
https://youtu.be/pbDVlvyYry4
https://youtu.be/xSJ7D9IXfrg


I know I could use two TS and two push/pull pots to do the same thing but I feel using the volume/tone pots are easier to achieve quicker configuration changes than the tiny TS switches.

I'm guessing I'd have to remove the little PCB from the ring to accomplish what I want to do but if any of you have successfully wired what I want to achieve I'd appreciate a guide to what you did



Thank you in advance, regards

Ben
 
I would do it the other way around, because Triple Shots are designed for what you are trying to do with the push-pulls, and what you are asking to do with the Triple Shots is easy to do with push-pulls.

I can't think of how you could use a Triple shot for 2PU in/out of phase and in series/in parallel with only 1 switch controlling each because the Triple Shot switches are hardwired into the circuit board and each switch only moves 1 wire. For phase, you need to move 2 wires and likewise for series/parallel.
 
Thanks ThreeChordWonder for the link and diagram. I've been looking at these (and other diagrams) and agree that the wiring could get messy real quick.


This was the answer I was looking for beaubrummels but didn't want it to come:

I can't think of how you could use a Triple shot for 2PU in/out of phase and in series/in parallel with only 1 switch controlling each because the Triple Shot switches are hardwired into the circuit board and each switch only moves 1 wire. For phase, you need to move 2 wires and likewise for series/parallel



If I was putting them in a Strat/Tele style guitar (or something with a pickguard) I'd just add two switches through the pickguard - I just don't like the look of a Les Paul with mini toggles switches randomly added through the body haha

Thanks both for your replies
 
You don't have to put mini-toggles in a Les Paul. Just use the Triple Shots for coil selection and use push-pulls for series pickups and pickups in/out of phase. Visually no one would be able to tell, other than the slightly thicker mounting ring for the Triple Shots (but someone would have to be standing next to you to see it).
 
I found Triple Shots don't work with Strats because they interfere with the volume pot knob. Well, at least with a regular volume pot knob.

If you want to series /parallel both humbuckers and or phase flip one of them, the wiring could get real messy, real quickly, and I for one wouldn't be able to remember which switch did which.
 
If you use Triple Shots, you don't need the push pulls to control the coil choices.
You could use the push/pulls for phase switching and series/parallel wiring when using both pickups.
It would give you way more combinations than you would ever use.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
I have found that using the switches in a TS is WAY easier than trying to manipulate two p/p pots. I've got lots of guitars with p/p pots and at least 7 or 8 with TS rings. For doing the switching that the TS rings are designed to do, they do it easier than a couple p/p pots. But for switching one pup oop with another, the p/p pot works great.
 
^ Agreed, in part. So long as you learn which way the switches need to be for the desired settings, they're great. The only downside I can see is that the switches are very small. Okay for a home / studio environment, but I'm not so sure about the stage. And yes, for a phase flip you'll need to wire the pickup hot (black) and ground (green) to a push-pull first, then wire back to the P-Rail pad.
 
As with any '100s of combinations' wiring schemes, it is best to try it for a little while so you will know what you will actually use, so you can hardwire those into a switching scheme. It is hard to get to a particular sound when you need 3 or 4 moves to get to where you want to go.
 
^, Absolutely.

It really doesn't take very long to get familiar with the switching on a TS (WAY easier than 4 p/p pots..."let's see, this one up, that one down, this other one down, and I forget about the last one"), and it turns out, at least for me, to be very convenient to use in a band/performance situation.
 
yeah, the ts is pretty quick to learn and does the trick well. especially with prails, its the way to go
 
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