Coil split vs. parallel wiring

S

scarabunga

New member
What do you think gives the best Strat tone then, coil splitting or wiring for parallel?

I've got parallel wiring for the neck pickup on my Ibanez, and I've never thought it's that great. But my tech advised me to go parallel on the bridge humbucker for my Strat today and I was surprised.

Also, if I go coil split, that way when I use the "in between" (bridge and middle together), it'll be hum-cancelling, right?
 
Re: Coil split vs. parallel wiring

Depends on the pickup. Parallel is a good non-hum compromise, but it never thrilled me as a single coil replacement. A good sound in it's own right, sometimes, just not the same sound.

But then, how good the split sound is depends on the pickup as well.

Yes, if your middle is RWRP with respect to the bridge coil you use, it'll cancel hum.
 
Re: Coil split vs. parallel wiring

Which do you guys think has higher output: single or parallel?
 
Re: Coil split vs. parallel wiring

OK, the pickup is a really high-output rails type pickup, like a Hot Rails or a DiMarzio Fast Track 2.
 
Re: Coil split vs. parallel wiring

Lewguitar said:
Which do you guys think has higher output: single or parallel?
Click to expand...

This is an interesting question because there's more to it than meets the eye. When you parallel a pup, you increase its current capability, but the voltage level stays pretty much the same. Since a guitar amp is a voltage driven device, the output shouldn't change much at all. The "perceived" change would have more to do with minor signal cancellations since each coil won't have exactly the same signal.

Here's where it gets tricky. Since you have greater current capability, you can "load down" the pup a bit more. So, a humbucker in parallel might be able to drive a 250k pot with less loss of highs, than the single can. If you start with 500k's, you probably wouldn't notice much difference. Ergo - a parallel humbucker in the bridge of a Strat, (with 250k pots), might show a greater difference than that same 'bucker in a 500k equipped dual-humbucker guitar. (When connected in parallel.)

This is all somewhat conjecture on my part . . . but the theory's good. :)

Artie
 
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