Coupla P-rails questions

[MrBitey]

Hi folks

I've put a P-rails (mk1) in my Fender Modern Player Marauder.
The wiring is pretty simple,I am treating each coil as a separate pickup such that my five way selector works thus:

1) Bridge - Rail
2) Bridge Rail plus p90 - parallel hum cancelling
3) Bridge P90
4) P90 plus jazzmaster neck
5) Jazmaster neck

Sounds good but I have a couple of questions

1) I find the blade and p90 sounds very similar along with the parallel hum-cancelling mode. Is there anything I can do to have the blade and the p90 sounding more different?

2) How easy would it be to have the p-rails running in serial p90 mode instead of parallel whilst still retaining the 5-way Strat type selector as my switch?

cheers

MrB

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

Automating the series link between the two coils of the P-Rail via the conventional five-way lever switch will not work. If there is room, a 24-contact Superswitch will do the job. If not, a Schaller Megaswitch E would be my suggestion.

My instinctive response to this question is to simplify the pickup selection to neck/both/bridge then govern the coils of the P-Rails via push-pull pots.

 

[Artie]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

My instinctive response to this question is to simplify the pickup selection to neck/both/bridge then govern the coils of the P-Rails via push-pull pots.

My instincts are the same. But, it is your guitar. If you want to spring for the Superswitch, we can work out the wiring details.

 

[timhatimay]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

I'll let the wiring experts handle question 2, but I have a suggestion to help with question 1. When I first installed my P-rails, I felt the difference between the coils wasn't as significant as I was expecting, then I flipped the pickup. This made a great difference and worked well for me. Now my rail is a bit spankier and more single-coilish sounding. Can give a passable strat sound (when installed in a strat). The P90 sound didn't change much, but parallel setting got much better. Now the parallel is one of my favorite selections and has somewhat of a PAF or vintage humbucker type vibe. This worked for both my neck and bridge p-rail pickups. Try it out, its an easy fix! But a thought about question 2: Since your guitar already has a pickup ring, why not just install a Triple shot for selecting the coils?

Tim

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

I agree with Funk and Artie. The two push/pulls will give you complete control over the P-Rail's possibilities.

I also agree with timhatimay that the Triple Shot ring is by far the easiest solution.

As far as your first question is concerned...When the P-Rails pups first came out I did a lot of experimenting with them as far as mounting positions and magnet choices. What I found out was the same as timhatimay suggested...mount the P-Rail in the bridge position with the Rail closest to the bridge. You get a huge difference in the tone of the Rail compared to the P-90 or both coils in parallel. The tone and output of the P-90 coil remain unchanged (when you rotate the P-Rail pup, the position of the P-90 coil relative to the string's vibrational nodes doesn't change much).

Mounting the Rail coil close to the bridge, however, makes the Rail coil very weak/thin/puny. So, putting an A8 mag next to the Rail made all the difference in the world. It thickened up that puny Rail next to the bridge and gave it more output to compete with other pups or the P-90 coil. But it still retained that tone distinction between it and the P-90 or the parallel sound.

 

[MrBitey]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

Hi there,
swapped the p-rails around so the rail is closest to the bridge - definitely much more variation in sound now... Loving it even more!

Think I can probably live without the series humbucker option now...

thanks chaps!

MrB

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

I wouldn't want a P-Rails without the series humbucker option.

I use the Rail for clean, the P-90 for almost everything, and the series humbucker for hard rock sounds... I almost never use the parallel mode.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Coupla P-rails questions

To each his own. I almost never use series mode in my P-Rails. Almost everything is P-90, Rail is used when I want a Stra/Tele tone, and occassionally use the Parallel setting for nice cleans.