Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

P

P-Ride

New member
Hey, my two go-to guitars from my collection of four are:

PRS SE Custom 24
Tuned to DADGBD with 10-gauge strings (and a 54 on the low string, to compensate for the D-tuning); used for fast lead-work, technical riffing and generally raw, high-gain playing.

Fender Telecaster HH
Tuned to CGCFAC with 12-gauge strings (and a 60 on the low string, to compensate for the C-tuning); used for massive chords, chunky riffs and chugging.

I use a Peavey 6505+ and Orange cab in the studio and TSE X50 (based on a Peavey 5150) on my laptop.

I also boost with a TC Electronic Spark.

What these two guitars have in common is twin humbuckers, a single volume pot and single tone pot, each with a push/pull for coil split.

I have no idea if they’re wired in an identical fashion, or with some differences. I understand the Telecaster’s previous owner added a treble bleed to the circuit though.

I’m buying new pickups this week and thought I’d try two pairs of IronGear pickups, given they get great reviews and would cost around £120, versus £400 for a similar pair of pairs, from Bare Knuckle; or £300, from SD.

I'm new to pickup types as well, so trying these four will be an interesting educational exercise.

I’m going for the Steam Hammer (ceramic) bridge and Rolling Mill in the neck for the Telecaster and the Dirty Torque/Blues Engine set for the PRS SE Custom 24.

Telecaster’s Steam Hammer should be brutal in the bridge. I was tempted with a P90 in the neck, but think a Rolling Mill will be more versatile. Any difference in opinion?

Apparently the Dirty Torque/Blues Engine set is similar to a JB / Jazz set, although possibly heavier.

Even if I decide to upgrade any of these pickups to a BKP or SD model later, these four pickups are a nice mix of styles and Alnico/Ceramic to have in my toolbox.

My question is around the wiring options I have.

I’m comfortable soldering and switching the wires, although don’t know too much about guitar components, yet.

My current setup with a three-way selector and push/pull coil-split is fine. However:

- I’m interested in options for tone knob bypass, given that I love raw, bright tones.

- A no-load tone pot is an obvious solution, although would replace my push/pull tone knob, which I currently use for coil-splits.

- Can I use a push/pull volume pot for doing coil-splits instead of a push/pull tone pot?

- Could I rewire with a 5-way selector and do my coil-splits there instead, allowing me to replace the push/pull tone knobs with a no-load bypass? Using a pickup selector for coil splits would also be easier to activate than pulling out the push/pull knob.

- Alternatively, I could copy Misha Mansoor and use the push/pull to activate/deactivate my tone pot; although again, I’d have to shift the coil-split to my volume knob (if possible) or onto a five-way pickup selector.

Both guitars have 3-position blade selectors; although apparently Fender are single wafer and PRS are double wafer.. whatever that means?

I’m looking at the Jimmy Page mod with four push/pull knobs for my Gibson Les Paul to give 21 pickup combinations.. so am interested in any clever, ambitious wiring plans for a two-knob guitar that I could try on my Telecaster and PRS to give me a range of pickup options.

I am open to drilling holes for switches into my Telecaster’s pickguard and panel.. but don’t want to drill into wood on either guitar.

All pickups are four-wire and of course I’m happy to buy push/pull or no-load tone pots and new pickup selectors.

It seems silly not to use a 5-way pickup selector and two push/pulls or a push/pull and no-load tone switch on each guitar, to maximise flexibility.

Cheers



 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

I have no load tone pots in my Tele and Reverend Bayonet, and it's a great solution. I haven't looked to see if these come as push/pull as well.

When it comes to having a push/pull on the volume, it depends on how much you use your volume to shift tone - to me, it seems like you'd always want your volume at the same height - less risk of missing while playing, and/or accidentally pushing down.

One option you don't mention is the Fender S1 switching pot - I have that on my Tele volume - it's a push/push within the knob, so very unobtrusive. I recently wired in some TVJones Tele pickups into my Tele and there are more than enough S1 wiring schemes out on the web.


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Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

Not familiar with the pickups you're using. It they sound nice bases on your description. Always fun upgrading pickup. I lean towards twin Humbuckers with a DiMarzios 500k Push:Pull Volume to tap/split and use Fender TBX Tone and it's become my standard install on all my guitars. Really like how open they this sounds and the range on the TBX Tone. Good luck and nice looking guitars btw.
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

I put the full 6-switch version of the Jimmy Page wiring in an SG once and what I found is I used parallel coils of the individual humbuckers far more often than split coils or any of the other options. Bypassing the tone could be a good thing as well, but haven't tried it with any of my HH guitars.
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

I don't think its easy to get hold of a no load push pull pot or if they even make one.

BUT

You can convert a pot(normal or P/P) to have no load at full clockwise turn. I have done that to my stock alpha pot, as well as a alpha p/p & bourns p/p pots. Just need a small flat end screwdriver, razor blade & maybe tiny pliers. Look up on youtube for a video instructions or google up 'making no load pots'.

You an have a push pull type pot for volume as well as tone. I have that setup on one of my guitars for series/parallel (dual sound) mode for humbuckers.

Also look into triple shot mounting rings.
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

beaubrummels said:
I put the full 6-switch version of the Jimmy Page wiring in an SG once and what I found is I used parallel coils of the individual humbuckers far more often than split coils or any of the other options. Bypassing the tone could be a good thing as well, but haven't tried it with any of my HH guitars.
Click to expand...

On reflection, I actually don't use the split-coils of my humbuckers too much.. They just feel a bit weak to me.

Perhaps I wouldn't be missing out by losing those?

Maybe a 5-way switch with a couple of combinations like those you describe could be more useful?
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

The push-pull switch attached to a pot does not care whether it's on a volume or tone pot. They are separate controls. You have to manually wire the push-pull switch to the pot it's mounted on to make the pot affect the pickup wired onto the switch.

Meaning you can use a push-pull on a tone pot to split the bridge and a push-pull on a volume pot to split the neck, or the other way around. You can also use one push pull to split both pickups at once, though they will always both be either split or not-split. You will never have the option of only one of the two split.
Alternatively, you can wire the push-pull so that one pickup is always split and the other not, and using the switch to swap which one is split and which one is not, but again, you will never have both split at once, nor both not-split at once.

You can replace the 3-way blade switches with a 5-way blade, and set positions 2 and 4 for "auto-split", meaning the pickups are split when you go to either of those positions. However, again, you will either have only one pickup split or both split at once, depending on how you wire up the 3rd position. You would still need a push-pull or other similar switch to either split or unsplit either individual pickup.


Since both guitars have mounting rings, your best option is a set of SD TripleShot rings to handle series, split, and parallel operations. These are no more difficult to operate on the fly than learning the various positions of a 5-way switch, and are just as easy to wire up, and require no routing.


As for the single-wafer vs double-wafer switch, each set of contacts for the pickups and the switch itself are mounted on a semi-circular disc called a wafer. The standard Fender-spec 3 or 5-way blade switch is typically a single wafer, with 8 contacts - 4 on each side. These are a Common (typically used as Output but can be used as Input to the switch), and one contact for each position of the switch.
A 5-way switch and a 3-way switch are essentially the same design, except that the 5-way switch has 2 extra notches (positions 2 and 4) which crate a bridge between positions 1 and 3, and 3 and 5.
Typically, a 3-way blade must be wired for each connection, so you can have the 1 and 3 as both pickups full, and the center position as both or either pickup split.
By contrast, a Gibson-style 3-way toggle's center position is a bridge between the Rhythm and Treble positions.

But with a 5-way blade, you simply wire up positions 1, 3, and 5, and positons 2 and 4 are handled by the switch automatically (which is why the typical 3-single-coil Strat gets middle + neck/bridge combos, but rarely bridge + neck).

With a 2-wafer 3-way blade switch design, there should be a total of 16 contacts at least - 8 on each wafer, 4 on either side of each wafer. Each of these is referred to as a pole, and each has a Common and the same 3 primary connectors to which you would wire the pickups. It's my understanding PRS uses a particular wiring scheme for their 2-hum models which requires this type of switch, and so if you look at the switch you should see wires crossing back and forth over the various poles to achieve these options (inner coils in parallel, outer coils in series, etc).

There are 5-way switches that have 4 poles/2 wafers, and 20 contacts - one common for each pole, and 1 contact for each position of the switch, with no automatic bridging of any contacts. These give you the largest number of wiring options possible in a single switch, aside from a 6-way rotary switch.


As for interesting wiring options, using what you have now in the Tele, you can wire one half of the 3-way blade to handle the standard bridge, bridge+neck, neck options, and use a push-pull to switch to the other side of the 3-way, which would split the pickups, and still have the same 3 combinations.
Alternatively, if you regularly used a particular combination such as neck full + split bridge, you could wire up the other side of the 3-way for that, and choose which side of the switch is active with the push-pull.

However, there's nothing there that cannot be achieved by the push-pull by itself, so those wiring schemes would simply be time wasted. Your options are limited by the switch.
On the other hand, you could wire the push-pull to switch one pickup between series and parallel, and use a second push-pull to split the other pickup.


The 2-wafer PRS switch will offer more interesting switching options, however, including what I presume to be the default settings of inner/outer coils in various combinations (north bridge + south neck, etc).
Here, your options are limited by the number of pickups, although there are still more options than with the standard 3-way of the Tele.

I've also heard you have to route some of the wood out of a typical Tele cavity to fit a dual-wafer blade switch, so that might not interest you, which brings us back to the Triple Shot mounting rings.
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

Thanks for all your help, especially the huge amount of information from DrNewcenstein.

I feel I'm distilling this down into what could be an elegant, intuitive solution; aided partly by having discovered the 'superswitch' and 'megaswitch' articles, which make me realise many others share my agenda.

I'm thinking of a 5-way switch that gives me (obviously) full bridge and full neck, plus three combinations of mixed coils that could be particularly useful.

I'll then either swap my push/pull knob for a no-load tone pot, or have it setup so the tone pot is bypassed unless it's pulled out.

There's something really cool about a push/pull knob; but honestly, every time I pull it out, I feel it's a bit of a pain and not very fast.

Also, I don't feel my individual split-coils are particularly useful. They just sound thin.

Whereas a mix of several combinations of split coils could give me enough versatility?

I could try using a push/pull on the volume to do something like change the phase; but don't like how freely my push/pull knobs spin.

So there we go.. I'm learning towards a 5-way superswitch and a no-load tone pot, with no push/pulls..

Which is surprising, as I thought they were cool. I am starting to wonder if I need anything more than a few extra coil combinations though?

I keep trying to think of something awesome I could have the push/pull do.. but none of them seem that useful.

Key question: Do most of the superswitch options require one reversed polarity pickup?

I literally just ordered a pair for my Telecaster. That said, switching the magnets isn't that big a deal; even on a pickup with a chrome cover, no?

Cheers
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

I did a 2 HB, 1 vol, 1 tone, 1 super 5 way for a few guitars. I wrote a blog about it here.
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

d*mn.. there is alot of text on this thread..

can i get some cheat notes or a summary? lol
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

Mincer said:
I did a 2 HB, 1 vol, 1 tone, 1 super 5 way for a few guitars. I wrote a blog about it here.
Click to expand...

Great, thanks Dave - this looks good!

I've got to figure out which coil combinations could be useful for me.. and both inside + both outside, while slightly obvious, sounds like a sensible place to start.

What do you make of these two specific combinations?

I think I'll take this plan.. then either use my push/pull to bypass the tone switch, or change it to a no-load.

Cheers
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

Looks like flipping the magnets is obligatory for most interesting 5-way setups?

I've also looked at the Schaller megaswitch.. I hear mixed things though?
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

Someone else has left an interesting post, with an alternative 5-way suggestions..

----

Do you mind if I make a suggestion? I never want to discourage anyone from trying out their own ideas, but you have a couple positions that won't really produce the variety of sounds that you have the potential for. First of all, if one mounts dual humbuckers in the traditional fashion, (studs-in, screws-out), which is aesthetically pleasing, (like you're doing), then inside or outside coils, in either series or parallel, won't be hum-cancelling. Which is a shame, and a waste.

I've been playing with a lot of different combo's, and my favorite wiring scheme, by far, is this: (Not sure where this will appear in the post, since I've not used "attachments" before.)

What I like about this, is that all the positions are hum-cancelling. You get the following sounds:

1. Neck series. Neck humbucker. (Great for smooth jazz.)
2. North coils in parallel. (Classic Strat "notch" tone.)
3. North coils in series. (Virtual 3rd humbucker. My favorite HB tone.)
4. Bridge parallel. (Classic Tele tone.)
5. Bridge series. Rock, and everything else.

And its simple to wire. Again, not sure where this pic will show up, but, you just wire up the "top" sequence with grounds, along with the pup green wires. Doesn't matter which order you make the connections. Then wire the 2nd group, along with the pup black wires, to the volume control. Then wire up those three jumpers, and finally, connect the red/white of each pup to the two remaining terminals on each side.

Make sense?

Edit: And I almost forgot, I have a cool bridge-override switch diagram somewhere. Gimme a little time and I'll find it.

Edit 2: "Out", in those diagrams means "out to the volume pot".
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

Yeah, you have to flip a magnet for the one I suggested. The outside coils is very Tele-like, snappy and open. The inside coils are Stratty- quacky and phasey. They are quieter in volume than series humbuckers, obviously, but I always thought that was a good thing. This is the same wiring on an Erine Ball Axis Super Sport with 2 humbuckers, btw.
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

So, last night I fitted the Irongear pickups to my Telecaster HH and they're great.

The ceramic 'Steamhammer' slices through on high-gain with the Peavey 6505+ and Orange cab, although - predictably - sounds a little sterile and thin on clean.

Whereas the PAF-style 'Rolling Mill' pickup sounds thick and bluesy on high-gain (great, although not my usual style), but - more usefully to me - sounds gorgeous clean.

Combining the two is fantastic.

Moreover, coil-splitting sounds fantastic clean.

So, I'm thinking of Mincer's 5-way wiring and the push/push tone knob defeat functionality, then making my volume pot a push/push coil-split.

Will that work?
 
Re: Creative wiring options for a 2 humbucker, 1 tone 1 volume guitar? Tone bypass?

i too like Iron gear 'pups and really like the rolling mills too.. i want to say i have the overwound version but cant remember

also have the hot slag,pair of volts,pig iron, and smokestack II

when i get the funds available ill order another sc....probably the texas loco. Also ill probably get the blues engine/dirty torque set for my stagemaster and deciding on changing the volts in a DXMG.. Probably go with a steam hammer or metal machine in the bridge and perhaps a rolling mills or tesla shark for the neck
 
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