Demoing Multiple Methods for Full and Partial Coilsplits

Jack_TriPpEr

New member
I recently completed a wiring scheme that allows one to demo different methods of coilsplitting - both partially and fully splitting the humbuckers, and wanted to share it for anyone potentially interested. I have vetted this scheme by wiring up one of my two humbucker guitars wuth it and checking that all the options shown do work without issue.

The intent of this scheme is to allow you to A-B compare different methods for how two humbuckers can have one of their coils partially or fully cut/split, and which coils you prefer to cut and which you prefer to leave active, both individually, and as pairs of coils to be combined together, i.e. Both Inners, Both Outers, etc.

** Please note that this scheme is meant to be used for TEMPORARY demo purposes only, so one can figure out which FEW of the multiple configurations present that you actually like, and then rewire your guitar after that with just those few options that you liked. Versus keeping it wired this way which doesn't "leave room" to have other common options you may want, like an Out Of Phase switch, or Master Series/Parallel switch, etc.

With this scheme, you get Spin-A-Split capabilities for two humbuckers plus:

1) can switch each pickup so its coils are wired In Parallel and apply a full or partial coilsplit.

2) choose which coil of each pickup you want to partially or fully cut

3) when the Pickups are in Parallel mode, turn on or off whether the signal of the cut coil is run through a Resistor & Capacitor before being sent to Ground (for EQ shaping purposes).



The diagram has numerous notes that detail what happens when each switch is in the up or down position, the value of the pots to be used (especially pertinent for the Spin-a-Split pots), the value of the caps, etc.

**EDIT: the dual-gang pot used for the Spin-A-Split for both humbuckers needs to be a No Load type. You can buy one designed like that or DIY it yourself. Here is a link to one video on YouTube that shows how to DIY A No Load:
https://youtu.be/dN3SlH-cEAg

The idea of coil-splitting a humbucker wired In Parallel came to me after musing about the possibilities of a scheme forum member Gstring posted last September where he used a fixed resistor and cap in series on the ground side of one coil in a humbucker wired in parallel. You can find more details about that scheme and Gstring's thoughts on what the resulting tone was like from doing that, in the thread at this link:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/foru...ut-appreciated

(^ fixed the broken link above)

FYI: in Parallel mode, the coil is being cut by disconnecting its *Cold wire* from ground. FYI: This also means that when the coil is fully cut in this manner, there is the potential for added RF noise/interference (assuming the volume pot for that humbucker is not turned down to 0), because the Hot wire is still connected and getting signal from the jack, i.e. it's a dangling live antennae.

It's already late in the evening as I am writing this, so I may be forgetting to mention some things and I apologize for that. but I will revisit it tomorrow and add whatever important notes/descriptions I may have missed.

** There is no pickup selector switch in this version of the scheme because my guitar didn't have enough pot holes for it and the other switches and pots required by this scheme - but an alternate version cpuld be created to replace the two individual volume pots with a 3 way toggle and master volume w S1 - as long as you have an additional ole in the control cavity dor the 2nd 4PDT switch currently shown on the 2nd individual volume pot. The posted diagram uses Independent wiring of the Neck and Bridge volume controls to compensate for lack of a pickup selector switch.

For those whose browsers display the details of the attached diagram as fuzzy when they zoom in, following is the link to this diagram loaded to my Imgur account:

https://imgur.com/gallery/TMo4Dmv
 

Attachments

  • photo102216.jpg
    photo102216.jpg
    125.4 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
This should be in a wiring diagram sticky thread so we can find it easily from now on. (I can't recall if we started one before?)

I don't know if it's just me, but the duncan forum software seems to have reduced the size of the image and that compression has blurred a lot of text in the image. Maybe need the diagram hosted on a service that doesn't mess with the images and just link to it from?
 
Nice diagram. I know how much work is involved in creating these. Do you use some particular software for these?

I don't know if it's just me, but the duncan forum software seems to have reduced the size of the image and that compression has blurred a lot of text in the image. Maybe need the diagram hosted on a service that doesn't mess with the images and just link to it from?

For me, I click it once to open it up, then click it again to expand it to a readable size. Seems to work fine.
 
This should be in a wiring diagram sticky thread so we can find it easily from now on. (I can't recall if we started one before?)

I don't know if it's just me, but the duncan forum software seems to have reduced the size of the image and that compression has blurred a lot of text in the image. Maybe need the diagram hosted on a service that doesn't mess with the images and just link to it from?

I tried Artie's suggested workaround above and it worked for me. Can you try it and let me know if it works for you as well? That way I know if I have to try and find a way to post it at a different resolution level and-or size. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Nice diagram. I know how much work is involved in creating these. Do you use some particular software for these?

For me, I click it once to open it up, then click it again to expand it to a readable size. Seems to work fine.

Thanks Artie. I used DIY Layout Creator software, which is freeware.

http://diy-fever.com/software/diylc/

Another nice feature to it, is that it does not require an actual installation on your computer, which makes changes to your computer's registry. Instead you just download it, unzip it, and launch the DIY executable and away you go.
 
Just spotted that I forgot to mention that the pots used for the Spin-a-Split need to be a No Load type. I edited my original post to include that.
 
UPDATES

1) updated the diagram to callout that the Spin-A-Split pots need to be a No Load design.

2) removed tbe Lock It Posi Lock adaptor pieces from the diagram, used for connecting the pickups to the cavity controls in solder-free fashion. The pieces were not drawn to scale nor exact location, which could have caused confusion about how to implement these. They reside in the control cavity, as dongles off the individual controls that they are connected to, i.e. they do NOT reside in the cavity of each pickup like an EMG quick connect interface.
 

Attachments

  • photo102150.jpg
    photo102150.jpg
    91.9 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
I tried Artie's suggested workaround above and it worked for me. Can you try it and let me know if it works for you as well? That way I know if I have to try and find a way to post it at a different resolution level and-or size. Thanks.

When I clicked the second time, it didn't get bigger for me. I can read all the heading text. I can't read the smaller descriptions at that size. I'm using a browser on my laptop, BTW.
 
It never occurred tome to try partial splits on a humbucker wired parallel. :cool:

Me neither until I saw Gstring's thread about it last September (link to it is in the first post of this thread).

Gstring felt the tone it produced was the closest he had found for getting a humbucker to sound like an actual singlecoil.

My own interest in trying it out was to see if it could emulate a Strat Position 2 or 4 tone, since on paper, it involved two coils in close proximity and connected in parallel. To my ears, it didn't yield any of the quack of a Position 2 or 4 sound, but still, some people may find they love it for what it is. Be advised that the output level is even lower than the famously low "two full coils in parallel".
 
It's the same size as before for me. I can't zoom in on it any more. Not sure why some pictures you can zoom in the browser and others not. Don't know if it's a forum software thing?

Did you try right-clicking on it to download it, and then open the downloaded version?
 
UPDATE

As I've spent more time demoing this scheme on my own guitar, I've found that the 100K value of the Spin-a-Split pots kills a lot of treble on the pickups when they're in Parallel mode and the pot is turned so that there is zero coil split. And I don't see a way around it if I continue to use the Spin-a-Split in Parallel mode, because I had already tried 500K pot values for the Spin-A-Splits and while that solved the loss of treble issue, it reintroduced the famous problem of using high pot values with Spin-a-Splits, which is that all the action from Full Split to No Split is crammed into a very small range of the pot's sweep, making it practically useless. On that basis, i am going to post a replacement wiring scheme tonight or tomorrow that uses Gstring's method of fixed resistor value and capacitor btw the coil's Cold wire and Ground, instead of a pot, when the pickups are in Parallel mode. When the pickups are In Series mode, the Spin-a-Splits will still be used for the coilsplitting. So, keep an eye out for the updated diagram.
 
Last edited:
Did you try right-clicking on it to download it, and then open the downloaded version?

It's the same size when I download, but I can zoom in and read the small text. But it it still blurry a bit because I'm enlarging a smaller image. If no one else is experiencing this, then I guess it doesn't matter. But FWIW my experience is something about storing images on Duncan's forum directly messes with the images more than hosting elsewhere and linking.
 
It's the same size when I download, but I can zoom in and read the small text. But it it still blurry a bit because I'm enlarging a smaller image. If no one else is experiencing this, then I guess it doesn't matter. But FWIW my experience is something about storing images on Duncan's forum directly messes with the images more than hosting elsewhere and linking.

Ok, when I post the revised diagram I talked about in my prior post, I will also provide a link to where its hosted in my Imgur account.

Thanks for being kind enough to take some of your time to try and troubleshoot this with me, Beau.
 
Last edited:
UPDATE

-when in Parallel mode, you have the option of [edit] both coils at full volume (Push-Pull switch in Down position), or partially split (Push-Pull switch in Up position). The Spin-A-Split pots are not part of the signal path in Parallel mode. [Edit]you do NOT have the option to have a FULL coilsplit of one coil in Parallel mode.

*IF* a 3 way on-off-on switch is used in place of the 2 way/push-pull switch, you could then have full coilsplit in one of those positions of the switch, i.e.

DOWN: both coils at full volume (no split)
MIDDLE: full coilsplit of one coil
UP: partial coilsplit

How the switch is wired does NOT change in either case.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top