Esquire Hot Rails 3 way switch wiring

[Dauminator]

I've got an esquire build lined up and I'm thinking about throwing some rails in it. I like the idea of position 1 being single coil, position 2 being parallel, and position 3 being series. Would anyone know how to wire it up? I saw one article from Premier Guitar but their diagram doesn't even show the pickups :smack:

I'd also like to know if the Hot Rails Tele can get twangy when split. I already have another Tele so it doesn't have to be Godsend but when playing live it would be nice to have a couple one trick ponies rather than bringing an entire arsenal. Thanks!

 

[Mincer]

I'd love to see if a standard switch can do that. As far as a Hot Rails sounding twangy, my guess is no- it will be thinner than in series, but it sounds like a split hot pickup, not like a trad single coil at all. I think it actually sounds twangier in parallel.

 

[beaubrummels]

I think it's this one:

 

[Aceman]

Here is a great idea: A "Twang" circuit to make split high output buckers sound twangy in Tele's.

 

[Mincer]

That is a cool diagram- I hadn't seen it before.

 

[ErikH]

Yup. That’s the diagram. I did that in an Esquire build with a Chopper T pickup. Very cool setup.

 

[hamerfan]

I would use 500k volume pot and a modded wiring with an additional 500k resistor, so the pup sees 250k in single coil and parallel position.

 

[CaptainWhizz]

Here is a great idea: A "Twang" circuit to make split high output buckers sound twangy in Tele's.

Would it be possible to wind the two coils of a humbucker differently so that one coil is twangy, and the other coil has a complementary tone so that when added to it, the overall tone of the humbucker is more balanced?

 

[beaubrummels]

Would it be possible to wind the two coils of a humbucker differently so that one coil is twangy, and the other coil has a complementary tone so that when added to it, the overall tone of the humbucker is more balanced?

I have three different versions of those. One is called a Custom, the other is called a StagMag, the other a Black Winter. StagMag sounds like a Distortion in series and a Strat when split. Custom sounds like a hot bright 59 in series and a Strat when split. A Black Winter can also do twang when split. (Have that in my Jackson right now with Esquire wiring. BW is like a warmer Distortion in series but twangs like a Custom and StagMag when split. Real twang comes from the scale length of the neck, but those pickups IME get you a fair amount of the way there. (Amp is the third leg of that twang stool).

 

[Chistopher]

Your best bet is to have series/parallel/split, but putting a bass cut on the split sound, else the parallel and split sound will be pretty similar and neither will be twangy