Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

[northstar6000]

This is my first post on this forum, so I would like to first say hello to everyone out there.
I have recently bought vintage rails and hot rails off ebay and am awaiting them in the mail. Can these pickups be coil tapped? I really love the idea of having the choice of single coil or humbucker at the flip of a switch/push pull of a button. I won't be installing them myself - I will be getting a tech to do it. Both of these pickups will be going in a mexican strat with a vintage staggered single coil in neck, vintage rails in middle, and hot rails in bridge. I was just wondering what my options are?

 

[Artie]

Re: Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I believe the Hot Rails can be split, (not "tapped"), but the Vintage Rails can only be split if its the new version with a 4-conductor cable. The old one was a 2-conductor and can't be split or modded to 4-wire because of its construction.

I know . . . I have one.

Artie

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

I had Duncan wire me 4-conductor Vintage Rails when they first came out in the 90's. They thought I was crazy. I wanted to be able to access the treble or bass strings, like the original G&L Comanche. It worked very well, and I loved it. I have a Comanche, too, and I sold the guitar to a good client of mine, who loves it and plays it still today.

The moral of the story is to remember that if you split the Vintage Rails, you only hear three strings, depending on which coil you have.

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

Northstar- I'm the local spin-a-split nut and usually find it a much more useful contium of sounds than a full split, plus you keep some hum rejection- and one of the easiest mods out there-

I've done this on many other dual rails (including the cool rail) so I can't tell you the exact sound for the hot rail- But you will get full humb and the sounds in between until it is completely split-

Spin a split is posted on the Duncan site-
Cheers

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

Related: can anyone tell me how a Cool Rails sounds split, or spin-a-split?

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

That's one of the pups I spin, the current list = cool rail, crusier, joe bardens S, and most recently a little killer and lots of humbs-

Cools are hotter than the name implies, but it's because they are compared to the hot rail-

First of all, it's a bit of an overwound sound to start with- Not as bell or chimey, more bluesy with vol 100%- It cleans up well as you back off the vol, but as you spin it, it recovers much of the clasic strat sound- Not as classic as the crusier or the bardens, but very usable, especially with the 4th position.

I often keep it at about 10% 2nd rail- Slightly dark strat at that point with a clear bass bump that goes away as soon as you roll off the rail- Also keep hum rejection at that poisiton (my gtr is ver well shielded)

Overall its a superb pup and perfect for spliting and covering just about any style- Very good neck pup and the only time I wouldn't look to it is if I needed a 'pristine, clear, super detailed' sound- Thats why I've got the bardens
M

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Hot rails and vintage rails coil tapping?

Very cool. I'm debating a CR or a Custom Staggered tapped for the neck of my H/S/S Strat. Thanks for the review!