How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

[Hardtailed]

I'm just wondering if anyone ever done this before. Instead of installing a real humbucker and losing the true voice of my Strat, if I mod it to allow bridge+middle in serie, I guess I could get a humbucker-ish kind of tone right? Sorta like a Stag-Mag?!

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

I don't know what it sounds like, but it's an easy mod to do. You could also do the bridge/neck in series. You just wire up a switch to add the bridge pickup in series to whatever's selected. I dont have a schematic, but it's easy to find. I've been wanting to try this for some time.

 

[Inge Malmstein]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

This should be sound like Brian Mays favorite pickup combunation!
I wonder if this can be done by modding a tone pot, as it works with a blender pot for mixing neck & bridge pickup.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

If you still have the box from a Duncan humbucker, there's a little pink slip of paper with wiring diagrams for single-coil/humbucker switching, in/out of phase, and parallel/series. Obviously, you want to look at the parallel/series diagram.

 

[Inge Malmstein]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Yes, but this diagrams shows the mods for humbuckers, not for the single-coils.
Of course the SD side has a lot of wiring mods, which can be achieved with push-pull pots and/or switches.

 

[Rusty Fingers]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

I think an On-On-On three position 4 pole mini switch (4PDT) could work. Up would put the middle in series with neck, center would have the middle pickup in normal strat wiring, down would put the middle in series with bridge.

You'd have to go to an electronics store, or on-line supplier to find the switch. You don't see them in the guitar parts catalogs. I've got the switch but haven't put it in a guitar yet.

Admittedly, I've only modified humbucker guitars, so I don't know if I'm missing something unique to strats here.

 

[hans-jürgen]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

It's one of my favorite "extra sounds" in my self-built Strat, and I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks he needs a humbucker in the bridge position. What I like about it is that it sounds like the usual 1-2 parallel position, but with the typical humbucker nasal punch to it. Another good idea is to try this with the neck and bridge pickup, sounds like a monster Tele... I use Seymour Duncan vintage single coils (SSL-1?) in that one-piece quilted maple hardtail Strat, by the way.

 

[shredaholic]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

what would this config sound like then? angled bridge bucker and neck bucker on at the same time:

 

[Hardtailed]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Yes, but this diagrams shows the mods for humbuckers, not for the single-coils.
Of course the SD side has a lot of wiring mods, which can be achieved with push-pull pots and/or switches.

As I mentionned in another thread (sorry), I did do the mod. I used a diagram on SD's website for combining Neck and Bridge in serie, I simply applied it to the bridge pickup instead. I simply used a push/pull pot (2nd tone knob)

What I got was pos 2 quack but with more bass. Kind of a boring tone if you ask me.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Artietoo came up with a diagram for me for this mod. It was based on my current setup of 3 singles with the 50's mod. Unfortunately I haven't got round to trying it yet. I'll try and find the link.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Try this. The red wire in the diagram is where I modded the wiring for a version of the 50's mod, so as not to lose treble when backing off the vol. The blue arrow indicates a jumper so that I can use the tone to affect the bridge pup. Hope this helps. Artie is the man for these things. Thanks again Artie!! :fing2:

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

I should mention that I'm planning on using a DPDT push-pull pot for the switching and that the pup selector needs to be in the middle pos'n for it to work.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Yes, but this diagrams shows the mods for humbuckers, not for the single-coils.

Irrelevant. What is a humbucker but two single coil pickups right next to each other that can be wired in series or parallel? The only difference between a humbucker and two Strat pickups in this regard is how far apart the two single coil pickups are. This wiring diagram will work the same for two Strat single coils as with the two coils of a humbucker because for this application there is zero difference.

You can also do this with two humbuckers, which I tried out in a Les Paul once to see if I could get an even louder twang tone, but the tone was just way too muddy.

 

[Inge Malmstein]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Of course i can wire it this way, no question, but what i meant is how to wire this and keep the traditional switching (pos.1 bridge, Pos. 3 middle).
But it would be interesting to use these mods with a four way tele switch.
You could add these different combinations to thec neck pickup in series.
Maybe that would be an option for what i asked yesterday in anotoher thread, but i#d like to have these options with the pots.

 

[hans-jürgen]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

what would this config sound like then? angled bridge bucker and neck bucker on at the same time

Probably not too far away from a standard combination of two humbuckers if you wire them in parallel. In series it would be too muddy.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

With Arties diagram you get the standard strat sounds, plus bridge and middle in series, and bridge/middle series in parallel with neck, when the switch is used.

 

[chill]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

...so what do the bridge + middle in series sound like compared to your basic PAF HB, for example?

And what do the neck + middle in series sound like?

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

Of course i can wire it this way, no question, but what i meant is how to wire this and keep the traditional switching (pos.1 bridge, Pos. 3 middle).
But it would be interesting to use these mods with a four way tele switch.
You could add these different combinations to thec neck pickup in series.
Maybe that would be an option for what i asked yesterday in anotoher thread, but i#d like to have these options with the pots.

No need for anything extra, just one push/pull pot will do the trick. I wired up my Strat this past weekend with a DPDT push/pull pot to put the bridge and neck pu's in series for a loud, rude twang. It's a shade too muddy and needs some extra tweaking but it gave me some extra tones that I hadn't expected with the push/pull pot pulled up (I keep the same 5 tones I had before with the push/pull pot down).

I get this bridge/neck series tone in both the #3 and #1 positions but in the #2 position (traditionally neck/middle) I get all three pickups -- and two of them are apparently in series (reads a shade over 4k as opposed to around 2k which would be normal for all 3 in parallel). Another interesting tone -- still a little muddy but rolling the volume back helps some.

In the #4 position (traditionally bridge/middle) I get the middle pu all by itself, and in the #5 position I get nothing at all.

Anyway, keep in mind that my Strat is wired with a Super Switch (forget which one) that gives me all the normal Strat tones -- except for #3, which is bridge-neck, which replaces middle by itself.

As for what bridge-middle would sound like in series, it would likely be a louder, ruder (possibly muddy) version of what it sounds like now in parallel, a sound that I'm interested in. It would NOT, however, sound like a normal bridge humbucker -- the position of the middle pickup relative to the string makes that impossible.

 

[Jester700]

Re: How does that sound: Strat bridge+middle in serie?

I like this sound; it might be my current favorite. It's not really Brian May-ish, but that's probably because his guitar is so ... different. It's not really a bucker (or even Stag Mag) sound either... It's really just a ballsier, warmer version of the parallel sound. Now, my guitar is bright - Ibanez Edge trem, ebony fretboard, and NO tone control. So the warmer tone works well.