Zhangliqun
Questionologist
BACKGROUND: I wired by Strat up with a Super Switch that is wired to have position #3 as neck and bridge in parallel for some Les Paul or Tele-style twang. It sounds great but I also wanted to see if I could get a beefier version.
THE PLAN: A series parallel switch to allow me to switch the neck/bridge combo to series for the beefier (more LP-like) twang.
THE RESULTS: It's good, but since I added some wind (0.3k to neck, 1.0k to bridge) to the two pickups, it's a little TOO beefy.
THE NEXT PLAN: Wire the two original pickup leads up as coil taps to another push/pull pot to reduce the overall DC resistance.
THE DISCOVERY: I got new unexpected tones in 4 of the 5 positions with the series/parallel switch on series:
#5 (normally bridge pu) = nothing at all
#4 (normally bridge middle) = middle alone (it's baaaaaack...!)
#3 (normally bridge/neck in parallel) = bridge/neck in series (as planned and described above)
#2 (normally neck/middle in parallel) = all 3 pickups with 2 of them in series
#1 (normally neck alone) = same as #3, bridge/neck in series
The new #2 tone is by far the most interesting and usable. It sounds like a beefier version of the traditional bridge/middle tone, very SRV-like -- or like a combination of the #2 and #4 positions with extra beef.
All three pickups are on and two are in series -- or are they? When I tap the pickup poles with a screwdriver, the bridge and neck sound the same but the middle is louder.
MY BEST GUESS: I've got the bridge and neck in series, then wired in parallel with the middle pu. The multi-meter bears this theory out: 3 pickups averaging about 6.6k each in parallel should give me a read of about 2.7k. The read is instead is about 4.4k. 6.7k neck + 7.3k bridge = 14k, which in parallel with the 6k pickup gives you roughly that 4.4k. Mathematically speaking, any two of the pickups in series and then in parallel with the 3rd would give you the +/-4.4k reading, but the middle pickup is the loudest when you tap it, meaning the neck and bridge sound the same, so they must be the two in series. It stands to reason since the #2 position puts the #3 and #1 positions in parallel.
THE LESSON: Try some combos of your Strat pickups with 2 of them in series and then in parallel with the 3rd pickup. VERY interesting and musical tones...
THE PLAN: A series parallel switch to allow me to switch the neck/bridge combo to series for the beefier (more LP-like) twang.
THE RESULTS: It's good, but since I added some wind (0.3k to neck, 1.0k to bridge) to the two pickups, it's a little TOO beefy.
THE NEXT PLAN: Wire the two original pickup leads up as coil taps to another push/pull pot to reduce the overall DC resistance.
THE DISCOVERY: I got new unexpected tones in 4 of the 5 positions with the series/parallel switch on series:
#5 (normally bridge pu) = nothing at all
#4 (normally bridge middle) = middle alone (it's baaaaaack...!)
#3 (normally bridge/neck in parallel) = bridge/neck in series (as planned and described above)
#2 (normally neck/middle in parallel) = all 3 pickups with 2 of them in series
#1 (normally neck alone) = same as #3, bridge/neck in series
The new #2 tone is by far the most interesting and usable. It sounds like a beefier version of the traditional bridge/middle tone, very SRV-like -- or like a combination of the #2 and #4 positions with extra beef.
All three pickups are on and two are in series -- or are they? When I tap the pickup poles with a screwdriver, the bridge and neck sound the same but the middle is louder.
MY BEST GUESS: I've got the bridge and neck in series, then wired in parallel with the middle pu. The multi-meter bears this theory out: 3 pickups averaging about 6.6k each in parallel should give me a read of about 2.7k. The read is instead is about 4.4k. 6.7k neck + 7.3k bridge = 14k, which in parallel with the 6k pickup gives you roughly that 4.4k. Mathematically speaking, any two of the pickups in series and then in parallel with the 3rd would give you the +/-4.4k reading, but the middle pickup is the loudest when you tap it, meaning the neck and bridge sound the same, so they must be the two in series. It stands to reason since the #2 position puts the #3 and #1 positions in parallel.
THE LESSON: Try some combos of your Strat pickups with 2 of them in series and then in parallel with the 3rd pickup. VERY interesting and musical tones...
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