New guitar building: pickups and wiring ideas?

[Engl+LP=Rocks]

Hi folks,
here's a new one!

I'm about finishing my first handbuilt guitar and I need to choose the PU set.

Here's some guitar specs:

- Mahogany quite thick body with flame maple top
- Maple 25' (PRS Style) neck with brazilian rosewood fretboard
- Wilkinson VSVG trem
- Planet Waves Auto-Trim Locking tuning keys
- TusQ nut

I'd like to wire the guitar with 5 way switch in this way, with 1 Vol + 1 tone:

1. Full Neck HB
2. Split Neck HB
3. Full Neck HB / Full Bridge HB
4. Split Neck HB / Split Bridge HB
5. Full Bridge HB

I've got a spare A2P Neck, so I'm thinking to do some tests with it.

The question are:

- how about a C5 Trembucker in the bridge spot?
- how well those puppies splits?

What do you think? It'll be a good match?

Thanks guys, cheers!

 

[blueman335]

Re: New guitar building: pickups and wiring ideas?

Your guitar design sounds nice. C5's are great in mahogany, good choice. They're 14,000 ohms, so they'll still have some power to them when spilt (7,500 ohms). If you have an 8,400 PAF-type in the bridge, it drops to 4,200 split, which is pretty bright & thin. A HB split to 4,200 ohms works better in a neck PU, where there's more string energy and warmth to compensate.

I wire my bridge PU's to have the slug coil active in coil cut, because it's twice as far from the bridge as the screw coil, and therefore has a little more volume & body. For a Duncan HB, this would mean that the red wire is 'hot', white is ground, and the black & green are paired together.

 

[Engl+LP=Rocks]

Re: New guitar building: pickups and wiring ideas?

Your guitar design sounds nice. C5's are great in mahogany, good choice. They're 14,000 ohms, so they'll still have some power to them when spilt (7,500 ohms). If you have an 8,400 PAF-type in the bridge, it drops to 4,200 split, which is pretty bright & thin. A HB split to 4,200 ohms works better in a neck PU, where there's more string energy and warmth to compensate.

I wire my bridge PU's to have the slug coil active in coil cut, because it's twice as far from the bridge as the screw coil, and therefore has a little more volume & body. For a Duncan HB, this would mean that the red wire is 'hot', white is ground, and the black & green are paired together.

Thanks Blueman,
Compared to a '59N/C5 combination (that's now in my LesPaul... GREAT!), how do you think it'll be the A2P/C5?

I've never wired a pickup like that btw, I need to try!

Cheers,
Flavio