P-Rail's: Question about wiring

[Gardener]

Hello, firstly I would just like to apologize and say thank you for your time. I know there are many, many posts about P-Rails and wiring.


However, I've done my due diligence and searched the forums and the web reading posts and looking at wiring diagrams. But I am a little stumped as most diagrams are for guitars with two p-rails, instead of just the one. Not to mention that most of them use push pull pots versus mini-toggles.

My question is this:

I plan to use one P-Rail at the bridge. I have ordered a on/off/on switch so that I can utilize the rail, humbucker and P-90 sounds but just recently came to learn that you can run the pickup in "series" or "parallel".

Now if wiring P-Rails isn't confusing enough for someone who's never soldered anything together before, the addition of series and parallel options are the icing on the cake.

So is the ability to run a pickup in series or parallel dependent upon there being two pickups? Or is this something that can be achieved with one P-Rail pickup?

Perhaps a brief explanation of my guitars setup would be relevant in explaining this to me (sorry noob, everyone starts somewhere)

The guitar is a Melody Maker, there will be one pickup, the P-Rail, and it will be at the bridge position. I plan to have 1 volume, 1 tone, a 3 way mini-toggle, an on/off switch (as a killswitch) and then an on/on temporary killswitch. I'll be making a custom pickguard and potentially routing a little more of the body to accommodate if necessary.

So to access the parallel/and or series options would it be advisable to have a push/pull pot as well? or another toggle switch perhaps?

Do any of you know of wiring diagrams which would show something along these lines?

Thank you, in advance.

I'm just hoping to sort this all out in my head before molten metal and a soldering gun go anywhere near my guitar or the electronics.

Much obliged.

-Grey

 

[hermetico]

Re: P-Rail's: Question about wiring

Don't confuse series/parallel between two pickups and series/parallel within a double-coiled pickup. Both are possible.

Your case is just a single pickup with two (very differentiated) coils. You can arrange those coils in series or in parallel, to achieve different results.
The easiest way for you to achieve those 4 different sounds (Rail, P90, coils in series -aka full humbucker-, coils in parallel) is just to use a Triple Shot ring, that already has a couple of mini-slide switches on the ring itself.

There are other ways to achieve those 4 sounds:
2 x DPDT on/on switches
2 x Pull(or push)/Puses
1 x 4P4T Rotary Switch
1 x 4P5T Super-switch

 

[Gardener]

Re: P-Rail's: Question about wiring

Would it be possible then with an on/off/on switch and then a push/pull pot to switch it in and out or parallel? Or possible with a free-way switch?

I've never heard of a 4p4t Rotary Switch before.. that is quite interesting indeed. Seems like it would be a little less intrusive in comparison to a super switch considering the shallowness of the Melody Maker electronics cavity.

The triple shot seems interesting... however I wonder if having to deal with two tiny switches to change settings instead of one might make things more complicated live.

So can you say, use the P-Rail in parallel and then use the rail?

Thanks for clearing that up for me,.. There recently has been so many terms that the definitions were getting foggy.

I understand now! The options are (Rail, P-90, Coils in Series -aka Humbucker-, Coils in Parallel.)

Before I thought Series was the normal mode when using Rail/Humbucker/P-90 tones and that parallel could be used over top of those options as the opposite of series.

I'm also thinking of using a Varitone style switch, would that be compatible with the Tripleshot or 4p4t options to color the tone of each individual setting so that I can dial it in regardless of the setting tonally?

Thanks for your reply.. You really helped to clear a significant amount of confusion..

 

[audiocheck]

Re: P-Rail's: Question about wiring

start with the triple shot, it's an easy mod.

If you have the circuit board in your control cavity, that Gibson has been using, rip it out. Install some good pots and caps. I would also suggest putting your tone cap on the output of the volume pot (aka 50's style). This will allow you to maintain your treble when rolling down your volume. This is important when using single coil sounds in a Gibson, otherwise it just muddies up.

 

[Gardener]

Re: P-Rail's: Question about wiring

At this point the guitar no longer has it's original electronics. Currently it's equipped with an EMG Gold T active single coil pickup.

Either way, my plan is to completely gut the electronics for a fresh start.

So far I am thinking I want to use a Concentric Pot for Volume and Tone then possibly the 4p4t Rotary switch for pickup selection (rail/series/P-90/parallel) and then a varitone switch to modify the tone, as well as a momentary killswitch and a on/on killswitch..

So at this point that's where my head is at.

I feel people keep trying to steer me in the direction of the Tripleshot. I can understand why, but I feel it is more for the ease of installation then in regards to the ease of use. For the price I can spend 1/10th as much on rotary switch, which to me position wise on the body makes a lot more sense to me.