Pearly Gates - Are coil splits worth bothering with?

[ThreeChordWonder]

One thing I hadn't thought about, but experienced with my genuine 2015 Gibson SG, is that the body thickness and therefore the control cavity depth is just a bit too shallow for regular push-pulls. My Gibson uses Gibson brand p-ps, which are simple 2- pole on-offs, to short the pickup "middle" wires to ground for coil splits. I could use the same in the SG/V, but the Gibson p-ps are 35 or 40 bucks each.

Anyway. The PGs arrived.

 

[alex1fly]

One vote for "meh"

It's a fine option. I find that splitting humbuckers is gives you basically the same tone that you can get by working the guitar controls and adjusting your picking technique (lighter touch, closer to the bridge). Both approaches give you less volume and less bass/mids (assuming 50s wiring or treble bleed). So depends on what you want to do it. If you want to save money and hassle, just install the PG and play around with the guitar controls and your technique. If money and hassle isn't an issue, just solder the extra two wires and play around with both options.

 

[jeremy]

i dont like treble bleeds but i do like the option to split almost any bucker, though i tend to use the split neck much more than a split bridge. as with most things, it depends on your rig, your technique, and what you play.

 

[Mincer]

I tend to use split humbuckers in parallel with another split humbucker. I think I only have 1 guitar which allows me to use a humbucker split by itself.

 

[jeremy]

i usually have it wired to split both neck and bridge buckers at the same time, but i tend to use the neck alone more than both or just bridge. thought, there are times that i use those selections too

 

[Gtrjunior]

Personally I much prefer a series/parallel push/pull. It’s still very single coil-like but without any of the 60 cycle hum.

 

[jeremy]

i like parallel on some pups better, some pups i like split better. also, you can split two pups on one dpdt swtich. can only wire one pup for series/parallel with a dpdt switch. since the op would be stuck with the gibson p/p pot which isnt even a dpdt switch, i dont think parallel would be an option.

its nice to have the option to split, but sounds like it might not be worth the cost/hassle. at least right off the bat. put the pups in and play the guitar for a while. you can always add the p/p option later

 

[GuitarDoc]

Instead of that expensive p/p pot just add a DPDT on/on/on micro switch. Then you could wire it for series/split/parallel, have all the options.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I thought the reason they are normally connected in series was to stop them getting muddy(er)?

Actually, no. Series is the most "muddy" condition as opposed to split or parallel.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Instead of that expensive p/p pot just add a DPDT on/on/on micro switch. Then you could wire it for series/split/parallel, have all the options.

Not enough holes in the body.

 

[GuitarStv]

Not enough holes in the body.

Not enough holes is an easy problem to fix. It's too many holes that's tricky.