Pickup Compatibility (Stack pickup + Duckbucker in parallel)

[Jaroot]

Hello everyone!

I seek help with my wiring which confuses me a bit. I have studied a lot of materials in the Internet about wiring and stuff but it seems that my case hasn't been very well discussed yet.

Here is that's going on:
I have my Yamaha Pacifica with SD STK-S7 in the neck, SD Duckbucker in the middle and SD JB in the bridge. Duckbucker is wired in parallel. JB is wired in series. STK-S7 (STACKED pickup) is wired in normal way (red wire is taped). And I have a 5-way selector switch. Now, everything in positions 1, 3 and 5 works just fine. But positions 2 and 4 needs some explanation of what's going on. Since all pickups are actually humbuckers, what happens when they work together? I know that Duckbucker and JB should work fine since they are part of Everthing Axe config. But what about STK-S7 + Duckbucker? Is this config OK from a hum cancelling point of view? Was it a good idea to combine a stacked pickup with single-sized humbucker?

Note, that if you wire Duckbucker in series and then combine it with STK-S7, it will not work. My guitar tech did that when he first installed these pickups. As a result there was strange volume drops on random strings and no good overall tone. Can someone explain why did this happen? When he put Duckbucker in parallel it became OK. Still, I have doubts about proper hum cancelling when combining STK and Duckbucker.

SOLVED. It was tech's mistake, he accidently split Duckbucker's coils, and you should not do it with this pickup!

I hope my story is clear and makes sense. I would appreciate any help and explanations.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Jaroot]

Re: Pickup Compatibility (Stack pickup + Duckbucker in parallel)

Well, seems like no one really has experience on this kind of combination of pups. Another stupid question has jumped into mind: humcancelling+humcancelling always results in humcancelling?

I would also like to make a wiring mod which will split JB and Duckbucker and wire them in parallel (just like position 2 on Strat). Can I make in just with push-poll pot? Again, Duckbucker is wired in parallel.

My wiring diagram attached.

Thanks.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickup Compatibility (Stack pickup + Duckbucker in parallel)

Well, all of your pickups are hum cancelling, and they should all work together just fine. The S7 and the JB are both stronger pickups, while the Duckbucker is weaker, so those stronger pickups will have more influence over the sound in positions 2 & 4. If the Duckbucker is split, though, you'd only hear 3 strings (look at the top of it to see why). It is supposed to be used in parallel for the best Stratty sound. So, if you just split the JB, you will get a Strat-like sound, but it won't be hum cancelling. If you want to retain hum-cancelling, you might want to wire the JB to go into parallel mode when used with the Duckbucker.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Pickup Compatibility (Stack pickup + Duckbucker in parallel)

There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use the duck in series. Split is no good but series should be fine.

 

[Jaroot]

Re: Pickup Compatibility (Stack pickup + Duckbucker in parallel)

Mincer,
Thank you! How dumb was I not being able to notice that Duckbucker can't be split due to it's specific design! Facepalm.
Again, thanks for the explanation. I am not interested in maintaining Strat-sounds anyway, just thought that I could have one more option if split these pickups. Also, you've vanished my worries about hum.

There is no reason you shouldn't be able to use the duck in series. Split is no good but series should be fine.

Yeah, I understand that. But there actually was an issue when combining Duck with STK. Maybe I'll try to wire it this way by myself and see what happens.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickup Compatibility (Stack pickup + Duckbucker in parallel)

There shouldn't be an issue with the Duck and the STK. If you run into a problem, let us know.