question about custom coil splitting

[NeroRoxXx]

Hi!!!!! there's one thing i've been waiting to do for a while, here's the background on this idea... my buddy let me use his american strat to record a track on my album, it was a SANTERIA by sublime type of song and i used the 2nd position on the switch to get the tone i was looking for, it was GREAT! im not much of a strat fan but the sound that i got was perfect, now i wanna get that same sound from my les paul, now unless i have a middle pickup that i can wire in parallel with my bridge humbucker i'm assuming i can't just get that sound but at least i'd like to get a sound as close as possible. here's what i would like to do.

i would like to split the 2 alnico ii pros i just bought and use the coil with the screws from the bridge and use the coil without the screws from the neck pickup together in parallel, now that's not that hard to do but, i wanna use 1 push pull pot to get this done, now i know that's not hard to do either, but i wanna pull the pot and automatically wire the guitar like that then when i push it back down i want the guitar back to regular les paul mode, when i pull the pot and it goes into the single coil strat mode i don't need the pickup switch to work or the tone pot or nothing like that, i wanna be able to be on the bridge humbucker then pull the pot and then go into the start mode with both pickups working then while im in strat mode i wanna be able to switch to the neck pickup and then i push the pot i go to just full humbucker mode with whatever pickup was selected, in this case the neck pickup. does it make sence? do you think this can be done? with one pot instead of me having to switch the pickup switch to the middle position? thanks!.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: question about custom coil splitting

Er, you cannot get a true Stratocaster from a Les Paul-style electric guitar - or vice versa.

People have written degree thesis length essays on this topic in the past. Don't worry. I am not about to inflict anything that boring on you here.

Back in the Eighties, a good many people fooled themselves into believing that the Paul Reed Smith Custom could replicate the sounds of two of the world's favourite electric guitars. Truth was, it could not. It makes its own sound. I liked that sound so much that I bought one - albeit pre-owned. I still have it. Lucky me. I digress.

Bottom line. If you want a Fender Stratocaster sound, buy something built along Fender Stratocaster principles.

 

[blueman335]

Re: question about custom coil splitting

I have a few LP's, along with being on this forum awhile, and no one's been able to get a LP to sound like a Strat. The PU's are completely different, along with the woods, body design, neck juncture, bridge, tailpiece, head angle, neck angle, etc. Even if you could use the same PU's in both, fat mahogany LP's with short, set necks are not going to sound like anything like a bolt-on ash/maple Strat. Completely different animals.

A split HB with one bar magnet under the coil, sounds very different from a Fender single coil with 6 rod magnets inside the coil.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that you can take a PU and put it in 5 guitars, and it may sound different in each. Each piece of wood is unique as a fingerprint. You can't buy a PU and get a guaranteed sound. On top of that, everybody's got different effects, amps, tubes, and speakers that each alter the final sound. A big part of your tone comes from your fingers & personal playing style.

Duplicating someone's sound is difficult, and when you use completely different gear, it's even harder. That's why there's so many kinds of guitars & PU's in this market. Buy one that'll fit what you want. Any individual guitar can only do so much.

 

[mudpuppy]

Re: question about custom coil splitting

I suggest that you temporarily hard-wire your guitar for the 'strat pos. 2' tone that you are going for. Cautions by Funkfingers & blueman335 apply. You almost certainly are going to fail at duplicating the strat sound. On the other hand, you may find that you like the sound enough to persue things further. I have my doubts as to whether you can do what you want with a dpdt push/pull, but you would be best off to do a sound check before you put a lot of effort into the project.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: question about custom coil splitting

it's not comepletely the same sound, but try looking into a mod called "coil swap". it might get you mostly where your going. i play alot of that same type of music and often like to use that setting on my SG for cleaner reggae/ska stuff like you mentioned.