Series/Parallel For a Little '59?

[magillver]

I have a partscaster, with Little '59's in the bridge and neck positions, and I'm just curious whether anyone has tried wiring up a series/parallel switch for one of these pickups, and if it was worth the effort?

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I haven't tried my Lil 59 Tele in parallel yet, but I've seen posts from some who really liked it.
I imagine the Strat version would do parallel quite well too; I bet you'll hear from someone who's using it that way.
Most agree that splits are pretty wimpy on these of course.
But I think parallel is worth trying. I intend to put mine on a push-pull one of these days.

 

[magillver]

I'd heard the same thing about coil splitting on a Little '59, which is why I'm intrigued by the idea of the series/parallel, to keep a little bit of 'beef' in the tone...

 

[ErikH]

Parallel is lower output than split. I've not liked any of the SD 'Lil buckers split or parallel. The Hot Rails is a different story. It has enough output to sound good split or in parallel.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yes, parallel IS lower output (in DC resistance), but it has a fuller tone than split so it sounds bigger and "beefier" than split.

 

[Synapsys]

Yes, it's worth it. Beefier tone than a true single coil or split, but still noiseless. Can help get Strattier tones in the neck, than the stock series wiring.

Got it wired like that in my ESP LTD MH-1000HS, which has a Custom 5 in the bridge. The volume pot is a push / pull than enables the series / parallel wiring on the Lil59.

 

[jeremy]

i agree, i think its a fine option to have. i really like having series/split/parallel, but usually i like parallel better than split

 

[Artie]

The Hot Rails is a different story. It has enough output to sound good split or in parallel.

i agree, i think its a fine option to have. i really like having series/split/parallel, but usually i like parallel better than split

Yup and yup. I can't remember if I've done a 59 parallel, but both the Hot Rails and Cool Rails sound good in parallel. It couldn't hurt to try the Lil 59.

 

[magillver]

Thanks for all of the input! Since I have the Little '59's in the neck and bridge positions, using a standard 5-way blade switch, I'm looking at using a Fender S1 pot/switch to switch then both between series and parallel simultaneously, since I'm never using the 2 pickups at the same time, in current setup anyway.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Thanks for all of the input! Since I have the Little '59's in the neck and bridge positions, using a standard 5-way blade switch, I'm looking at using a Fender S1 pot/switch to switch then both between series and parallel simultaneously, since I'm never using the 2 pickups at the same time, in current setup anyway.

What do you have in the center?

 

[Aceman]

Parallel is lower output than split. I've not liked any of the SD 'Lil buckers split or parallel. The Hot Rails is a different story. It has enough output to sound good split or in parallel.

I was gonna say that...gonna be quite, real real quiet.

 

[magillver]

Hi Eclectic, in the center position is an SD APS-1, Alnico Pro Staggered, RWRP....

 

[magillver]

I'm calling this my 'Swiss Army Strat', it has an L.R. Baggs X-Bridge, with a blend pot between the piezo and the magnetics, and I've built in the guts from an older Fishman Pro-EQ box, to control the X-Bridge tone...

 

[Mincer]

I'm calling this my 'Swiss Army Strat', it has an L.R. Baggs X-Bridge, with a blend pot between the piezo and the magnetics, and I've built in the guts from an older Fishman Pro-EQ box, to control the X-Bridge tone...

Wow, that is super cool!

 

[magillver]

It was originally an MIM strat-in-a-box that a friend of mine gave me, when he got tired of it (he had tried to 'distress' it, rather unsuccessfully), so I had a blank slate that I could do anything with, so I did... It's been a fun project to see how much tonal variation I can get out of it, without getting TOO silly...

 

[magillver]

Here's my wiring diagram, using the Fender S1 as a dual series/parallel switch for the 2 Little '59 pups. It actually worked! A lot more effect on the bridge position than the neck, but both have a marked difference in tone, pretty fun project...

 

[GuitarDoc]

Really, the only way I have liked the Little 59 is in parallel. It gives it a brighter cleaner tone than in standard series mode. Yes, lower output, but that's fine with me. Split just doesn't sound good at all..."wimpy" sounding is a mild way to describe it.