Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

[themtj]

I've got a strat with three single coil sized SD humbuckers and I'm wanting to do have the option to split coils on it.

Question 1: Should I add a switch or push/pull pot? I'm thinking a switch makes more sense (just have to drill out a small hole in the pickguard) since push pull pots don't work that well with strat volume/tone knobs.

Question 2: Which wires go where? I assume it is the two wires that I currently have soldered off together, but not sure how to wire a coil split.

 

[themtj]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Also I don't need independent control, I'm fine having them all split at once so no need to get crazy.

 

[Dave Z]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

you can check out my approach, wiring diagram and photos, here: https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?334989-Bridge-pickup-for-Vintage-Hot-Stack-Plus-in-Mid-amp-neck I only had the bridge & neck going to the switch as I only had 2 poles and I am not sure what would happen if two (or 3) pickups had their coils wired to each other. Hence I went with a DPDT with each pickup to a separate terminal so when switch is off they are electrically separate. Being careful I would use a triple terminal switch if I were splitting 3. Also note I am using the superswitch to split in the in-between settings.

On my SD pickups the red wire is the tap where the one coil would join the other and you ground that to split. Not sure about yours, what pickups? If there are 2 wires shorted together then yes, it's those 2 wires you need to short to ground to split (sending that coil's output to ground).

 

[Mincer]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

I am guessing you mean split? It is rare to have 3 tapped humbuckers. If you want all 3 split at once, you can do it with an S1 switch, I believe.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Ya those aren't stax either lol.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Well, those aren't "stacked SD humbuckers", And you can't "tap" them unless they were specifically built by the custom shop with the extra tap wire.

The good news is that you CAN split those pups. You could split all three at the same time with a 3P2T switch using the red+white wires of each pup following this diagram:

https://docs.google.com/gview?embed...content/uploads/2016/05/WD_Coil_Splitting.pdf

This is a 2P2T switch and you could split only 2 pups with it. But the 3P2T switch has another column of 3 lugs which could be used for a third pup.

 

[Artie]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

If you want all 3 split at once, you can do it with an S1 switch, I believe.

Yup. An S1 switch will do all three and can be purchased separately. I recently got one for my Red Devil install.

 

[themtj]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Would this work?

https://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and..._and_Parts/Switches/Mini_Toggle_Switches.html

 

[themtj]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Ya those aren't stax either lol.

Other people were able to correct my terminology in a way that was actually helpful, but thanks for chiming in

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

No prob. They're not mini humbuckers either.

 

[Artie]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Would this work?

https://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and..._and_Parts/Switches/Mini_Toggle_Switches.html

Yup. You want the "on-on" version. There's a way to wire it to your 5-way so that one switch will split all three, without interfering with each other. (I'll find the diagram.)

Like this: https://docs.google.com/gview?embedded=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seymourduncan.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FSCHSCHSCH_5W_1Vpp3SPL_2T.pdf

Note: Even though they show a push-pull, the terminals are the same as a toggle. Just pretend those p-p terminals are the bottom of your toggle.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Yup. You want the "on-on" version. There's a way to wire it to your 5-way so that one switch will split all three, without interfering with each other. (I'll find the diagram.)

Like this: https://docs.google.com/gview?embedded=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seymourduncan.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FSCHSCHSCH_5W_1Vpp3SPL_2T.pdf

Note: Even though they show a push-pull, the terminals are the same as a toggle. Just pretend those p-p terminals are the bottom of your toggle.

Oh, yes, that's right. I remember seeing that diagram before. Forgot all about it (it's called senility).

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Themtj,
Wanted to suggest an alternative to a standard split... If you can dedicate a few pots, I find the spin a split mod works much better on strat sized pups because you can dial out the exact amount of the 2nd coil for a perfect time, but go back to full humbucking if you end up in a noisy room.

And there are lots of ways to wire using trimpots and other tricks... Message me if you want to dig in.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[themtj]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Awesome, thanks so much to all of you! I think I'm gonna go with the mini switch on/on switch and wire it to that diagram someone shared. I'm looking forward to opening this one up again, I didn't cut the wires at all when I installed the pickups so it is really messy down there and difficult to close the pickguard, I'm gonna cut everything to the appropriate length, use some heat shrink tubes, and get it all tidied up!

The spin mod is intriguing but don't think I'd actually use it much. The S1 switch is a little more expensive.

 

[themtj]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Just in case you're curious, I wired it up according to that diagram and it works perfectly! Thanks again for all the help!

The only thing that is messed up about it (and I did follow the schematic) is that the one pots control the middle and bridge pickups, no tone control on the neck. That should be a pretty easy and intuitive fix. That being said, my tone preference is to have the first tone knob control neck and middle together and the second pot control the bridge by itself. Any one got advice on how to do that? With my old wiring it was just adding a jumper between two spots on the switch.

 

[themtj]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

Would a jumper between the two middle outside switches do the trick or do you think I just have to choose one pickup to control?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Wiring Help: Coil Tap HHH Strat

So the light blue wire is connected from the bottom tone to the middle pickup. You move that up 1 lug so it controls the bridge only. Then you jumper the dark blue between the bottom 2 lugs to control the neck and middle.