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3 P-90s

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big77

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Say, I am sitting here with a Split Jazzmaster routed for three P-90s.  I am having a tough time trying to get that third one in there. I only have room for two pots on this thing, and am in need of ideas and diagrams.
Any help would be appreciated.

big77
 
Yeah, 2 pots, one switch. Will it work with a strat set up?  I tried to do two of them like a Tele, and it didn't work for me.  I went to the Rio Grande site, and used their drawing for two pickups, and it worked fine for two, but every time I try to use the third one, I have problems. It seems like it back feeds to the other two every time I hook up that third one.
 
Oh, and, yeah....master volume, master tone........whatever.  I just need some ideas that will work.

Thanks

big77
 
What kind of switch are you using (3-way?, 5-way? How may terminals on it?) and what pickup combinations do you want?

drewfx
 
You can always use stack pots to expand your volume/tone control setup.  The only limitation is that you have to use stack pot knobs which choices are limited.
 
volume, tone, and a five way is the easiest choice. if you want to get custom then maybe replace the tone pot with a blend pot for the bridge pickup, you could also consider adding a push-pull pot for switching the pickups into series. I'm a big fan of 3 P-90's so enjoy...
 
Thanks for the info.  I just might go with the mv, mt, and a five way switch.  Is there anything I should know about the P-90s before I go for it?  I've done single coils before, but these things seem to be acting different, or I could just be spastic.

big77
 
Strat wiring with a MT is the easiest solution. There is nothing particular about P90s that makes them different to wire. They are just larger than Fender single coils.
Another simple solution is to wire 3-way (gibson) toggle switch, master volume, and master tone with a push-pull that turns on the middle pickup. That would be pretty simple, and give you the "all three" option but take away the "middle only" option.
 
could you fit a concentric pot in there? that would open up a world of options. but they're a bit deeper than your normal pots, and would have double the wiring (which would take up some space). just a thought.
 
Check if your P90 middle pickup is in RWRP to the neck and bridge.  That will help to cut hum in positions 2 and 4.  If you use push-pull pots, there is also an option to join the middle pickup with either the neck or the bridge in series for thicker humbucking tones which IMO is very useful.
 
big77 said:
Please excuse my ignorance, , but what is RWRP?

big77
Click to expand...

RWRP stands for Reverse Wound Reverse Polarity.  To explain, just imagine your split a humbucker into half.  You now get two single coils.  One coil will have a North Polarity magnet and the wire is wound clockwise.  The other coil will have a South Polarity magnet and the wire is wound anti-clockwise.  If you join the two coils in series, that is the wire of one coil is connected to the wire of the second coil, it becomes a humbucker.  The tone will be thicker and less hum.

In Strats, the two pickups are joined together in parallel which gives a more husky tone often referred to as "Quack" or not-so-politically correct "Out Of Phase".

 
Unwound G said:
In Strats, the two pickups are joined together in parallel which gives a more husky tone often referred to as "Quack" or not-so-politically correct "Out Of Phase".
Click to expand...

Normal humbuckers are out of phase too.  The "quack" (and output) has to do with whether or not it's in series or parallel.
 
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