Functional coil tapping

[rockskate4x]

Hello, everybody. It's been a long while since I have posted any questions of my own here, because I haven't been modding or building for a long time. I have a double humbucker guitar that I have modded with individual coil taps for each pickup as follows:

Pickup toggle
Volume pot/neck tap push pull
Tone pot/bridge tap push pull.

The individual coil taps have been very nice because I have enjoyed being able to have only the neck pickup tapped in order to quickly change my dynamics when hitting the pickup toggle (think tapped neck for verses/ full bridge for choruses etc...). If I did not like being able to do this, I would have used a master coil tap switch because having two push pulls has always seemed like a clumsy way to have that sort of tonal flexibility. My new idea is to use some sort of three way mini switch, but I'm no wiring guru so I do not even know if this is possible. The three way mini switch should have these settings, preferably in this order:

1. No coils sent to ground before before hitting the pickup selector switch (les paul/sg mode)
2. Inner neck pickup coil sent to ground before hitting the pickup selector switch (fat strat w/ no middle pickup or squier 51 mode)
3. Inner bridge and neck pickup coils sent to ground before hitting the pickup selector switch (tele mode)

Is this possible? If so how can it be done?

-skate

 

[line6man]

That's coil splitting, not tapping.

You can do this with a DPDT center-off mini toggle.

 

[rockskate4x]

That's coil splitting, not tapping.

You can do this with a DPDT center-off mini toggle.

Thank you line6man. I knew there was a difference between splitting and tapping, i just forgot what that was, so I use those terms interchangeably a lot of the time. I'll remember this for future reference.

Splitting: running one coil from a dual coil pickup to ground and the other to the output jack
Tapping: I'm a little fuzzier on this one but I think it has to do with a single coil with variable winding. Tapping sends more or less wire in the pickup to ground??? still a bit confused...

Mkay, so the dpdt on-off-on will do the trick, huh? What exactly does that look like if you draw the leads of the pickups and the poles of the switch. I think it is essentially performing two functions on different sides of the switch, but I am having trouble visualizing this.
Thanks
-skate

 

[line6man]

[Splitting: running one coil from a dual coil pickup to ground and the other to the output jack
Tapping: I'm a little fuzzier on this one but I think it has to do with a single coil with variable winding. Tapping sends more or less wire in the pickup to ground??? still a bit confused...

Not necessarily.

Splitting is using one coil of a two coil pickup, or any number of coils from a three or four coil pickup. This can be done in several ways. With series wiring, splitting is done by shunting one coil. That coil does not have to be the one on the ground side. The north coil's negative-phase lead and the south coil's positive-phase are grounded, in order to solo the north coil, but the north coil's negative-phase lead and the south coil's positive-phase lead are connected to the north coil's positive-phase lead to solo the south coil. Parallel splitting is usually done by simply disconnecting either coil's positive-phase lead from the output.

Tapping is selecting any portion of a coil wound with taps in it's winding. (There is usually only one tap.) Again, the tap does not necessarily need to be grounded. When you use the tap as a hot, the unused part of the winding can either be left with an infinite impedance, or shunted.

Here is the wiring for standard series-wired humbuckers. Connect the north coil's positive-phase leads as you normally would, wherever they go in your wiring scheme.

 

[rockskate4x]

This was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a bunch  :toothy10:

 

[DylanWesley]

Thanks for the explanation Line6Man. I was curious about a similar thing for a project i am currently visualising

 

[reluctant-builder]

Here is the wiring for standard series-wired humbuckers. Connect the north coil's positive-phase leads as you normally would, wherever they go in your wiring scheme.

I think this is what I was looking for ...

I had a Hagstrom Super Swede with an on-off-on that would split one or the other humbucker, depending on the position. There were some other issues with the guitar, though, so I got a replacement, but it has only an off-on switch that splits both humbuckers.

Originally, I had the split options of split-neck; split-neck and humbucker bridge; vice-versa.

Now, I've got the option of split-neck and -bridge; split-neck; split-bridge. To me, that make the guitar a little less versatile since I cannot ever combine a humbucker with a split coil.

Just to make sure this is what I need: If I wire an SPDT on-off-on according to your diagram above, will I restore the options I'd had with the first guitar? Thanks.

 

[line6man]

Here is the wiring for standard series-wired humbuckers. Connect the north coil's positive-phase leads as you normally would, wherever they go in your wiring scheme.

I think this is what I was looking for ...

I had a Hagstrom Super Swede with an on-off-on that would split one or the other humbucker, depending on the position. There were some other issues with the guitar, though, so I got a replacement, but it has only an off-on switch that splits both humbuckers.

Originally, I had the split options of split-neck; split-neck and humbucker bridge; vice-versa.

Now, I've got the option of split-neck and -bridge; split-neck; split-bridge. To me, that make the guitar a little less versatile since I cannot ever combine a humbucker with a split coil.

Just to make sure this is what I need: If I wire an SPDT on-off-on according to your diagram above, will I restore the options I'd had with the first guitar? Thanks.

The diagram above will give neck north coil and series bridge; series neck and series bridge; neck north coil and bridge north coil

 

[reluctant-builder]

The diagram above will give neck north coil and series bridge; series neck and series bridge; neck north coil and bridge north coil

Hi, Joe. I know the slow uptake can surely get frustrating, but I'm trying to figure out what I'd have to do to wind up with all four of the following options:

north Neck and series Bridge; series Neck and series Bridge; series Neck and south Bridge; north Neck and south Bridge

From your reply and that diagram as a guide, with a DPDT On-Off-On, I gather that I can accomplish: north Neck and series Bridge; both series pups; series Neck and south Bridge (as opposed to north Bridge ... I'd just swap the Bridge north- and south-coil wires on the switch, correct?)

But, if I wanted the additional option of north Neck and south Bridge ... it seems to me that I'd need an additional On-On switch. Or, is there a way to accomplish all four options with just one switch?

Thanks.

 

[line6man]

The diagram above will give neck north coil and series bridge; series neck and series bridge; neck north coil and bridge north coil

Hi, Joe. I know the slow uptake can surely get frustrating, but I'm trying to figure out what I'd have to do to wind up with all four of the following options:

north Neck and series Bridge; series Neck and series Bridge; series Neck and south Bridge; north Neck and south Bridge

From your reply and that diagram as a guide, with a DPDT On-Off-On, I gather that I can accomplish: north Neck and series Bridge; both series pups; series Neck and south Bridge (as opposed to north Bridge ... I'd just swap the Bridge north- and south-coil wires on the switch, correct?)

But, if I wanted the additional option of north Neck and south Bridge ... it seems to me that I'd need an additional On-On switch. Or, is there a way to accomplish all four options with just one switch?

Thanks.

Any mini toggle switch you find is going to have a maximum of three positions. To get a fourth option would indeed require a second switch.

 

[reluctant-builder]

I see. Messing around with that 7-way option with the Strat switch somewhat elucidated this issue for me. It's essentially a similar issue, though I'm not entirely sure of the solution.

Could I accomplish my aim, as follows?

DPDT On-Off-On: north Neck and series Bridge; series Neck and series Bridge; series Neck and south Bridge

On-On Push/Pull pot: north Neck and south Bridge

If that would work, it seems like it would only work if I've got the north Neck and series Bridge option selected, with the On-On wired to split the south Bridge coil

However, I've already got the Bridge pickup's conductors diverted to the On-Off-On switch ... so, would bridging the On-On terminal (that I would use for the split) to the terminal on the On-Off-On (that I AM using for the split) be the solution?

Thanks.  :icon_biggrin: