Gibson 50s Tribute. 2x P90 2x Vol & 2x Tone

[Panthur]

Given the above setup, two p90's, typical Les Paul wiring (2x tone, 2x volume) what extras could I add to this by using pull switch pots (or whatever they are called lol).

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron but I don't really know potential of such mods. I imagine series/parallel would be possible, and what would be the difference ?

Also, phase switch would be nice, but I'm thinkin I'd probably need to add an extra wire to one of the pickups ?

 

[dmraco]

In phase out of phase would be cool.  Series and parallel is also an option.  If you ran hum buckers you could oil tap if you had the fourth wire.  Take a look at some of the stuff Brian May did.  He ran a lot of those things too.  Two push-pulls could give you both phase and series/parallel and it will look stock.

Semour Duncan has a lot of wiring diagrams that could help.

Line6man will design anything you want it you ask nice :toothy10:

 

[line6man]

If the P90s are humbuckers, you could do Jimmy Page wiring.

Otherwise, perhaps master series/parallel, phase, a high pass filter switch, and a capacitance selector switch for the tone controls.

 

[Cagey]

You're working way too hard. 1 volume, maybe 1 tone, 3-way switch, and call it a love story. All that other stuff will just turn your control cavity into a rat's nest and drive you nuts in practice. A simple instrument is ultimately the best. If you must play games, do it with foot switches, stomp boxes, and your amp. At least that way you can change it whenever you want and the sky's the limit. Eventually, you'll cast off most of that stuff anyway.

 

[line6man]

You're working way too hard. 1 volume, maybe 1 tone, 3-way switch, and call it a love story. All that other stuff will just turn your control cavity into a rat's nest and drive you nuts in practice. A simple instrument is ultimately the best. If you must play games, do it with foot switches, stomp boxes, and your amp. At least that way you can change it whenever you want and the sky's the limit. Eventually, you'll cast off most of that stuff anyway.

+1.

Have you ever noticed that it's always the newbies and kids that want a million switches and knobs on their guitars? More experienced players learn that there really aren't a whole lot of useful things you can do with a handful of coils and some pots, before you end up with twelve options that all sound the same, thirty-two that sound like crap, three that suddenly mute the guitar, and two or three that you will actually use regularly.

I recommended capacitance selection and a high pass filter, because those are actually useful options.
Phase inversion almost always sounds like crap, though, but it's an option when you want it. :blob7:
Master series/parallel switching kind of depends on the pickups/their placement/LCR qualities.

 

[Cagey]

Have you ever noticed that it's always the newbies and kids that want a million switches and knobs on their guitars? More experienced players learn that there really aren't a whole lot of useful things you can do with a handful of coils and some pots, before you end up with twelve options that all sound the same, thirty-two that sound like crap, three that suddenly mute the guitar, and two or three that you will actually use regularly.

Right. Been there, done that, got the scars. But, many people have to try it for themselves before they learn, so I suppose you gotta let 'em.

Learn the ways of the wank, they will.​

Nothing quite like feeling as though you have to hit a switch to change pickups, pull a pot to switch from humbuck to single coil, crank back the tone and volume, and nail a foot pedal or three all within the 5 milliseconds you have between chords to teach you the error of your ways. It's panic-inducing, and often puts you off your stride so the next 30 seconds sound like juvenile cheese grating.

What's bizarre is nobody notices! They're just waiting for the next verse in the lyrics, where apparently Jamie gets her gun or we reiterate how hot we are for teacher! I hate to say LOL on a serious forum, but LOL!

 

[pabloman]

Yeah Jimmy Page and Brian May....stoopid rookies. Stick with what old forum guys tell you. They know it all. :icon_jokercolor:

 

[iamdavidmorris]

You're working way too hard. 1 volume, maybe 1 tone, 3-way switch, and call it a love story. All that other stuff will just turn your control cavity into a rat's nest and drive you nuts in practice. A simple instrument is ultimately the best. If you must play games, do it with foot switches, stomp boxes, and your amp. At least that way you can change it whenever you want and the sky's the limit. Eventually, you'll cast off most of that stuff anyway.

+1.

Have you ever noticed that it's always the newbies and kids that want a million switches and knobs on their guitars? More experienced players learn that there really aren't a whole lot of useful things you can do with a handful of coils and some pots, before you end up with twelve options that all sound the same, thirty-two that sound like crap, three that suddenly mute the guitar, and two or three that you will actually use regularly.

I recommended capacitance selection and a high pass filter, because those are actually useful options.
Phase inversion almost always sounds like crap, though, but it's an option when you want it. :blob7:
Master series/parallel switching kind of depends on the pickups/their placement/LCR qualities.

Yeah, ok.  I can second a lot of this.  I just finished my first guitar, which had P-Rails, a varitone, and a kill switch.  I've got a lot of positions, but one of the most interesting sounds I've got is one very large capacitor (.22uf).  Switching between a .022 and .047 will probably be one of those things nobody but you will notice.  If you want options, I say wire one of your tone pots with a normal sized capacitor in the down position, and something really weird in the up position, like a high pass filter, and irregular capacitor, or something else fun.

For me, it was all about learning and enjoying the process of wiring the guitar.  Apart from that, I agree that simplicity is a virtue.  I'm pretty sure the second guitar I build is going to have a single P90 wired directly to the output jack, with no controls whatsoever.

 

[Cagey]

Yeah Jimmy Page and Brian May....stoopid rookies. Stick with what old forum guys tell you. They know it all. :icon_jokercolor:

Jimmy and Brian, as well as some others, were allowed to get away with murder on stage. Nobody's dancing, per se. They were shows. Your ordinary average guy playing cover tunes at [insert venue here] doesn't have that luxury.

Besides, go spend some time on YouTube watching Jimmy Page or Brian May play live. Generally speaking, they sound like death. Granted, they're some of the worst recordings possible, but that's not it. They just sound like shit.

 

[mayfly]

Yeah Jimmy Page and Brian May....stoopid rookies. Stick with what old forum guys tell you. They know it all. :icon_jokercolor:

Jimmy and Brian, as well as some others, were allowed to get away with murder on stage. Nobody's dancing, per se. They were shows. Your ordinary average guy playing cover tunes at [insert venue here] doesn't have that luxury.

Besides, go spend some time on YouTube watching Jimmy Page or Brian May play live. Generally speaking, they sound like death. Granted, they're some of the worst recordings possible, but that's not it. They just sound like shite.

For Mr. Page, I agree, but for my cousin, Mr May, I think you may be mistaken 

 

[dmraco]

Yeah Jimmy Page and Brian May....stoopid rookies. Stick with what old forum guys tell you. They know it all. :icon_jokercolor:

Jimmy and Brian, as well as some others, were allowed to get away with murder on stage. Nobody's dancing, per se. They were shows. Your ordinary average guy playing cover tunes at [insert venue here] doesn't have that luxury.

Besides, go spend some time on YouTube watching Jimmy Page or Brian May play live. Generally speaking, they sound like death. Granted, they're some of the worst recordings possible, but that's not it. They just sound like shitee.

For Mr. Page, I agree, but for my cousin, Mr May, I think you may be mistaken 

I kinda like the out of phase stuff that may did.  I had to do a recording and solo for "WE WILL ROCK YOU" and it was a B!TCH to get his sound.  I have messed with phase switches before and it is pretty cool.

 

[Panthur]

Wow, talk about offensive. I've been here a while and didn't expect to be called a newbie or a kid, nor am I playing 'games' .

Seriously guys, I already have the guitar in the subject title. I was just after an opinion along the lines of 'add a series switch in there, it sounds good cos I've got one', or 'I've done the phase switch mod to a p90 and it was more trouble than it's worth'.

As it turns out, I've got a whole lot of opinion about me more than the original question, and no real value at all.