How do I...

[GratefullyRedd]

I want something like this for a hum x single
neck
neck and bridge
bridge
neck split top coil
neck split bottom coil
neck top coil and bridge
neck bottom coil and bridge
out of phase switch
is it at all possible to fit this in a tele control and if so, how would I wire it?

 

[Dan025]

yes it can fit, one push/pull pot for a phase switch and one mini toggle between the knobs for a coil selector.
actually more combos are possible with a 4 or 5 way but lets not get carried away here.

 

[GratefullyRedd]

No lets get carried away, please.

 

[drewfx]

Carried away?

You have 3 coils. They can be alone or combined, in series or parallel, and in or out of phase. I count 35 possibilities:

3 = each coil alone
3 = any 2 in series with each other, in phase
3 = any 2 in series with each other, out of phase
3 = any 2 in parallel with each other, in phase
3 = any 2 in parallel with each other, out of phase
1 = all 3 in parallel, all in phase
1 = all 3 in series, all in phase
3 = all 3 in parallel, 1 out of phase
3 = all 3 in series, 1 out of phase
3 = 2 in series, 3rd in parallel, all in phase
9 = 2 in series, 3rd in parallel, 1 out of phase

 

[GratefullyRedd]

Carried away?

You have 3 coils. They can be alone or combined, in series or parallel, and in or out of phase. I count 35 possibilities:

3 = each coil alone
3 = any 2 in series with each other, in phase
3 = any 2 in series with each other, out of phase
3 = any 2 in parallel with each other, in phase
3 = any 2 in parallel with each other, out of phase
1 = all 3 in parallel, all in phase
1 = all 3 in series, all in phase
3 = all 3 in parallel, 1 out of phase
3 = all 3 in series, 1 out of phase
3 = 2 in series, 3rd in parallel, all in phase
9 = 2 in series, 3rd in parallel, 1 out of phase

:blob7: :sign13: :hello2: :icon_biggrin:
yes this is exactly what I want, now what do I need to make it happen?

 

[Unwound G]

Have a look at Brian May's wiring for his home-built guitar.  It has almost every pickup combination there is.

http://www.treblebooster.com/brian_may_pickup_mod.htm

 

[drewfx]

:blob7: :sign13: :hello2: :icon_biggrin:
yes this is exactly what I want, now what do I need to make it happen?

You need a lot a switches and wire, and, to keep all the possibilities straight, one of those armbands NFL quarterbacks wear when they can't remember all the plays (actually, after thinking about it,  I think I missed a dozen possibilities with 2 coils in parallel, wired in series with the 3rd).

But honestly, most of those possibilities are going to suck, as an HB with its 2 coils out of phase and/or in parallel is usually going to be pretty anemic.

If it were me, and I wanted a lot of just the most useful possibilities, I'd put a 3 way switch for the HB to give either one, the other, or both coils (in series with each other - standard HB style). Then I'd use a 5-way switch to give me either SC alone, HB alone, HB+SC in series, HB+SC in parallel in phase, HB+SC in parallel OOP. Or, a 4 way to give me SC, HB, HB+SC series, HB+SC parallel, and a push pull to change the phase of the SC (this way adds the series-OOP option that I, personally, would probably never use).

You can also look into those Seymour Duncan HB mounting rings with the mini switches for the 2 coils on them.

Of course we haven't even mentioned other options involving (passive) bass/mid/treble tone controls/caps/etc., and options for balancing the volume of the coils/pickups...

 

[Dan025]

since the question was in reference to what fits in a telecaster control route remember that even though the switches will fit it can be tough to get all the wire in there.

remember that guitars are wired simple for a reason, the user must be able to understand it and the sounds must be usable.
you can go nuts then have loose connections that are now hard to find and in the end you might not like all the combos and want to go back to something simple.

a common addition to the typical tele wiring is series via a 4-way switch. i'll tell ya though that will be one fat sounding tele, with a humbucker in the neck in series with another pickup. maybe you want that though and with the coil selector you have the option of a more normal tele in series sound.
you could also do a 1/3oop as an option and the phase switch would give 2/3.
either one of these options could be done with a second push pull
with a second push/pull and a 4 way or just a 5 way you could do both.

a 5-way and another push/pull opens up all sorts of possibilities but that's when we really get carried away. if you must i'd make that a second cap option for the tone, or a cap that gets shorted to ground that is smaller than the tone cap to drop the resonant peak a bit. but not enough to get muddy
i'd suggest a q-filter but that would be one crowded control cavity, i dont know if that could fit.
there is also the potion or a built in distortion, the black ice is a couple diodes that clip the guitars output but the package is a little big, you can get schotty diodes and make you own. one for one way clipping, 2 for symetrical clipping, 3 for asymetrical clipping.

or you can do a bass cut using a cap as well.
come to think of it you can do all those things with a concentric pot instead of a push pull.

there are many other options where you can treat the coils of the humbucker as seperate pickups, wire it to work like a strat but use a super switch and have one push/pull chose between series and parallel pairs. and maybe a mini toggle instead to provide an oop option, or a secondary push pull to provide a phased option

you can wire it like a strat with a fender style switch and have one push pull to turn on the bridge so it is in combination with what ever position the 5-way is in.

you can do like above but wire the bridge or the neck in series,

both is posible but i need to look up how.

with a concentric pot you can make one of those options variable.

with 2 concentric pots you can do les paul wiring. or something based on it.

we can keep going, with stuff like making a custom control plate for brian may wireing if you like

 

[GratefullyRedd]

I think we should just stick to what I can do with three knobs, a blade switch, and 2 mini switches

 

[Dan025]

3 knobs i thought we were talking about a telecaster, is this a rear route?

 

[GratefullyRedd]

you can fit another knob on a control plate, no?

 

[Dan025]

i guess you just about could, if that's what you want.

i kinda like where we started with the coil selector mini toggle and phase switch push/pull. if you agree, disagree or have something to add like a series position or part oop let me know and i can draw something up.

 

[Dan025]

sorry it took me a while, the strat 5-way version took me a while and a lot of thought, as simple as it looks there is a lot going on. that and i forgot about it.

the strat 5-way came in many packages;
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Apr/The_Anatomy_of_the_Stratocaster_5_way_Switch_Part_III.aspx

^ i have the numbering reversed from what this shows, but it may help you interpret my drawing if your switch is different from what i have drawn. the lug labeled as A is the common which i labeled as "C"

the standard 4-way tele wireing is here;
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=tele_4ws

substitute the diagram shown attached picture named "untitled" for the neck pickup,

the other switch options are int the attached picture named "switch"

i'd use the super switch option if you plan to use a pickup without a cover, the extra pole allows me to do it differently and avoid a situation that the pickup can become like an antenna for interference, i may be over thinking that part though. the strat switch will be easier to wire and fit under the control plate better.

the capacitor should be of high quality, orange drop type maybe. if you can fit it. as far as the size  :dontknow: experiment. i'm using a .033uf now and it seems to work alright.