In the thinking process...

[mwbjr13]

I've decided to build a telecaster with what I consider a fairly complecated pickup/wiring design. I want it to have a humbucker(4-wire) in the neck, a strat hidden under the pickguard in the middle(RWRP) and a stacked tele(4-wire) in the bridge. The volume and tone will be in one push/pull, so that when the pot is up it will be the volume with the tone bypassed and when the pot is down it will be the tone with the volume at 100%. It will also have two other push/pull pots, one connected to the neck p.u. and one to the bridge p.u. Each one will be a spin-a-split and the push/pull is for series/parallel. Now, the only thing I can't decide on is the switch. Do I want to use a 3-way(Neck/Middle/Bridge, Neck/Neck+Bridge/Bridge) or a 5-way and wire it like a strat or is there another option that I've not thought of yet. I open to suggestions on the switching and/or anything else.

Thanks  :icon_smile:

 

[line6man]

This is not a complicated setup at all, it's very simple.

What is a "spin-a-split?"

Two concerns I have:

1. I would not overcomplicate things. You will end up with a lot of useless settings.
2. A pickup mounted under a pickguard would have a weak output, being so far from the strings. Probably not the best idea unless it was a dummy coil.

 

[mwbjr13]

A spin-a-split is just a pot that splits a himbucker, so it can be anywhere between a humbucker or a single coil.

And I really don't want the middle pickup to be a stand alone pickup, I just want it there so I can get the position 2 and 4 strat sounds. Look up John Engilsh's "Stealth" Esquire, thats where I got the idea for the under pickguard pickup.

 

[elfro89]

A spin-a-split is just a pot that splits a himbucker, so it can be anywhere between a humbucker or a single coil.

You mean a coil-tap.  :laughing7:

 

[mwbjr13]

Yeah it's a coil tap is a pot, so I can dial different amounts.

Here's Seymour Duncan's explination of a "spin-a-split".
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/choosing-installing/tech-tips/spinasplit/

 

[line6man]

A spin-a-split is just a pot that splits a himbucker, so it can be anywhere between a humbucker or a single coil.

And I really don't want the middle pickup to be a stand alone pickup, I just want it there so I can get the position 2 and 4 strat sounds. Look up John Engilsh's "Stealth" Esquire, thats where I got the idea for the under pickguard pickup.

Ok, so you want to add a pot to vary a resistance parallel to one coil of a series-wired humbucker?
That's easy enough to do, but honestly, I can't imagine something like that being useful. It's likely that there wouldn't be much tonal variation adjusting the pot. Then again, sometimes these things can defy theory in practice.

You can't combine a series/parallel switch with such a control, unless you get into extensive switching/custom pots. In series, the pot will place a resistance parallel to a coil, but in parallel, the pot will place a resistance in series with a coil.

A spin-a-split is just a pot that splits a himbucker, so it can be anywhere between a humbucker or a single coil.

You mean a coil-tap.  :laughing7:

No, that's a coil split. Tapping is done with pickups wound with taps in their windings to select the full winding or various underwound portions of it.
Humbucker to single coil switching is called coil splitting.

 

[mwbjr13]

I'm aware that many of the tones would be way to close to tell any difference. I was worried that I might have been alittle to eagar to get to many sounds from one guitar which is why I came here. So taking into consideration everything said, would it be best to split the two humbuckers or do a series/parallel thing to them?

 

[line6man]

I'm aware that many of the tones would be way to close to tell any difference. I was worried that I might have been alittle to eagar to get to many sounds from one guitar which is why I came here. So taking into consideration everything said, would it be best to split the two humbuckers or do a series/parallel thing to them?

Series/parallel switching, or more preferably, a series/single coil/parallel mini toggle switch would be better than this variable impedance load pot.

I've just thought about it, and you can do the series/parallel switch with the spin-a-split thing using a 4PDT On-On switch and a single-ganged pot, if you want it.

 

[mwbjr13]

I think I'm going to go with the series/single coil/parallel idea. It just seems like a more efficent idea.

Now my biggest worry is the pickup under the pickguard. I really want that classic position 2 and 4 strat sound but I hate to say it but I'm not exactly sure what a dummy coil is.

 

[line6man]

On second thought, I didn't think the switch through thoroughly.
You would need five poles and two throws.

Now my biggest worry is the pickup under the pickguard. I really want that classic position 2 and 4 strat sound but I hate to say it but I'm not exactly sure what a dummy coil is.

A dummy coil is a single coil pickup with no magnets in it. It's meant to create a 60Hz hum 180 degrees out of phase from the 60Hz hum of another single coil, in order to humcancel.
It's usage is questionable, as the non-audible coil ran parallel to the audible coil creates a significant impedance drop, which changes the tone and reduces the output. You can buffer the coils to prevent the impedance drop and LCR interactions, but the buffering can change the tone, too, and requires the use of a battery.

 

[mwbjr13]

So in order to get the sound I want, I need to use an actual pickup. Right?

And did you just draw that diagram?

 

[line6man]

So in order to get the sound I want, I need to use an actual pickup. Right?

And did you just draw that diagram?

Positions two and four on a Strat make use of the constructive and destructive interferences causes by slight phase differences between two single coil pickups. A dummy coil is used for quite the opposite application- when you want the sound of a single coil pickup, where the string movement is sensed in only one location and not combined with any other signal.

Dummy coils are usually hidden under pickguards, because they don't need to be under the strings, since they do not pick up string vibration. If you want to hear a pickup though, being under the pickguard puts you pretty far from the strings.

Yes, I scribbled it out on paper and took a picture, but I can redraw it in MS Paint if you want.

 

[mwbjr13]

No I was just surprised that you did that. I've not had good experience with fourms before so I just wanted to say thanks for the extra help  :icon_smile: