Alrighty, to this I will ask...Either. It depends on your use case and what you want to achieve. There is no reason to limit it to one pickup.
What difference would one achieve by using Series/Parallel switching on a neck pickup vs using Series/Parallel switching on a middle pickup?
...fun, ain't it!...
I ask because "to my recollection" I've seen series/parallel on production guitars only on neck pickups, which leads me to believe there is a probable negative outcome of wiring other position pickups with this option.
Hodgo!We know that a parallel pickup gives you a quasi-single coil tone. This is because the combined resistance of the two coils is *added* in series and *divided* in parallel, so it mimics a weak single coil.
We also know that a pickup is just a pickup, and how it sounds is about where along the string length it is placed. For many many years there was no distinction between the PAF or Strat pickups in any position on the guitars they came in.
All this to say - a middle humbucker put in parallel will sound something like a middle single coil, which also happens to be my least favorite position on a Strat (not say that it’s bad, Lowell George made significant use of it for starters)
I think there is no point in limiting yourself if the highest variety of tones is the goal. But if forced to pick only one to switch to parallel, it would be the neck pickup because I prefer that sound.
If you’re adding a switch, don’t get locked into a false dichotomy by using a DPDT switch. 4PDT would give you the ability to switch both.
Hodgo!
An exemplary answer! An excellent answer. Well thought, well reasoned, well written and addressing the original question point on.
My faith is restored! Thank you.
You speak much higher than your "Junior Member" status...
stratamania, this feels like something is off kilter...I must have asked the wrong question.
Possibly, a question such as:I thought this may be a good point of discussion given the seemingly unending experience of the forum.
Once again Hodgo, thanks for verbalizing your thought process. Reading your comments brought clarity. The build is now complete. Your thoughts saved me at least one assembly/ disassembly.We know that a parallel pickup gives you a quasi-single coil tone. This is because the combined resistance of the two coils is *added* in series and *divided* in parallel, so it mimics a weak single coil.
We also know that a pickup is just a pickup, and how it sounds is about where along the string length it is placed. For many many years there was no distinction between the PAF or Strat pickups in any position on the guitars they came in.
All this to say - a middle humbucker put in parallel will sound something like a middle single coil, which also happens to be my least favorite position on a Strat (not say that it’s bad, Lowell George made significant use of it for starters)
I think there is no point in limiting yourself if the highest variety of tones is the goal. But if forced to pick only one to switch to parallel, it would be the neck pickup because I prefer that sound.
If you’re adding a switch, don’t get locked into a false dichotomy by using a DPDT switch. 4PDT would give you the ability to switch both.