Single coils in series vs. full humbucker(s)

[Neo Fender]

Has anyone tried this and found it to be too dark, particularly neck and middle or neck, middle and bridge in series?

Thanks.

 

[bagman67]

My tele is wired thusly:


Bridge only
Bridge/neck parallel (hum-cancelling)
Bridge/neck series (hum-cancelling)
Neck only


The series wiring is louder and more bassy than the parallel arrangement, but I don't have a humbucker in the guitar to compare it to.  That said, I think it sounds like what I'd expect from a  humbucker lodged right between the neck and bridge pups.  Is it too dark?  That's a matter of taste.  It's definitely loud, and has proportionally less top-end edge than any of the switch other positions.  The top end hair may still be there, but it may be overwhelmed somewhat by the overall loudness of the remainder of the spectrum.


Check this out:


http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/serpar.php

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I have the pickups in my Warmoth tele wired up to a 4 way switch giving both parallel and series. Series is louder and more "full" ... I wouldn't call it "bassy" as it still a very tele-esque sound to me.

The pickups are Bare Knuckle Piledrivers.

 

[bagman67]

Yeah, maybe "bass-y" is the wrong word for mine, too - but I've got a P90-ish thing in the neck, and a quarter-pound in the bridge, so it brings a lot more OOMPH than your typical vintage tele set, in the first place.

 

[greywolf]

I havve a series position on my tele , it;s great for hi gain work plenty of bite ..Texas Specials

 

[Prometheus]

I think Bagman pegged the description. I like the single-coil series sound, and have planned that option myself. There are numerous Utube examples that you can judge for yourself. One example is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GKcc9ZtLzI but you can find others

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

There's a "fullness" aspect to series that may or may not fit one's particular application, and depending on wether the guitar is a 2 pickup guitar, or a 3 pickup guitar, can have more diversified results.
A good case in point would be a tele config, or a strat, maybe even a Brian May config.

It all depends on what you're hoping to achieve.

I had a 4 way blade switch on my Baritele initially, then after several months of finding that I never really used the parallel config, pulled it out and donated it (P.I.F./Classified Section) and put a traditional 3 way blade switch in there.  I find the simplicity more appealling to me when switching pickups.  I already have a push/pull to split the custom handwound bridge humbucker, and I had a phase switch on the push/pull tone, and I find that to be plenty of options that I would use.  I use the phase function considerably, and with single coils, I think the sound is more pleasing under high gain than with humbuckers.

 

[Cagey]

It all depends on what you're hoping to achieve.

Truer words were never spoken.

I think what needs to happen and what actually gets put together are often at odds. Some people want a "Holy Grail" guitar that will do anything and in the end find that it isn't good for much at all. Guitars all have a sort of "character" to them, and some configurations just don't work. What you ultimately need are several guitars, which some people are unsurprisingly unwilling to finance/manage.

But, as you say, you need to consider the application. If you're playing in a "cover band", then you need some fairly wide variation in abilities out of your gear. If you're in a "tribute band", then you can just copy whatever your hero played. If you're doing originals, then it's up to you. It's highly unlikely any one guitar is ever going to fill all those needs.

I know I have a couple fiddles here I need to re-think the pickup choices on because of the above.

Luckily, I have a magic genie who can just blink pickups into existence out of thin air. Or, at least I did in a dream I had not too long ago...  :laughing7:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Exactly.  If one is playing multiple genre's and styles, then one should consider that a "workhorse" may not serve all those applications with any degree of authenticity.

Having several "one trick ponies" on the other hand, will serve them wonderfully, and playing on multiple instruments with different scale lengths, fingerboard radiuses, pickup voicings, timbre's, can only improve ones tonal and playing vocabulary.  Gosh, look at all of the gear Carl Verheyen, and the multiple pedal board/amp configs he has for studio work.  Case in point.

While a cover band may not be able to practically lug around multiple amps, perhaps the amp modelling route may work for ya, or even the Variax + amp modeller setup.  I know about all of the cork snifferey around it, but most cover bands that are raking in any amount of cash have a fan base that isn't consumed with wether or not you're using modelling technology or old school gear anyway.  The investment may help you achieve the sounds you're looking for, while minimizing your stage footprint, and expedite your setup to fit more songs in the set.

 

[stubhead]

I always do the 4-way instead of 3-way. There's absolutely no downside, so....? :dontknow: Even if you "need" the traditional sound more to duplicate a particular sound, it's still right there, 2mm away.

 

[bagman67]

I always do the 4-way instead of 3-way. There's absolutely no downside, so....? :dontknow: Even if you "need" the traditional sound more to duplicate a particular sound, it's still right there, 2mm away.

Now, that's just crazy talk.