Tapping coils

[TBurst Std]

I know I can use a 2 position switch for a tapped coil pup. Could I use a 3 position switch for 2 tapped coil pups?
Pos 1 - Bridge and Neck tapped
Pos 2 - Bridge full and Neck tapped
Pos 3 - Bridge full and Neck full

 

[line6man]

Use a SP3T switch. They are generally marketed as DPDT On/On/On. It's the same switch that you would use for series/single coil/parallel switching on a humbucker.

You will be using one pole and one throw, per pickup, to shunt the unused portion of each coil.

 

[TBurst Std]

Would you be able to draw out the wiring?

 

[line6man]

Would you be able to draw out the wiring?

Sure. Give me a couple of days, though.

 

[line6man]

Here is your diagram. Actually, I did two diagrams. The first is for the coil tap configuration that you specified. Since coil tapping is often confused for coil splitting, I also included a diagram for that. Note that if you are doing the splitting scheme in the second diagram, both pickups will be splitting to the north coil. If you want south coils, then simply switch the north coil + with the south coil +, and switch the north coil - with the south coil -, on the pickup that you want to split to the south coil. (Or do it for both pickups, if you want both to split to the south coil.)

 

[Glimmer]

Please excuse the total noob q:

what do coil tapping and splitting do?

:binkybaby:

 

[line6man]

Please excuse the total noob q:

what do coil tapping and splitting do?

:binkybaby:

In a nutshell: tapping selects an underwound portion of a coil, and splitting turns a humbucker into a single coil.

 

[bagman67]

Coil tapping takes a hot lead off the coil somewhere in the middle, which gives you lowered output compared to the full coil where you take your hot lead off the end of the coil


Coil splitting takes a humbucking pickup and cuts out one of the coils, so all you have in the circuit is one coil (which gives, duh, a single-coil sound, but also includes the hum the humbucking pickup would otherwise cancel).

 

[Glimmer]

Thanks, you guys.

 

[TBurst Std]

Many thanks. I must be tired, which leads in your diagram are heading to the pickups selector switch? PU Input? It also looks like both are tapped or full. I am going to wire this 4 way: Neck, Neck Bridge Series, Neck Bridge Parallel, Bridge.

 

[line6man]

Many thanks. I must be tired, which leads in your diagram are heading to the pickups selector switch? PU Input?

Yes, the "To Pickup Input" connections go to the pickup inputs on whatever comes next in your scheme. In this case, the neck and bridge pickup inputs on your selector switch.

It also looks like both are tapped or full.

If you use the proper DPDT On/On/On switch, it will function as you described in your original post. Observe the switching pattern, here: