wiring doubt

[ifrestre]

hello

i just bought a hot raills ( bridge)
area 58 middle
and a area 67 (neck)

i also bought a 500k push push pot with dpdc from warmoth

i wanted to know the options from u guys when it comes to the wiring

7 sound strat vs split coils vs wahtever u guys suggested me

im looking for versatility

tnhks

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I'd wire the hotrails like a full on humbucker and leave it that way.  I've never found it too be useful when coil split with another pickup.  That being said, I'd wire it Gilmour style.  A standard Strat 5-way switch and switch, either mini-toggle or push/pull, that could add the 2 more pickup sounds by adding the neck pickup to the bridge or do all three.  Also, opt for using the second tone knob for the bridge pickup instead of the middle pickup.

 

[Cagey]

hello

i just bought a hot raills ( bridge)
area 58 middle
and a area 67 (neck)

i also bought a 500k push push pot with dpdc from warmoth

i wanted to know the options from u guys when it comes to the wiring

7 sound strat vs split coils vs wahtever u guys suggested me

im looking for versatility

tnhks

Mr. Super Turbo Deluxe Custom is correct - a coil split or shared with another from a Hot Rails rarely produces useful output. They're just not really designed for that. Then, with the Area series pickups you have the coils stacked, so if you wanted to split the coils or share one with another pickup, you can really only use the top coil and its output is also less than thrilling on its own. In fact, with those, while they bring the series coil connection out, it's terminated just an inch away. They clearly don't intend for you to break those coils apart electrically, even though they make it possible if you're determined enough.

I have almost the exact pickup configuration you describe in the last Strat I built, except I used an Area 61 instead of a 67 at the neck. I used a "super switch" (4P5T) instead of a standard Strat switch, so I could go crazy with the wiring. It was a mistake I won't repeat. I wanted to treat all three of the pickups as though they were humbuckers because that gives you a multitude of connection possibilities, and that's basically what those pickups are - humbuckers, with two coils each.

However, as I mentioned before, no single coil out of the six works well on its own. In fact, two of them are buried, so they can't. Then, in order to get humbucking operation out of the #2 and #4 switch positions, you have to do it in such a way that one of the two coils are reverse wound, reverse polarity. As it turns out, the #4 position forces you to use a lower coil, so that output ends up really weak.

I tried other scenarios as well, but in the end, the only scheme that makes sense is using the pickups as if they were single coils, and wiring the thing up like a standard Strat. That is, bridge, bridge + middle, middle, middle + neck, neck. Standard switch is all you need.

Hope that saves you some grief.

 

[Dan025]

i agree with the others, just not designed for that, maybe the hot rails works ok split for some. maybe..

one option that id consider trying or at least experimenting with would be splitting the hotrails in the #2 position only as that position is often used for a clean bright sound. it may help you get the strat quack being split.
you can wire it to do this automatically so the push-pull pot is still used for the 7 sound option an there are even some variations on that running through my head.

 

[pabloman]

Just wire it like a normal strat. Isn't that really versatile enough? Maybe do a phase thing on the bridge for some tele type tone. Or a bridge on switch but seriously an HSS strat is about as versatile as it gets. All the extras are like having extra nuts on an ice cream sunday. They fall off anyway. The ones that do stick just end up being a nutty terd.

 

[pabloman]

Take the hotrails straight to a 500K pot, then to the switch with no tone control. Use the other side of the switch for your singles with 250K pots for volume and tone with a high quality cap.