I'm trying ot figure out what the terms phasing & series & parallel means. I guess humbuckers are wired in series.
How are strat pickups wired. If you blend the neck & bridge, are they in series, because they're reverse of the middle? Or is that a totally different issue?
I'm asking because I'm wondering if you could wire strat pickups in series to get a bigger sound from them, similar to a humbucker, rather than a weak quacking.
If two coils are wired in parallel, the starting points of both coils are connected to the one point, and the ending points of both coils are wired to one point. They are in parallel -- current flows through both coils at the same time.
If two coils are wired in series, the end point of one coil is connected to the starting point of the other coil. Current flows through one coil, first, then the second.
A traditional humbucker has its two coils wired in series, though with a four-conductor humbucker, you can wire it any way you please.
A guitar with multiple pickups usually, though not always, has those pickups wired in parallel. Just as a Strat has three pickups wired in parallel, so also does a Les Paul have its two humbuckers wired in parallel.
A coil has a starting and ending point, and the construction of the coil determines which lead is the start. Take your right hand, and make a fist with the thumb pointing out. Your thumb represents magnetic north, and your fingers represent the direction of current flow relative to magnetic north. If all coils in the guitar are connected with respect to this "right hand rule," the coils will be in phase with each other. If one coil is not wired with respect to this rule, it will be out of phase with the other coils.
Note that each coil has its own magnetic field, which may, or may not, share the same polarity as the other coils. Take your right hand, and position it so the thumb points up. That is one coil. Now position it so the thumb points down. That will be a coil whose magnetic polarity is the opposite of the first. Note that, relative to your eyes, your fingers are coiled in a counterclockwise direction when the thumb points up, and in a clockwise direction when the thumb points down. This is what RWRP -- reverse wind, reverse polarity -- is all about.
In a modern Strat, the middle pickup is frequently RWRP with respect to the other two coils. (This is not so with vintage Strats.) The pickups are all wired in parallel, and in phase. Since the middle pickup is RWRP with respect to the other two, the neck+middle and middle+bridge positions will be hum cancelling (still in phase, and parallel).
If is possible to wire, for instance, the bridge and middle pickups in series. As long as the pickups are RWRP with respect to each other, and wired properly, the resulting sound would be hum cancelling, and beefier than the same two coils in parallel. To do this, the ground lead of one pickup (let's say the bridge) is connected to ground. The hot lead of the bridge pickup is connected to the ground lead of the middle pickup. The hot lead of the middle pickup is connected to hot. (Of course, to wire your guitar to give you this in one position would require a super switch.)
Thanks for the info. I think i get the concept, now, but I can't quite visualize the wiring.
Is it possible to wire a traditional switch so that the 2 & 4 position are in series combinations instead of parallel, and the 1, 3, & 5 positions are normal?
I see schematics that show the ability to do all of the possible combinations (using push pull pots, etc), but I haven't found one that eliminates the parallel (quack) option altogether in a simple 5 way switch.
You can't do this with the traditional Strat five-way switch. Even though that switch has five positions, it is only a DPTT switch (double pole, triple throw). Positions 2 and 4 are not discrete positions. Position 2 is merely the union of positions 1 and 3. Likewise, position 4 is merely the union of positions 3 and 5. To achieve what you wish, you will need a 4P5T switch.
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/hastings/index.php
This page has a schematic that's similar to what I was asking, but the 2 & 4 positions are neck & bridge, respectively, and 1, 3, & 5 are series combinations. But I can't really read schematics so I don't know what parts are involved.
Any insights?
That is a very creative use of the standard Strat five-way switch. I never would have thought of it.
Basically, he is wiring all three pickups in series, and using the switch to short out selective coils.
When the switch is in position 1, it shorts out the bridge pickup, leaving the neck+middle series.
When the switch is in position 2, it shorts out both the bridge and middle pickups, leaving the neck in place.
When the switch is in position 3, it doesn't do anything, leaving all three pickups in series.
When the switch is in postion 4, it shorts out the middle and neck pickups, leaving the bridge in place.
When the switch is in position 5, it shorts out the neck pickup, leaving the middle+bridge, in series.
Furthermore, whenever the middle pickup is in the circuit, the third control can be used to blend it in or out.
All of this uses standard Strat components. You don't need a super switch. (You would need a super switch if you wanted the series positions to be in 2 and 4.)
My drawing capabilities are extremely limited on this computer, so anything I come up with would have to be rather crude. Give me some time, and I'll see what I can do.
thanks! I've been looking for a drawing of it, but can't find one.Originally Posted by Jim Collins
In the meantime I'm trying to figure out schematics. It doesn't look complicated, I just don't quite understand it yet.
I've given up trying to draw anything meaningful, using this computer, and I don't have access to a scanner. I'll try to describe what is going on, and you ought to be able to draw it, yourself.
First, let's figure out how we are going to talk about the components. Let's assume that each pot has its shaft pointing toward the floor, and its lugs facing you. We'll number the lugs 1, 2, and 3, from left to right. We'll call the normal volume pot lugs V1, V2, and V3. The middle pot will be the tone pot, and its lugs will be T1, T2, and T3. The outside pot will be the blender, and its lugs will be B1, B2, and B3.
The switch has two rows of four lugs. One of the four lugs is the common lug for that row. That lug will be 0. The other lugs will be 1, 3, and 5, which correspond to positions 1, 3, and 5. (Positions 2 and 4 are not discrete.) If you place the switch horizonally, we will call the top row, from left to right: ST0, ST5, ST3, and ST1. The bottom row will be, from left to right: SB5, SB3, SB1, and SB0. It doesn't matter which side of the switch is ST (switch top) and which is SB (switch bottom). The switch will behave the same way no matter which way it is oriented.
Neck pickup black -- ground (volume pot casing).
Neck pickup white -- ST0.
Middle pickup black -- ST0.
Middle pickup white (it might be yellow, if it is RWRP) -- SB0.
Bridge pickup black -- SB0.
Bridge pickup white -- SB1.
Jumper from SB3 to ST1.
Jumper from SB5 to ST3.
Lead from ST5 to ground (volume pot casing).
Lead from SB1 to V1.
V2 to output jack tip. (This one should be there.)
V1 to T3.
Tone cap between T2 and ground (tone pot casing).
Lead from blender B3 to SB0.
Lead from blender B2 to ST0.
It would be easier if you turn the Tone pot (center pot) so that its lugs face the volume pot. (It probably faces the other way.)
You'll also need a lead from the volume pot casing to the ring lug on the jack. (This should already be there.)
You'll also have to ground the trem. This should already be there, too. It is probably going from the spring claw to the ring lug on the jack.
There are no other connections. Notice that the tone and blender pots are connected in a completely different fashion from a stock Strat.
Hope I typed everything correctly. Draw it out before you make any changes, and see if it makes sense to you.
Thanks a lot!
Your description looks pretty clear, but I'll have to devote more time to analyze it. I'm going to work on this this weekend. I'll compare your description to the schematic to see if it makes sense, and take a pic of my wiring as-is in case of disaster!
I also picked up a push pull pot, so I could go that route, but this way looks a little simpler, if less versatile.
I leave town for a two weeks, come Sunday, and Saturday is likely to be busy, so I might not be around to help, if I missed anything. Good luck.
A lot of this boils down to personal taste. I've built guitars, modded guitars, etc. and I still find it hard to beat the stock configurations that old Leo came up with. The series wiring of single coil p'ups just doesn't sound as good to my ears. Admittedly there is more output, but I don't care for the tone as much. Then again like I mentioned its all a matter of personal preference. Personally I like the sound of the middle pickup by itself on a strat (Rory Gallagher fan here) and I also like the bridge/middle and neck/middle parallel sounds (Skynyrd fan here) as well. On one of my strats I re-wired it for 12 different pickup combinations, but I had to ditch the 5-way and use three mini-switches. I used this guitar for gigs and recordings, but I always found myself gravitating back to the stock parallel combinations. It was interesting to try all three p'ups at once in series, but the tone loses that pure single coil strat sound that I prefer. The output was most definitely hotter, but the tone just didn't melt my butter. I find the series neck/bridge wiring for Tele's with a 4-way to be similar in that regard. Increased output, but tone lacking in purity. Most of my future builds will be pretty much stock. I've tried all the other stuff like stacked pickups, humbuckers, coil taps, push-pull pots, mini switches, etc. Maybe I'm just getting old and lazy, but nowadays I just prefer a stock Tele or Strat that doesn't have a bunch of $h*t on it.
I hear you, ragtweed. There's a reason a Strat is what it is, and why it's maybe the most famous guitar ever. And there's a reason Les Pauls, Telecasters, etc. may take that title, too.
I wasn't thrilled with mini humbuckers in my strat, and I might not be thrilled with series wiring.
But it's fun to find out. And rewiring is cheaper than a bunch of new pickups, pedals, guitars, so I figure why not try?
it's okay, I won't do it unless I understand it first
I did some guitars surgery over the weekend. I ended up doing Project # on this page:
http://www.deaf-eddie.net/pushpull/pushpull.html
Thanks Jim Collins for writing that other schematic out for me! I chose the other one because it not only left the stock tones but looked to involve less wiring. I hooked it up so the tone also controls the bridge PU.
And the result? Three more tones. Only one jumps out, but it really jumps out. The Bridge & Neck in series. So fat, and it has that Gibson quality that I was looking for in my Duncan Lil 59 but didn't get.
I won't know how practical this tone & the other two are until I rehearse at full volume, but the change was even more than I expected.
Fender should offer that tone standard! It's a completely different sound than I'm used to on a Strat.
I rehearsed last night with the new configuration. I was really pleased with the sound. I barely switched from the neck/bridge in series setting. It was good for lead, rhythm, dirty, clean. Sounds I never got from my strat before. Call it heresy, but I liked it!
Of course the band didn't even notice (I didn't tell them , just to test it out), but I did. It was the first time my strat felt really ballsy, without the need for tons of distortion.
The only thing I didn't like was the push/pull pot. I may have to switch to a configuration that doesn't use one.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote