Pickup quieries

Right, I am looking to put some Bare Knuckle pickups into my Les Paul...what I need to know is this...the pickups I am looking at come standard with 4 conductor wiring...however, I am not looking to use this feature ( I dont want to split the coils, or run series/parallel) I merely want to use them with 2 of the conductors...is this possible, or do I need to buy a pickup with 2 conductors as standard? I understand very little about this sort of thing, so if anyone can help that would be appreciated.

It may be worth while to run 4 conductors with push/pull switch...I dunno why, but more versatile cant be a bad thing, can it? how much more would I expect a tech to charge to install a push/pull pot and a pickup as to just the pickups?

Yes you can go without the 4 conductor wiring. Usually the 2 extra wires will be different colours, such as red and green and the "regular" wqires will be black and white.

Having the series/parallel switching will definetly be a benefit if you play a wide range of music. On my Telecaster I have both pickups wired this way. It wouldn't cost much more to install because think about it; the other wires are already right there and the control cavity is gonna be opened up anyway. It will cost you more in parts than it will extra to install push/pull pots.

Originally Posted by: Tele Master It will cost you more in parts than it will extra to install push/pull pots.

So will I have to replace the pot? or can they be modified somehow? cos replacing the pots could get kinda expensive...still worth a look

I dont believe that BareKnuckles charges extra for the 2 wire versions.... BUt if you wanted to split the coils like you said you were thinking about doing anyway... it wouldn't be hard at all... You can wire it numerous ways as well. The push/pull pot would only cost maybe 10 dollars.... if even that... its been awhile since i've price P/P pots.... a regular toggle would be much cheaper and would operate the same in a less sleek set-up.... A tech shouldn't charge much extra because it would be about the same amount of work either way... any tech should be able to lay it out easily (hopefully). So just think about what you want... and do it that way. If you don't want the extra frills of splitting coils... then don't get'em... I would say that it wouldn't hurt anything to go ahead and have the ability just to have it... you may come to like it. good luck

yea, but surely a regular toggle or mini switch would require some additional routing etc...I want none of that.

I want to be able to return my Les Paul to orginal spec with no problems should I ever come to sell...

Using the split coil option will introduce more noise. The annoying little hum will be louder with the split coil option. This was the reason I didn't go with that option with my Tone Zone.

Bare Knuckle pickups = awesomeness.

I'm surprised so few people use them.

when i wired my pups i got quality push/pulls for $8 each

Originally Posted by: JFRICKUsing the split coil option will introduce more noise. The annoying little hum will be louder with the split coil option. This was the reason I didn't go with that option with my Tone Zone.

[font=trebuchet ms]"Split Coils" is a misleading name for shorting out one of the coils in a humbucker. Of course it gets noisy - it's now a single-coil pickup.

Four-wire pickups simply allow you to connect the coils any way you want to. And series/parallel is definitely the way to go. Series connection is what standard 2-wire humbuckers give you. Parallel connection retains the hum-bucking quietness, with a lower-output sound that's closer to single-coil, without the hum. I use this switching setup for both humbuckers in any guitar I modify. I also add a phase switch to the neck pickup for even more tones.

All of these mods are implemented with switches that are built-in to the control pots. As long as your guitar body is thick enough to acommodate the extra depth, there's no worries. Just lotsa tone.[/font] :cool:

Well, tis an Lp, so they dont get much thicker than that...thanks I'll definately look into the new pots idea...even if I dont use it, I guess having four conductors cant be bad, cos I can always add series/parallel or split coil functions later if I wanted to.

Originally Posted by: Andrew Sa...even if I dont use it, I guess having four conductors cant be bad, cos I can always add series/parallel or split coil functions later if I wanted to.

[font=trebuchet ms]Exactly so![/font] :)