LP, new PUPs, and 4 push/pulls for coil tap/parallel

Greetings, this is my first post here, though I've been poking around on the site for a while. I've been playing non-professionally for about 14 years, but in bands only off and on. Currently, I'm playing in my first power-trio, so I'm getting used to carrying all the guitar responsibilities (plus singing half the time). I was playing a Japanese Telecaster while my main guitar (Gibson LP studio) was being repaired, and now that I'm back on the LP I've realized I could really use more tonal options as the sole guitarist. So, I'd like to replace the stock pickups with 4-wire PUPs and some switching to do coil-cutting, etc.

I checked out guitarelectronics.com for long-shaft 500k push/pull pots but the description said that they couldn't be used for parallel/series or reverse phasing. Would this be because they are single-pole/single-throw? The normal-shaft push/pull pots at guitarelectronics.com are double-pole/double-throw. Does anyone know where I might find long-shaft DP/DT push-pull pots? I'd like to avoid mini-switches, so I was reckoning on 4 push-pull pots. If anyone has done a mod like this, I'd love to hear your suggestions for getting the most versatility out of the setup.

Addtionally, any pickup recommendations would be welcome. My style is basically classic rock, bluesy, not too fast, I prefer "overdriven" to "distorted". I don't use any pedals except maybe a wah. Neil Young, Allman Bros., Yardbirds, Who, Love, Jerry Garcia, Steve Cropper, some other odd influences.

I apologize for such a huge first post, but I live in the mountainous-countryside of Japan and anyway my Japanese is not quite up to "guitar wiring technology discussion" level yet. :D

Much abliged,
Eben

I can't help much with the wiring, but some pickups you might want to look at include-

-Bare Knuckle hand-wound pickups from the UK
-Dimarzio PAF pro or something similar
-Duncan Pearly Gates
-SK custom pickups


Pickup choice depends a lot on your taste. You very well hate all those options, but it's a place to start. I'm a huge dimarzio fan, but with your description you might like Seymour Duncans more.

I have a Seymour Duncan SH-1 Neck Humbucker for my Tele and it is one of the best sounding pickups I've heard.

I also have it wired series/parallel. My switch is just a pull/push pot, nothing special about it.

You must have DPDT switches for S/P or Phase switching. Check out the wiring diagrams at DiMarzio to see how it's done.

For pickups, I suggest a Dual Sound at the bridge, and a PAF at the neck. These are 'classic' pickups. From the way you describe your style, I think the 'modern' pickups like the PAF Pro may provide more harmonic content than you really want.

I have a Yamaha SBG1000 (something like a Les Paul double-cutaway) with a SCHB (DP106, no longer available) pickup at the neck, and a Dual Sound (DP101) four-wire version of the Super Distortion (DP100) at the bridge. For classic sounds, you couldn't ask for more.

I have an identical SBG1000 fitted with a Tone Zone (DP155) at the bridge, and a PAF Pro (DP151) at the neck. It's a lot of fun to play, but it sounds more like Ritchie Sambora than Jimmy Page.

[Edited by Lordathestrings on 02-03-2004 at 10:20 PM]

Thanks everyone for responding.

Are DPDT push-pulls available in 3/4" shaft lengths? Based on my sweep of the web they're not, but I was hoping someone could prove me wrong. I guess I would have to use mini-switches or rout the control cavity a little deeper and use the 3/8" push-pulls, which are available as DPDT. Either way, it involves some modification of the body, which ain't such a big deal to me. I don't use the pickgaurd, though so there's no place to hide mini-switches...

If I decide to forgo S/P and phase and use SPST pots I'd be limited to a simple coil-cut, then. Any thoughts on the sound difference between coil-cut and S/P?

Again, I appreciate your help.

Eben

I've asked that before but didn't really get a response, hopefully someone sees this who has played with both.

At another forum I was told that s/p doesn't sound quite as good, but personally I think going with s/p and avoiding the hum can sometimes be enough of a benefit to make up for the subtle difference in sound.

I wish I could play around with a guitar with s/p as well as my current guitar (it coil splits) so I could be more helpful here.

Check out http://www.guitarnuts.com/index.php

Originally posted by Hammurabi
I've asked that before but didn't really get a response, hopefully someone sees this who has played with both...

The thing is, you can't get a really definitive comparison unless you've tried both pickup types [u]in the same guitar[/u].

The SCHB in the neck position of my first SGB1000 is a humbucker made of two of DiMarzio's VS-1 Vintage Strat single coil pickups. If I was really curious, I could butcher the lovely wiring job I did almost 20 years ago to find out, but to me, it's not an issue. I like the parrallel-coil sound. I don't like hum. And I get a rich, warm, full sound with the coils in series.

If I believed that the single-coil sound was [u]The Sound[/u] for me, back in '91 when I needed rent money, I would have kept my '62 Re-issue Jap Strat, and sold my SBG1000 instead.

If you love the single coil sound enough to put up with noise problems, Rock On! Though I suspect you would have trouble telling them apart unless you play clean, with very little XF.

Lord - I hear what you're saying re: pickup choices being specific to the guitar, strings, setup, amp, etc., everything that contributes ultimately to the tone. With a four-conductor pickup, you could conceivably test different combinations with jumper cables before hitting anything with sodder, right? I guess you'd have to wire a lead and a ground to an output plug, but then you could connect stuff in different configurations to get some sense of what is useful and what isn't.

Thanks again,
Eben

Yes! Early in a player's development, there's a huge enthusiasm to try everything, and an equally great fear of missing something. At some point, you have to narrow your focus just enough to devote your attention to a reasonable number of choices. Solder up the wires, and move on to fiddling with something else. With two S/P switched humbuckers, and a Phase switch, there are 12 possible combinations. Add in different Tone/Volume balances between the neck and bridge pickups, and the permutations become infinite! How many options does anyone really need?

I may get another Strat at some point, just for a change once in a while. Or maybe a Telecaster (I've never had one of those). At the moment, I've got three 2-humbucker guitars that all sound different from each other. That's enough for now.

Expensive but true, the best way to get a variety of sounds is through a variety of guitars! My first guitar was a Mexican Strat, and about a year later I changed to the Les Paul which I've been happy with since. But while it was being repaired, I borrowed a friend's Telecaster and really grew to like it (the repair took a long time due to unusually high humidity). Previously I had never really been interested in even trying one, perhaps because I was turned off by the shape of the headstock (silly, but true). If and when I can afford another electric, it would probably be a Tele.

I guess I'll try to choose a couple of pickups, install them, and figure out the wiring from there. Thanks everyone, this seems to be a really helpful, friendly forum.

Eben Bull