Please answer my dumbass pickup questions

[Mike]

the middle switch position on your telecaster/les paul/jagstang - that's using parallel wiring to combine the pickup sounds.

Not true. My Telecaster Deluxe has the pickups wired in series. Rolling the volume off one all the way in "both" position yields no sound.

[aphasiac]

the middle switch position on your telecaster/les paul/jagstang - that's using parallel wiring to combine the pickup sounds.

Not true. My Telecaster Deluxe has the pickups wired in series. Rolling the volume off one all the way in "both" position yields no sound.

oh. well that's an unusual guitar anyway - hasn't it got a strat neck and les paul style tone/volumes?

Please don't confuse the boy - your guitar is the exception not the norm.

[Mike]

It's not that unusual - they're pretty common actually.

I'm just saying that LP-like setup /= Parallel wiring.

[gary]

Hmmm, having read all this stuff I must say I wonder how hard it would be to make my 'four singlecoils arranged as two humbuckers' Jag idea work. I assume because you can go humbucking, having RWRP on any of the four singlecoil pickups would be unecessary.

I know that to get true humbucking tones, enabling humbucker mode would connect the two at the neck in series and the two at the bridge in series. Indulge me for a moment.

RHYTHM CIRCUIT
Wired so it's always neck humbucking. Regardless of the lead circuit.

LEAD CIRCUIT
Neck Inner Singlecoil
Neck Outer Singlecoil
Neck Humbucking
Bridge Inner Singlecoil
Bridge Outer Singlecoil
Bridge Humbucking
Both Inner Singlecoils
Both Outer Singlecoils
Both Humbucking

So that's ten sounds, nineteen sounds if you include the strangle switch. Which I believe is more than the Brian May guitar which has eighteen.

[Mike]

I assume because you can go humbucking, having RWRP on any of the four singlecoil pickups would be unecessary.

This is precisely incorrect.

You need RWRP to achieve humbucking.

[theshadowofseattle]

I love all the dudes making shit up in this thread. Let me have a go at it:

If the bridge pickup is from south of the equator, it was actually wound in the opposite direction, since Fender Australia uses a buoy in a toilet tethered to a spool of wire to wind their pickups. Afterwards they are blasted with Godzilla's thermonuclear breath which inverts their interpolarity. Therefore all of these bridge pickups are humbuckingly phased, hence noiseless.

[Mike]

If Chewbacca lives on Endor you must acquit.

[theshadowofseattle]

But Chewbacca lived on Kashyyyk?

[Mike]

Johnny Cochrane would suggest otherwise.

[Doog]

If the bridge pickup is from south of the equator, it was actually wound in the opposite direction, since Fender Australia uses a buoy in a toilet tethered to a spool of wire to wind their pickups.

hahahaha

[Pens]

Series volume is determined by the lowest impedance pickup and as a result won't be as loud as parallel, effectively in series your guitar has a higher impedance whereas in parallel it is lower than either of the pickups singly and louder.

I got this completely backwards after thinking some more. Series will be the louder version since you'll get a strong additive effect ofthe voltage produced in both pickups, in parallel operation you'll get some destructive interference which will make the combined sound quieter. My impedance detailing is correct though.

Yes. I'm glad you (partially)corrected yourself, I didn't want to say anything. Series is louder because the series resistances and impedances add together, like you should know you have resistance in series you add it, while in parallel you divide it. But added together you will get higher impedance and more volume. Series mode in my Jag is able to OD the tube in my amp even on the cleanest setting it is so loud.

It is best to see an example:

Single coil (Fender Lace) = 7.1k

Two coils in series = 14.2k resistance. "Twice" as loud (not really).

Above coils in parallel = 1/(1/7.1k)+(1/7.1k)) = 3.5k

Duncan JB = 16.1k (for both coils added together)
Each coil ~ 8k (don't have exact specs). Putting these coils in parallel = 4k.


SHORT ANSWER= Higher impedance and DC resistance means more volume and "fuller" (less-bright) tone.

[Mike]

Yeah I totally buggered it up, getting the calculations correct but what it meant to the volume wrong. I sorted it though.

[Pens]

Yep. I just wanted to reinforce what you said. No worries.

[deadonkey]

Not true. My Telecaster Deluxe has the pickups wired in series. Rolling the volume off one all the way in "both" position yields no sound.

It's not that unusual - they're pretty common actually.

I'm just saying that LP-like setup /= Parallel wiring.

No.

if that was the case, with both volume pots at 10, if you measured the impedance with the selector switch in the mid position, it would read 16 ohms or twice the impedance of each pickup alone - it would sound IMMENSE. the fact is, that it will measure below the impedance of each pickup because the pups are wired in parallel.

ALL LP style wiring has the pickups in parallel.

The only guitar that comes with 2 buckers in series as stock is the Jimmy Page Les Paul.

The volume pot control issue is nothing to do with it, it just means they're notwired independently to each other, like most gibson guitars. nothing to do with how the pickups are wired to each other. go look at the diagram for your guitar, or any LP style, they're wired in parallel.

In the vast majority of guitars the pickups are connected to each other in parallel.

those 2 are wired in parallel to each other when the switch is in the mid position.

[Mike]

The volume pot control issue is nothing to do with it, it just means they're notwired independently to each other, like most gibson guitars.

No. it means they're wired in series. You dolt.

What the fuck do you think "not wired independently" is, exactly?

[Mike]

It's not that unusual - they're pretty common actually.

I'm just saying that LP-like setup /= Parallel wiring.

And by that I mean just because it's 2 vol 2 tones don't mean it's parallel. I wasn't saying anything about gibson, just LP-Like guitars.

[euan]

Tele Custom is wired that same way as the Deluxe. When one pickup is lowered they both are.

Too early in the morning for me to be able to read this and work out what is going on.

[deadonkey]

Tele Custom is wired that same way as the Deluxe. When one pickup is lowered they both are.

Too early in the morning for me to be able to read this and work out what is going on.

yep, they're wired in parallel. look at the diagram.

It's not that unusual - they're pretty common actually.

I'm just saying that LP-like setup /= Parallel wiring.

And by that I mean just because it's 2 vol 2 tones don't mean it's parallel. I wasn't saying anything about gibson, just LP-Like guitars.

All LP style 2 volume 2 tone guitars are wired in parallel. THe only time it isn't is if you mod it to be like that, or you own a jimmy page les paul.
open yer own guitar if you don't believe me, but the pickups are not in series to each other.


you can have pickups in parallel with completely independent volume controls for each other, as well as pickups in parallel where the volume control affects both pickups. I have the former on 2 of my guitars. it means in the mid position you can change the volume of 1 pickup in the mid position without reducing the volume of the other pickup. it's called the 'gibson disease'

The last push pull pot places the two pickups in series. This is not found on ANY guitar (other then the Torres BluesTone) - this is a huge, big fat tone - both humbuckers become one giant humbucker for a monster tone.

You still have two volume controls and two tone controls. Both volumes are rewired as independent controls - they do not suffer from the “gibson disease� (when you turn one down the whole guitar used to go off - this is fixed).

http://www.torresengineering.com/jimpagwirpag.html

they're not 'pretty common', they're 'extremely rare'

[Mike]

TELECASTER DELUXES are pretty common you idiot.

So your whole argument is you think that the pups are in parallel and it's the volumes that are in serial eh?

THAT IS THE PICKUP SIGNAL FFS

[deadonkey]

nice to see you've learned to continue a debate on something without resorting to verbal abuse. get over it.