Coil tap in a pot?

Anyone here use a coil tap in a pot rather than a switch?

If so, what kind of instrument?

Would you sacrifice a tone pot for a single/humbucker blend pot?

Thanks -
C

Two Telecasters, two SG's, and four Les Pauls as well as an Epiphone Sheraton and an Ibanez Artist. It doesn't add an extra hole in the instrument(s) and can be reversed without leaving a hole to be filled.........Here's a shot of one of my Les Pauls with the coil tap "pot". Actually, all the above mentioned guitars are rewired with only one volume and tone control using the top two knobs. The bottom two are a phase switch pot in front and a coil tap in the rear......JH in Va.

That's commonly referred to as the "spin-a-split" mod - google it.

Personally, I prefer the solid difference of an on/off coil-shunt, like with a p/p or other switch, but there are players who do like to blend it...

Check out this thread if you like? I asked about two pots, one for each pickup to have more sound variations.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pickups/330820-question-gfs-lil-puncher-hot-lead-set.html

If its on a strat I use bottom tone as a coil volume like Peavey used to do on T60.
its only changing a couple of wires.

This guitar was like that for a while; Duncan Tapped Quarter Pound Tele pickup, with volume and spin-a-split pots.

http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy134/Rich_S_GuitarGeek/Dangerous%20Type/dangerous_1.jpg

Now, those electronics have been transfered to this guitar:

http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy134/Rich_S_GuitarGeek/Esquire/Esquire_1s.jpg

I do blend the positions sometimes, but mostly I like the "stealth" and simplicity of a 2-knob guitar. Very Les Paul Junior-ish.

Both the Peavey T-40 bass and T-60 guitar use a coil-tap connected to the tone pots.
At 10 you get single coil, as you progress down it becomes humbucker, as you go further the cap kicks in and becomes conventional tone control. Sounds weird but simple and intuitive to use. The tone pot is a special Peavey taper though. Probably the most successful stock oem coil-tap system. Google for the schematic.

I have two split bucker guitars: One with mini-toggles and one with push pulls. Never tried a spin-a-split config. Might try it for the next assembly though, sounds interesting.

Two Telecasters, two SG's, and four Les Pauls as well as an Epiphone Sheraton and an Ibanez Artist. It doesn't add an extra hole in the instrument(s) and can be reversed without leaving a hole to be filled.........Here's a shot of one of my Les Pauls with the coil tap "pot". Actually, all the above mentioned guitars are rewired with only one volume and tone control using the top two knobs. The bottom two are a phase switch pot in front and a coil tap in the rear......JH in Va.

Awesome. Just awesome.

Love this forum. Had no idea it was called "spin-a-split". Not exactly a graceful term, but efficient.

Love that 'Paul.

I have two high gain EMG buckers and when they are split with my volume pot, the sound is dynamically different and I get some good Fender-like sounds.

Guitar is ESP/LTD Viper 301 SG copy and pickups are passive EMG HZ H1 ceramic high output humbuckers. Make sure your humbuckers or single coil (like Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder) is adequately high output so when it's split, the sounds are still practical.

Splitting coils with the tone pots works great, I had a couple Peavey guitars that had that feature, and I remember having an old Dimarzio humbucker wiring diagram that showed how to do it too, didn't need any special pots as I recall.

Not the black and white difference as with using a switch but it does work well.

Check out a Peavey T60. It's a Chip Todd/Red Rhodes thing, but you can adapt it to any humbucker guitar...

With the Peavey T-40/T-60, the humbuckers are designed to be used split-coil, and they use a Peavey-special-taper tone pot which facilitates the initial treble drop off as single-coil before turning into humbucker proper. The ones in the T-40 bass are absolutely enormous.

Most split humbuckers sound like really bad single-coil pickups on their own, best only used mixed with another pickup. Novelty effect. Can get similar by scooping a Graphic EQ pedal.

I'd have to disagree with you on that statement.

It is true that the weaker PAF style humbuckers can sound pretty thin when cut to single coil, but a lot of humbuckers sound good in single coil mode.

I have had guitars with the Seymour Duncan 59 and JB set that sounded good split.
The Blacktop Fender Strat sounds good in single coil mode.

Tom Anderson humbuckers sound amazingly good split, very little drop in volume.

Fralin makes some humbuckers that sound great split.

I had a G&L Tribute w USA made alnico humbuckers that sounded very good in single coil mode.



Any humbucker pickup with multi conductor leads can be wired for single coil operation.