Most versatile wiring for a single Humbucker

[DarkWizard1]

Heya..

I'm in the pprocess of getting myself a Tele that is basically more directed to the heavier tones of music (heavy Metal, Hard Rock, and more extreme...)

Since I use the bridge position for these kinda ggenres like 80% of the time.. And since I don't want to invest a ton of cash... I thought about the obvious option of using a single humbucker...

Since I still like to have some options.. And since I heard so many praise on the Esquire... I wanted to ask:

Are there any wirings/mods to get the most sound options out of a single humbucker in the bridge position?

the keywords might be coil split, both coils in parallel, dark circuit...


Or is this a stupid idea?
Am I limiting myself too much?

Nothing is done or bought yet... Just thinking if I should go this route..
Or classic H-H with a coil Split?
I even considered an S-S-S Armstrong blend mod for a moment, as I have three single coils lying around not sure if this is humbucker-y enough?

Thanks for any ideas, thoughts and answers
Best regards,
D-

 

[SixStringSlinger]

You can wire a switch so you can have the standard humbucker, coil split and parallel. I'm personally not crazy about coil splitting so I would probably just go with a two-way switch to go between series (for typical humbucker stuff) and parallel (to kill a little of the "oomph"). But maybe you can also make the split work for you. You'd need a 4-wire humbucker regardless. They're common, just have to make sure that's what you have.

That's for a single humbucker. If you want to go H-H you can have the same options on both pickups. You can use a separate switch for each (the most versatile option), or have them both on one switch (so they'd both be split at once, or both parallel at once...). If you go S-S (Tele style) you can use a 4-way switch to give yourself a series option (a popular mod for Tele's). If you go S-S-S like a Strat you can still use a switch (like the S1 on my Strat) to switch positions that use two adjacent pickups between parallel (normal) and series (which can be a cool Humbucker-like sound). I suppose you could also wire it to give you a neck+bridge option like a Tele.

Anyway, aside from pickups, I highly recommend considering a control layout of 1 volume (or 2, if you'd prefer), one treble cut (your typical tone control) and one bass cut (search G&L's PTB, and Reverend's bass contour). The bass cut is very useful with humbuckers, or any pickups when you use a dirty tone. Hell, I even use it when playing my Strat clean. Since it effectively gives you three frequency ranges (what the bass cut cuts, what the treble cut cuts, and what's left in the middle which you don't have control over, but sounds different relative to the bass and treble controls), you can do a lot with it. Rolling off some bass can clean up your tone without sacrificing much volume. It can also make things less muddy when playing dirty. And rolling both bass and treble off a bit can give your tone a slight "lo-fi" quality. A less "hi-def" sound.

Aside from that, consider your pot values (and measure your pots since their actual value can vary from what they say they are by 10-20% - a 500k pot is typically 450k-550k, but can be anywhere between 400k and 600k). I like to choose pots that give me as much brightness as I could want (and even a little more), since I can always cut that black with the tone control, but if the brightness isn't there to begin with then you can't add it in.

Finally, the cap for your treble cut (and bass cut, if you go that route) can really effect the feel of those controls, so spend some time experimenting there.

 

[Freeman Keller]

If you use the little "triple shot" ring that Seymore Duncan sells you can get split coil, parallel and series connections with very little effort.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...1hb3uOw-6CRyqiPP7ehoCYSkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[DarkWizard1]

If you use the little "triple shot" ring that Seymore Duncan sells you can get split coil, parallel and series connections with very little effort. LINK

Thank you for the Link,... I will consider this... Didn't know this existed... but not sure if in my case a simple switch would work?

You can wire a switch so you can have the standard humbucker, coil split and parallel. I'm personally not crazy about coil splitting so I would probably just go with a two-way switch to go between series (for typical humbucker stuff) and parallel (to kill a little of the "oomph"). But maybe you can also make the split work for you. You'd need a 4-wire humbucker regardless. They're common, just have to make sure that's what you have.

That's for a single humbucker. If you want to go H-H you can have the same options on both pickups. You can use a separate switch for each (the most versatile option), or have them both on one switch (so they'd both be split at once, or both parallel at once...). If you go S-S (Tele style) you can use a 4-way switch to give yourself a series option (a popular mod for Tele's). If you go S-S-S like a Strat you can still use a switch (like the S1 on my Strat) to switch positions that use two adjacent pickups between parallel (normal) and series (which can be a cool Humbucker-like sound). I suppose you could also wire it to give you a neck+bridge option like a Tele.

Anyway, aside from pickups, I highly recommend considering a control layout of 1 volume (or 2, if you'd prefer), one treble cut (your typical tone control) and one bass cut (search G&L's PTB, and Reverend's bass contour). The bass cut is very useful with humbuckers, or any pickups when you use a dirty tone. Hell, I even use it when playing my Strat clean. Since it effectively gives you three frequency ranges (what the bass cut cuts, what the treble cut cuts, and what's left in the middle which you don't have control over, but sounds different relative to the bass and treble controls), you can do a lot with it. Rolling off some bass can clean up your tone without sacrificing much volume. It can also make things less muddy when playing dirty. And rolling both bass and treble off a bit can give your tone a slight "lo-fi" quality. A less "hi-def" sound.

Aside from that, consider your pot values (and measure your pots since their actual value can vary from what they say they are by 10-20% - a 500k pot is typically 450k-550k, but can be anywhere between 400k and 600k). I like to choose pots that give me as much brightness as I could want (and even a little more), since I can always cut that black with the tone control, but if the brightness isn't there to begin with then you can't add it in.

Finally, the cap for your treble cut (and bass cut, if you go that route) can really effect the feel of those controls, so spend some time experimenting there.

Thank you @SixStringSlinger for the detailed answer... now i'm intrigued... I like the Idea of a Bass & Treble Bleed..
So this sounds great..

Let me check...

1 Humbucker in Bridge Position
3-Way Switch: Parallel - Series - Coil Split
1 Volume
1 Tone (Treble)
1 Tone Reverend Bass Mod

Does this wiring make sense?

 

[jvin248]

.

I have a Junior Tele, an Esquire H, a single bridge humbucker Telecaster. It's awesome.

Humbucker with four wires so you have control of both bobbins. Then wire it to a four way switch, available for $12ish with shopping, so you have neckside/parallel/bridge side/humbucker. I also lowered the pickup and raised the screw poles keeping them level to each other for mid scoop.

I fake a Tele/Strat neck pickup, Strat #2 quack, Country Twang, and hot LP humbucker tones. It's a 16kohm humbucker.

I do endorse the Armstrong Blender too as I have that on my Strats.

.

 

[Ebidis]

As others have said, wired for split/series/parallel will give you some nice options. I would also suggest wiring the tone knob "50s style". You would be surprised how much tonal variation you can get from just the interaction of the volume and tone knobs with that configuration.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Thank you for the Link,... I will consider this... Didn't know this existed... but not sure if in my case a simple switch would work?




Thank you @SixStringSlinger for the detailed answer... now i'm intrigued... I like the Idea of a Bass & Treble Bleed..
So this sounds great..

Let me check...

1 Humbucker in Bridge Position
3-Way Switch: Parallel - Series - Coil Split
1 Volume
1 Tone (Treble)
1 Tone Reverend Bass Mod

Does this wiring make sense?

LOL... just about to post the same thing: Series, Parallel, Vol, Treble cut, Bass Cut. Done. That will get you every sound possible out of that HB.

 

[DarkWizard1]

@NoTeleBob @Ebidis @jvin248 Thanks Okay that sound actually great...
@Ebidis A 50sstyle wiring tone knob? gotta go and check that out

Anyone knows if the wiring diagram looks like it would be working?
I have absolutely no understanding of electronics... and i am just combining existing diagrams here, which i found on the web i have a 0,0012uF cap at home... will this be good? or would i need a different one?

 

[DarkWizard1]

--- double post ---

 

[moosie]

Hi, first, you mention treble and bass BLEEDs, but it's actually T and B CUTs. There is no such thing as a bass bleed, and a treble bleed is a small cap or filter network applied across in and out on the VOLUME pot. The treble bleed counteracts the natural tendency of treble loss when rolling back volume in any passive circuit (one without a battery, that is). The cap between vol in and out allows the highest highs to pass directly to the jack, untouched by the vol pot.

Anyway, back to your question. Yeah, you've redrawn my diagram, and added a bass cut. However, every bass cut I've seen, including Leo's own at G&L, is applied to the raw signal, before the vol pot. I'm not sure how much difference it makes offhand, so experiment if you like, but if you just want it to work, then move it.

Here's a portion of another of my diagrams. Not sure I've ever posted this anywhere. Phostenix has a great little video tutorial on how to modify a TBX pot (easy) to make it into a treble cut one way, and bass cut the other, and no-load at the center detent. I use this in one of my builds. Very handy.

The blue wire comes from the switch, and contains the signal. The 'top' lugs (as drawn) are the treble cut, and the bottom lugs are the bass cut.






But if you just want them separate, in case you wanted to apply both at once...
Ignore the pickup notations. This is part of a more complex Strat wiring, and would just be confusing to this discussion. The lugs on the far left are the vol pot.

Note a 1meg C (reverse) pot is called for. That's what Leo specified. With that, the bass cut will be smooth as you roll the pot. With a regular log pot, the cut will come on very quickly, eliminating a lot of the useful sweep of the pot. That said, I'm sure plenty of people do it because that's what they have on hand.

 

[DarkWizard1]

Hi, first, you mention treble and bass BLEEDs, but it's actually T and B CUTs. There is no such thing as a bass bleed, and a treble bleed is a small cap or filter network applied across in and out on the VOLUME pot. The treble bleed counteracts the natural tendency of treble loss when rolling back volume in any passive circuit (one without a battery, that is). The cap between vol in and out allows the highest highs to pass directly to the jack, untouched by the vol pot.

Anyway, back to your question. Yeah, you've redrawn my diagram, and added a bass cut. However, every bass cut I've seen, including Leo's own at G&L, is applied to the raw signal, before the vol pot. I'm not sure how much difference it makes offhand, so experiment if you like, but if you just want it to work, then move it.

Here's a portion of another of my diagrams. Not sure I've ever posted this anywhere. Phostenix has a great little video tutorial on how to modify a TBX pot (easy) to make it into a treble cut one way, and bass cut the other, and no-load at the center detent. I use this in one of my builds. Very handy.

The blue wire comes from the switch, and contains the signal. The 'top' lugs (as drawn) are the treble cut, and the bottom lugs are the bass cut.
View attachment 897950

<<<Yt vid>>>


But if you just want them separate, in case you wanted to apply both at once...
Ignore the pickup notations. This is part of a more complex Strat wiring, and would just be confusing to this discussion. The lugs on the far left are the vol pot.

Note a 1meg C (reverse) pot is called for. That's what Leo specified. With that, the bass cut will be smooth as you roll the pot. With a regular log pot, the cut will come on very quickly, eliminating a lot of the useful sweep of the pot. That said, I'm sure plenty of people do it because that's what they have on hand.
View attachment 897952

Wow thanks soooo much for that... Still trying to figure out all of this haha

I will try to redraw my plan tomorrow.

 

[joe_cpwe]

As a primarily bridge humbucker user forever, I get the most tonal variation by having a treble bleed on the volume pot. Rolling the volume down to even 8 actually brightens the sound up, which for a humbucker is nice.
If I were setting up a single humbucker guitar I'd go with one knob and treble bleed. Coin toss as to whether a mini toggle or push/pull for coil split or parallel.
Dont overthink ot too much.

 

[NoTeleBob]

@NoTeleBob @Ebidis @jvin248 Thanks Okay that sound actually great...
@Ebidis A 50sstyle wiring tone knob? gotta go and check that out

Anyone knows if the wiring diagram looks like it would be working?
I have absolutely no understanding of electronics... and i am just combining existing diagrams here, which i found on the web i have a 0,0012uF cap at home... will this be good? or would i need a different one?

.0012 is a fairly large amount of bass cut. See how you like the operation.

This is sort of like a treble control cap... a .022 will get anyone all the treble cut they need. A .047 will change the curve of the cut and might be more usable. So a .0012 will get you max cut. You might find that a .002 or a .005 or .0068 is a better fit for the contour you want for the control operation. Don't go above .010 - at that level, there's no perceptible cut. FYI - capacitors ADD when you put them in parallel, so with a couple values/combination, you can test a few different values.

 

[NoTeleBob]

[snip]However, every bass cut I've seen, including Leo's own at G&L, is applied to the raw signal, before the vol pot. I'm not sure how much difference it makes offhand, so experiment if you like, but if you just want it to work, then move it.

A guy out at mylespaul did a dissertation on the position of the bass cut. It apparently does have a major effect on the operation of the other controls vis-a-vis the output frequency curve - so position before the volume pot, if possible, is definitely best. I'll see if I can find the thread with the curves and details in it.

 

[moosie]

As a primarily bridge humbucker user forever, I get the most tonal variation by having a treble bleed on the volume pot. Rolling the volume down to even 8 actually brightens the sound up, which for a humbucker is nice.
If I were setting up a single humbucker guitar I'd go with one knob and treble bleed. Coin toss as to whether a mini toggle or push/pull for coil split or parallel.
Dont overthink ot too much.

Care to share your treble bleed "recipe"? Values? I know what I (usually) like for single coils, but I don't typically do humbuckers in Fender guitars.

 

[moosie]

A guy out at mylespaul did a dissertation on the position of the bass cut. It apparently does have a major effect on the operation of the other controls vis-a-vis the output frequency curve - so position before the volume pot, if possible, is definitely best. I'll see if I can find the thread with the curves and details in it.

Yes, please. I'd love to read that.