Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: rockguitarstar on September 27, 2006, 07:52:47 AM
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Hey,
if I only have a 500k volume pot, do i want the 2 conductor wire or the 4 conductor wire?
sorry for the noob question, Im a little technical iliterate when it comes to pickups.
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you can get either, the 2 conductor will wire in as a humbucker and that's that. the four conductor can be wired exactly the same, with the extra wires taped together out of the way, but means that if you wish to add a coil tap or series/parallel switching at a later date, the option is there.
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I don't know much about coil splitting. I know the basics of it but not how it's all achieved. I am close to ordering some BKP for my SG and am deciding on a 2 or 4 wire Warpig for the bridge, and the neck pup is still up in the air; MQ, MM, or RY. I don't know if i should split both or one? and what type of toggle to use as shown below. Any help would be appreciated.
1)Mini Switch-Double Pole ON/ON
Two position double pole (DPDT) ON/ON Mini Switch-Black. Use for coil splitting, series/parallel, reverse phase and other custom functions.
2)Mini Switch-Double Pole ON/ON/ON
Three position double pole (DP3T) ON/ON/ON Mini Switch-Black. Use as a 3-Way pickup selector or for other custom functions.
3)Mini Switch-Double Pole ON/OFF/ON
Three position double pole (DP3T) ON/OFF/ON Mini Switch-Black. Use for coil splitting, series/parallel, reverse phase and other custom functions.
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if of interest (for wiring/space sakes) two conductor is shielded braid whereas four conductor is earth wired (so 4 conductor is actually slimmer cable).
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Rockguitarstar, I agree with Blue, go for 4-conductor cable and keep your options open for the future. There's no benefit from 2-conductor cable unless you have a vintage guitar and want to keep it period-correct.
Broken cord, again I'd suggest getting both pickups with 4-conductor wiring. The most versatile switching option would be to get two 3-way on/on/on mini-switches, which would let you have series/split/parallel wiring for each pickup. However, you'd have to drill 2 holes in the guitar ( :( ) and there's really not a huge difference in sound between split and parallel - most people prefer one or the other. I like parallel, because it sounds better (to my ears) than a split HB, plus it's hum-cancelling because you're still using both coils of the pickup.
Personally, I'd go for 2-way on/on DPDT switches rather than the 3-way ones. You can get them as mini-switches or attached to push-pull pots (which would save drilling holes in your SG!! :D ). You could use a single DPDT switch to split both pickups at the same time, but if you wanted series/parallel switching you'd need a separate switch for each pickup.
Sorry, I'm going on too long. The possibilities are endless. If you can, I'd recommend experimenting to see which wiring options you actually like and find useful - a Strat is perfect, if you have one, because you can get a cheap scratchplate and fill it full of holes without doing any permanent damage.
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Thanks Philly Q, well noted. I do have a couple of strats but neither has a humbucker, they're both SSS. I can do the push pull on the SG though. One of the Strats has Fraylins (Shh, Shh, I know) with a push pull on it, I may do one of the Strats with some BK's when I'm done with th SG.
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thanks guys, that was really helpful. My neck pickup is a sustainiac pickup so there isnt too much good to come by adding a an option to mix a single coil with that. If I had a traditional single coil or humbucker in the bridge I would consider some advanced options such as the push and pull switches.