Hello and I need advice Nailbomb wiring

[Joe Cherry]

Hey all! I'm the new guy (fng) 'round here and firstly want to thank you for the endless hours I've spent reading countless threads - you've all helped me settle on the IT/IT/Nailbomb HSS set for my Am. Std. Strat.

I have a question I hope you can help me with...

I'm taking my guitar into the shop today (yeah, I know... sorry, I was the kid in high school who took home ec. with the ladies instead of shop class with the dudes!) and I'm curious as to which wiring options would suit me best. I playing mostly rock with a tinge of jazz (lead and rhythm... I'm the only melodic instrument in my band), but got the Nailbomb as I love to get heavy (not really metal, but I do like to chug along on occasion). What I really don't like is "twang" so I'm thinking coil splitting might not be the best option. But I'm wondering if any of you have experience with the differences between coil splitting and series/parallel wiring for a Nailbomb and whether I have additional choices I'm not aware of.

Thanks ahead of time!

Joe

[Jonny]

I'll just say what I generally think about coil splitting.

I like it.

More to get a little warmth and smoothness rather than twang. I coil split for my MM neck and my C-Warpig even the Cold Sweat neck I had, and it's been pretty good for all the cleans.

But at the end of the day, it wouldn't hurt to have a coil split. It's not exactly swapping a humbucker for a single coil but at least it's available. Never know when it'll sound best for what you do, if you get what I mean.

To conclude, you're at no loss with it.

I don't have a clue about the series/parallel thing, lol

[pagan7]

Personally I don't much like coil splitting - to me a single coil of a humbucker is always going to sound thin in comparison to a true single coil pup, mainly due to the different constructions. On  a humbucker the magnet sits below the coil windings whereas on a single coil the pole pieces are the magnets and the coil windings go around them.
I much prefer the series/parallel option. Parallel gives you a mellower version of the full power you get when in series and I think it works really well with a pair of single coils - more "twangy" sounding. Think of it in terms of torch batteries - connect both positives of a pair of 1.5 volt batteries to a terminal and the negative ends to another terminal and measure the voltage and you will have 1.5 volts - that's parallel wiring. Connect the positive of one battery to the negative of the other - the output will now be 3 volts - that's series wiring
You won't double the power of a humbucker by switching to series mode but you'll certainly unleash it's full on grunt  8)

[pagan7]

I'd also add that a Nailbomb switched to series, is great for some types of jazz - especially with the tone control rolled back a little for those warm mids.

[pagan7]

Oops  that last post should have read  - switched to parallel  :P

[CaptainDesslock]

(yeah, I know... sorry, I was the kid in high school who took home ec. with the ladies instead of shop class with the dudes!)

I just find this humorous because at my high school it was a requirement to take home ec  :D

[Joe Cherry]

Thanks for the replies guys! I wound up going with a coil-split push/pull with an additional toggle switch added for neck/'bucker and all three pickup configuration. I was vacationing overseas for the last two weeks and finally had the opportunity to air my guitar out at rehearsal last night and...

oh my lord!!! What a difference! The ITs in the neck are warm yet punchy, and as I'm not going for a SRV sound, I was a little worried the singles would be "too much Texas"... not at all! I get a beautiful warm and rich fat tone and when I toggle on to add the Nailbomb, it's absolute heaven (makes it a bit bluesier with more balls). And the Nailbomb is nothing short of amazing. I get all the smoothness of a good humbucker, yet beefy and punchy with amazing clarity. Plus I love the heat coming from this thing... I get all the controllable feedback I desire in addition to pinch harmonics galore. I can see it being too much of a pickup for some tastes, but it's exactly what I was looking for (and as I stated before, I'm no metalhead). Also, the coil-split sounds fantastic! Doesn't twang as much as I feared and actually allows for interesting, useable tones when added to the neck and neck+middle.

Now I'm just playing with my string and pickup heights a bit to find that sweet spot. Not to sound like an ad rep for BKP, but these pickups are as fantastic as everyone says and should be considered with the greats of pickup makers. I'll be patting myself on my back for awhile regarding this purchase!