How can I set hsh pickups with a Liberator?
I got a Seymour Duncan Liberator volume, two push/pull pots and a Super 5 way switch. But I have no idea how to combine them. May somebody out there provide me some diagrams to set them in my HSH pick up guitar?
What are the switches on an electric guitar for?
There are a couple answers that are already in-depth enough, so i'll just try to be brief and cover more possible variants;By far the most common things you'll see on an electric guitar will be a toggle between pickups (others expained this in great detail) and several knobs that control the volume and tone (EQ) either for master output or for each pickup individually.But there can be some crazier things, often custom-modded, though not necessarily -like a killswitch, which mutes the signal for as long (or, usually, "as short") as you hold the button down. Other possible options are being able to cut off certain frequencies (again, a tone\EQ thing) or use two pickups in opposite phases (fender mustang).And, well do a whole lot of other little wonky sound-altering tricks that an engineer on the guitar factory (or a brave dude with a drill and a soldering iron) can think of. I've actually seen some people attach effect pedals to guitar bodies to have access to the knobs while they play (namely Zvexx Fuzz Factory comes to mind). Of course, that can also make the guitar look super high-tech with all of the switches, LEDs and knobs - to a less experienced viewer.Of course, you didn't specify when you asked, so you might have not even needed all the details that everyone here had for you, but it doesn't hurt, right? ^^
What is a coil tap in regards to guitar pickups?
Coil Tapping is a procedure to make a Humbucker pickup on your Guitar have single coil capability. This will give your guitar more total sound options. For example, if you have your lead humbucker pickup coil tapped, it would give you the option of using only one of the pickups within the humbucker to get a single coil sound. Usually, a switch is used to engage the coil tap option on coil tapped guitars so you can switch back and forth (toggle) between sounds. Either a Push/Pull Knob can be used or an actual switch can be added to the guitar. More than one pickup can be coil tapped on a guitar too. So if you have two hum bucker pickups on your guitar, you could coil tap both to get only the single coil pickups to engage. Tapping the Bridge and Neck pickup to single coil sound may actually give a Telecaster type sound (Single coil bridge and neck position used together). Also, depending on the switch that is used, you could potentially use different combinations of sounds on the guitar. Try combining coil taped pickups with other pickups if you have a five way or three way switch on your guitar. It can get confusing as to which pickup is actually engaged, but you can tap your guitar pick on the each pickup very lightly and listen to hear which pickup is actually engaged. The Coil Tap is a great option for gigging guitarists. Lets say your playing some Led Zeppelin at a gig and need humbucker sound, but the next song is a Pink Floyd song that calls for more of a single coil pickup sound. Flip the switch to engage the coil tap and you have both of the sounds that you need with one guitar. A Coil Tap is usually for more experienced guitarists who can recognize the need for different pickups sounds. It's an invaluable option for guitarists playing a diverse selection of live music. It's also a great option to allow your humbucker guitar many unique pickup combinations.
As a electric guitarist, how often do you put the pickup selector switch in the middle position?
Quite often.This is because of a quirk of my main guitar. It’s a Mexican-made Fender Telecaster, and only has two pickups: neck and bridge.The stock pickups on a Telecaster vary widely in output, or at least they have done historically. The bridge pickup is higher-output than the neck pickup, and the middle setting on a Telecaster usually gives you that scooped-out countryish twang which makes the guitar a favourite for country players.However, I didn’t like that tone much, and I didn’t like the neck pickup by itself. It seemed indistinct and lacking punch.So I had my local guitar shop, now defunct, swap out the neck pickup for the highest output single-coil Tele neck pickup I could find: a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound.The result was quite startling. It no longer sounds like an ordinary Tele. The bridge pickup has remained the same, and still has that distinctive Tele bite. But the middle setting now sounds like a bridge pickup with a lot more mid-range and bottom end, while the neck pickup sounds big and fat and tight: you can hear exactly what it sounds like (played through a Marshall Valvestate amp) on Alex Johnston's answer to Why have some people called the introduction to "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix pure genius?I was so unprepared for this that I stopped playing it in public for a few months, while I got used to it.So, I quite often use it in the middle, because in that position it has a bark and snap that a regular Tele just doesn’t have.
Can I put Dimarzio D-Activator X and X2N pickups in a guitar with a 3 way selector?
Hello there, No problem. With a 3 way switch, you will not be able to coil tap (unless you put in a push/pull pot). You will have the neck pickup in position 1. Both in position 2. The bridge pickup in position 3. With a 5 way switch, you can coil tap to get a single coil in some of the positions (usually 2 and 4). With the 3 way you will get a pickup configuration like a Les Paul (no split coils). Later,
Is there a way to optimise a coil split humbucker’s tone circuit for both single and dual coil modes?
What are you optimizing for tonally speaking? I assume you are talking in the sense of high impedance pickups with classic tone controls? If so, Seymour Duncan has probably the best collection of wiring information in a single spot.Wiring DiagramsYou can also look at the way split coil instruments are wired for commercial sale, those tend to be middle of the road.You really only have a few variable in a standard circuit, the impedance of the pots and the capacitor value. Pots are either 250k or 500k. You could try 1 Meg, it is a trade off between pickup loading (lower value loads more) and noise (higher impedance is noisier depending on where you are setting the controls. The capacitor will gently roll of the high end, the bigger the cap value, the more will be rolled off depending on the tone control setting.The guitar you play, your tuning, your amp, your playing style, will all impact what is “best” for you. You have to pick a place, start experimenting, and see what you like for the tone you are going for. Over time, you will start to get a feel for the tonal impact of making changes.Ultamitley splitting the coils of a humbucker changes it’s impedance, so you are going to have to find a compromise between the two, or incorporate changing the capacitor value into selecting the pickup, if that seems to be a big factor, but in general, you can just turn the tone knob to taste when you split the coils or go back to humbuckers.
Could I attach a temporary single coil pickup to my Les Paul instead of wiring it permanently?
If you have the tech skills, I’m sure you can, but why would you want to?A pickup needs to be pretty firmly affixed to the guitar, as well as wired into the circuitry (if you want the output to go through the same output jack), so it’s not clear to me how much cosmetic surgery you might need to perform on the guitar to even have a usable result.Another option would be to put in humbuckers with a coil tap and switches so that you don’t have to hack up the guitar. Gibson makes one like this, DIP, Split and Tap? 2017 Gibson Les Paul Pickups Explained, but the parts are available for a DIY project. Have a look at #13 on this page: 25 essential Gibson Les Paul mods and upgrades.
Guitar pickup install help?
If its weaker, you can either have a cold solder joint (it looks hazy instead of shiny) or you may not have wired it correctly. If I remember correctly, the Scorcher is a 4 wire pickup. I can't remember the color code for Duncan, but its likely that you have to twist 2 wires together and then put it in the pickup selector for a Strat. Also, its recommended to use 500k tone pots with stacked humbuckers, but not essential. That wouldn't have to do with your wiring. If volume is the issue, its probably the wiring. It sounds like you wired it in like a single coil. Scorchers are 2 single coils on top of each other, but each one is weaker than a traditional pickup, but when combined are much stronger. Try attaching another one of those wires. I would like to thank Saul for repeating what I said.
Can i replace a p90 with a single coil?
Of course its possible.... the wiring is relatively straightforward, as wiring goes. Remember, Ibanez wiring is HSH, so its not like this is by any means an unusual request. "Fat Strats" have HSS pup placement, too, so there's plenty of precedent for mixing single-coils and humbuckers. Me, I just hate the hum.... I suppose I could try some noiseless single-coils, ie Seymour Duncan Hot Rails or Fender Lace Sensors or an active single-coil.... If you've used the single-coil/humbucker mix before, you'll know that its very easy to have an imbalance volume-wise between single-coils and humbuckers... of course, that's what volume knobs are for, if you have a separate one for your bridge, that is. If you are concerned about your tech not being familiar with the wiring (which I would find highly unlikely), you might try bringing them the following link - I think its what you're looking for? If not, all I did was google "jag stang wiring diagram".... it looks like a number of images popped up too, one of those might help as well. Good luck! Saul
Looking for a guitar with lots of switches?
So a couple years ago I walked into a used guitar shop and saw an instrument that really caught my eye. It was a guitar from a brand I didn't recognize (or else I would've remembered it), and I seem to remember that it had a telecaster-like body and a natural wood finish. The most prominent feature was that the guitar had a lot of knobs and switches on it. They were mostly fat, black plastic switches. Besides pickup selectors, volume, and tone knobs, I know that some of the switches were coil taps (or coil splitters, I'm not too keen on the difference) because the clerk told me so. I don't remember it being particularly expensive either. If this rings a bell to anyone or if anybody has any information on this guitar, please help!