*warning* if you think think this a coil split setup, it is not. This is an autosplit mod. They're very different. Coil split is where a push pull pot is used to split the humbucker into a single coil (or at least imitate one) and auto split is just where position 4 splits the humbucker and combines the middle pickup. It will sound similar to a strat pos 2 on a five way and not like a SSS strat in pos 5. **You can only achieve true coil split by using a push pull**
Great explanation, Marc! There's too many diagrams that are based on specific wiring colours and switch layouts. I'm mucking around with a bunch of cheap-ish parts that don't comply with any normal wiring conventions and I was finding it all a bit confusing. Your simple explanation was logical and easy to comprehend and gave me a better understanding of guitar wiring.
Thank you. I'm just fascinated by the subject. I build (and play) guitars and pickups; for the most part it's just applied highschool physics, although in the case of pickups and finding out what really happens there you could get drawn into quantum mechanics. Should this happen to you, don't be afraid, just go with the flow of finding out things. Enjoy knowing what is known!
@aaronstonebeat yes it sure does. that is fantastic, i have fried the wires coming from my pickups so i am simply going to rewire it but now i have the info i need! thanks a million!!
Your videos are FANTASTIC! :You have helped me to understand much about guitar electronics, and I thank you for it. I'm trying to use what I've learned to get what I want out of my guitar. I have an Ibanez RG350MDX. It's an H-S-H by design. I completely removed the middle pickup. I just hate them. They get in my way when I'm picking. I replaced both humbuckers with Seymour Duncans, and wired them to the original Ibanez 5 way switch without any coil splitting options. What I really want is to be able to split both humbuckers using only the 5 way switch. Basically, full series neck, split neck, split neck and bridge, split bridge, full series bridge....if that makes sense. I'm not sure if the stock Ibanez 5 way switch can accommodate this.
Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. It all depends on the configuration of the switch (any information on that?) and the number of wires that come from the pickups.
@mariuscruz Yes it is. You need an extra switch to connect the 'central wire' of the humbucker to ground. This could be a simple SPDT or you can use the DPDT that's incorporated in a push/pull pot. You do the same thing that happens in the video when you engage both the bridge and middle pickup: connect that central wire, the connection between the two coils of the humbucker, to ground; but with an extra switch.
@mariuscruz Well, the Seymour Duncan site has most wiring schematics. And a lot can be found if you search the internet for the term 'coil split'. It's really very simple. You take that one wire 'from the middle' of the humbucker and connect it to a switch so that in one position nothing happens and in the other position it connects, to ground, to earth, to 'tierra'.
I'm not really certain about what you mean with your question. All black wires connect to ground, be it directly or via the switch. The grounding symbol has to be drawn somewere and in this case it happens to be close to where the pots are drawn. In real life the grounding ultimately comes from the mantle of your guitar cable, before that from your amplifier and before that from the power outlet in your wall. Even before that it actually comes from the ground, the earth.
Hey Marc, great video! Thanks for taking the time. In a similar mod, how about adding a push/push switch at the Bridge Tone pot, and coil splitting a humbucker at the Bridge position of a Strat? I'd like to keep the #4 position 'quack' tone, as well as the single coil tone in position #5, and have the option of tapping the Bridge Tone knob and hearing the humbucker...do you have a diagram for this mod, or can you create one for a dummy like me? Great videos!
That sure is possible. Send me an email to marc@aaronstonebeat.nl, include a diagram of the switch you're intending to use if possible and I'll send you a schematic.
@jonhchristmas1 Give me a few days. I've got the necessary information already and it's a nice case to illustrate the problems that arise from various different switch designs and colour codes in pickups.
I could if I had the time at the moment. Just watch and listen from 0:18 to 1:55. You need humbuckers with 4 or 5 wire connections. Find the two that are wired together in each pickup. If you use a switch to make and break a ground connection to these points you have what you want. You could use a switch per humbucker to operate them seperately or you could control both together by using just one switch.
What if I want to split using the left side of the humbucker, not the right? i know i could just put the humbucker upside down, ha ha,,,but is there a diagram for this?
awh cool, i am in ireland and it sucks because where i am is riddled with farmers and nobody knows anything about electronics and its a severe headwreck, i also have dyscalculia so i have problems with maths and general wiring logic so i needed to ask for serious help.do you do this professionally?
In your video number IV (3:10) you show the switch in a strat and there are connections to the tone pots from the "right side" of the switch. But here, the ground is supposed to be there. So how you deal with that? how the connection to the pots works in this case?
Is it still possible to use two tone pots? I suppose they should be placed between selector and pickups thence, however one of the pickups will remain without tone control?
You are correct. A standard strat configuration with respect to tone pots is not possible with the standard type of switch in this setup. Theoretically you could give each pickup its own tone control but where to put that fourth knob in a standard strat body?
@@aaronstonebeat Sure. I can have two pickups under one knob, if the right column of the selector isn't solely dedicated for coil split. Well, TECHNICALLY it would be possible, if we reverse the circuit: hot into knobs, then pickups in paralell and selector on pickup outputs! But I assume that the unused pickups would work like an antenna and everything would be extra noisy.
@aaronstonebeat I read and re-read your text, but dont understand (im a spanish speaker). Do you recomend a diagram or page where I can see a diagram. Thanks
@jtfles I do work on guitars (repairs, adjustments and advice or modifications in the electronics) and I build guitars; I also teach guitar, singing occasionally, bass, music theory and things related like breathing techniques to cope with anxiety when facing a performance. Whatever has to do with music and guitars in a broad sense. I you have a specific problem just send me a private message and I'll see if I can help. The video series is mainly to share and advertise my acquirements.
Nice, but show the whole completed image first, then start with just the pickups and build it up step by step, up to the conclusion, and label the parts on the volume and tone controls. Please put a name on this 5-way switch if it is a double-pole five-position switch or not.
Push/pull pots have a dpdt-switch. Connect the middle wire of each humbucker (the connection between the coils) to the middle contacts of the switch (one in the left row and one in the right row) and connect one of the other contacts in each row to ground (depending on wether you want up or down to be the split position). Volumes are standard like a LP or SG and you can just leave the tone controls out. Can this substitute for a diagram?
*warning* if you think think this a coil split setup, it is not. This is an autosplit mod. They're very different.
Coil split is where a push pull pot is used to split the humbucker into a single coil (or at least imitate one) and auto split is just where position 4 splits the humbucker and combines the middle pickup. It will sound similar to a strat pos 2 on a five way and not like a SSS strat in pos 5. **You can only achieve true coil split by using a push pull**
Thanks for your educational comment.
Great explanation, Marc! There's too many diagrams that are based on specific wiring colours and switch layouts. I'm mucking around with a bunch of cheap-ish parts that don't comply with any normal wiring conventions and I was finding it all a bit confusing. Your simple explanation was logical and easy to comprehend and gave me a better understanding of guitar wiring.
Thank you. I'm just fascinated by the subject. I build (and play) guitars and pickups; for the most part it's just applied highschool physics, although in the case of pickups and finding out what really happens there you could get drawn into quantum mechanics.
Should this happen to you, don't be afraid, just go with the flow of finding out things. Enjoy knowing what is known!
Thanks for sharing this easy to understand explanation
Thanks Marc
You're welcome, Phil; thanks!
@aaronstonebeat
yes it sure does.
that is fantastic, i have fried the wires coming from my pickups so i am simply going to rewire it but now i have the info i need! thanks a million!!
Your videos are FANTASTIC! :You have helped me to understand much about guitar electronics, and I thank you for it. I'm trying to use what I've learned to get what I want out of my guitar. I have an Ibanez RG350MDX. It's an H-S-H by design. I completely removed the middle pickup. I just hate them. They get in my way when I'm picking. I replaced both humbuckers with Seymour Duncans, and wired them to the original Ibanez 5 way switch without any coil splitting options. What I really want is to be able to split both humbuckers using only the 5 way switch. Basically, full series neck, split neck, split neck and bridge, split bridge, full series bridge....if that makes sense. I'm not sure if the stock Ibanez 5 way switch can accommodate this.
Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. It all depends on the configuration of the switch (any information on that?) and the number of wires that come from the pickups.
@mariuscruz
Yes it is. You need an extra switch to connect the 'central wire' of the humbucker to ground. This could be a simple SPDT or you can use the DPDT that's incorporated in a push/pull pot.
You do the same thing that happens in the video when you engage both the bridge and middle pickup: connect that central wire, the connection between the two coils of the humbucker, to ground; but with an extra switch.
@jtfles
Well thank you so much!
I live in The Netherlands, the town of Assen to be specific; it's quite well known for its motor cycle racing.
@mariuscruz
Well, the Seymour Duncan site has most wiring schematics. And a lot can be found if you search the internet for the term 'coil split'.
It's really very simple. You take that one wire 'from the middle' of the humbucker and connect it to a switch so that in one position nothing happens and in the other position it connects, to ground, to earth, to 'tierra'.
I'm not really certain about what you mean with your question. All black wires connect to ground, be it directly or via the switch. The grounding symbol has to be drawn somewere and in this case it happens to be close to where the pots are drawn. In real life the grounding ultimately comes from the mantle of your guitar cable, before that from your amplifier and before that from the power outlet in your wall. Even before that it actually comes from the ground, the earth.
Hey Marc, great video! Thanks for taking the time. In a similar mod, how about adding a push/push switch at the Bridge Tone pot, and coil splitting a humbucker at the Bridge position of a Strat? I'd like to keep the #4 position 'quack' tone, as well as the single coil tone in position #5, and have the option of tapping the Bridge Tone knob and hearing the humbucker...do you have a diagram for this mod, or can you create one for a dummy like me? Great videos!
That sure is possible. Send me an email to marc@aaronstonebeat.nl, include a diagram of the switch you're intending to use if possible and I'll send you a schematic.
@jonhchristmas1
Give me a few days. I've got the necessary information already and it's a nice case to illustrate the problems that arise from various different switch designs and colour codes in pickups.
I could if I had the time at the moment. Just watch and listen from 0:18 to 1:55. You need humbuckers with 4 or 5 wire connections. Find the two that are wired together in each pickup. If you use a switch to make and break a ground connection to these points you have what you want. You could use a switch per humbucker to operate them seperately or you could control both together by using just one switch.
What if I want to split using the left side of the humbucker, not the right? i know i could just put the humbucker upside down, ha ha,,,but is there a diagram for this?
Awesome!!!!!!!
Thank you good video
awh cool, i am in ireland and it sucks because where i am is riddled with farmers and nobody knows anything about electronics and its a severe headwreck, i also have dyscalculia so i have problems with maths and general wiring logic so i needed to ask for serious help.do you do this professionally?
In your video number IV (3:10) you show the switch in a strat and there are connections to the tone pots from the "right side" of the switch. But here, the ground is supposed to be there. So how you deal with that? how the connection to the pots works in this case?
@aaronstonebeat Oh I see thanks man. Really cool videos, keep on sharing. And really, really thank you.
You show grounding where the wires "connections to the pots" are localized. How to deal with that?
Hi dude. I have a question. Is it possible to use that humbucker as a single coil too?? if yes, what will be the wiring configuration? thanks
You sound a little like Sean Connery, cool!
Is it still possible to use two tone pots? I suppose they should be placed between selector and pickups thence, however one of the pickups will remain without tone control?
You are correct. A standard strat configuration with respect to tone pots is not possible with the standard type of switch in this setup.
Theoretically you could give each pickup its own tone control but where to put that fourth knob in a standard strat body?
@@aaronstonebeat Sure. I can have two pickups under one knob, if the right column of the selector isn't solely dedicated for coil split.
Well, TECHNICALLY it would be possible, if we reverse the circuit: hot into knobs, then pickups in paralell and selector on pickup outputs! But I assume that the unused pickups would work like an antenna and everything would be extra noisy.
Oh, nevermind. I just remembered that double potentiometers do exist :D
@@OskarCzechowicz-OmniMusician They do indeed, I hadn't thought about that! I should have ;-)
Oh, I'm sorry, I've just spotted that you have to solder the connections to the pots in the same place where the hot wires are attached.
Hey, Can you post a video on how to coil split a Epiphone SG?
I confused with the 2 single coil pickups and sg has 2 humbuckers.
@aaronstonebeat I read and re-read your text, but dont understand (im a spanish speaker). Do you recomend a diagram or page where I can see a diagram. Thanks
@jtfles
I do work on guitars (repairs, adjustments and advice or modifications in the electronics) and I build guitars; I also teach guitar, singing occasionally, bass, music theory and things related like breathing techniques to cope with anxiety when facing a performance. Whatever has to do with music and guitars in a broad sense.
I you have a specific problem just send me a private message and I'll see if I can help.
The video series is mainly to share and advertise my acquirements.
Nice, but show the whole completed image first, then start with just the pickups and build it up step by step, up to the conclusion, and label the parts on the volume and tone controls. Please put a name on this 5-way switch if it is a double-pole five-position switch or not.
you sound like the mandarin.. (ironman 3) :D
do you have a diagram for two volumes two humbuckers no tone push/pull for one of the volumes as a coil split for both pickups?
Push/pull pots have a dpdt-switch. Connect the middle wire of each humbucker (the connection between the coils) to the middle contacts of the switch (one in the left row and one in the right row) and connect one of the other contacts in each row to ground (depending on wether you want up or down to be the split position).
Volumes are standard like a LP or SG and you can just leave the tone controls out.
Can this substitute for a diagram?
Great info, thank you very much
you are a fucking legend
where are you from?
@jonhchristmas1
It's uploaded: /watch?v=W08wTuX_ny4 (it seems impossible to make a video respons here, just check my page)
Does it solve your problem?