Interesting wiring configurations

mynameistrouble

I’m about to receive two push-pull pots and I want to rewire my Kelly. After playing for over 20 years and never once using the tone control, it’s time to admit that it’s a pointless feature for me.

So what interesting configurations can I do with two humbuckers with 4 conductor wiring, two push pulls and a standard three-way toggle? 

ICBM

Coil splits for both pickups, separately or both on one switch. Inner/outer coil selection on the second switch if you have both splits on the first one.

Series/parallel switch for each pickup separately.

Phase switch. (Can be combined with dual coil splits, or series/parallel for one pickup.)

mynameistrouble

ICBM said:

Coil splits for both pickups, separately or both on one switch. Inner/outer coil selection on the second switch if you have both splits on the first one.

Series/parallel switch for each pickup separately.

Phase switch. (Can be combined with dual coil splits, or series/parallel for one pickup.)

Okay this is a good start - but I should have said I’m going for a master volume, is there any way to bring that second pot into the mix which isn’t a master tone?

rpr

What about a variable coil tap?

mynameistrouble

rpr said:

What about a variable coil tap?

Like a spin-a-split? That’s what my ‘tone’ pot currently does for the bridge pickup so I’m open to that - what can it combine with in terms of switches?

Funkfingers

mynameistrouble said:

never once using the tone control, it’s time to admit that it’s a pointless feature for me.

Even unused, the tone pot is having a loading effect on your pickups. 

Temporarily taking the pot out of circuit will illustrate what is happening. Without the loading, your pickups will sound more trebly, possibly brittle.

Meanwhile, another option for the second pot is Blend, like the first Fender two pickup guitar circuit. 

It might be worthwhile "borrowing" the Seymour Duncan circuit for two P-Rails pickups, 2 push-pull pots. This enables you to switch between four modes, depending on the permutation of push-pull switches. The modes are series HB, parallel HB, inside coils, outside coils. 

ICBM

mynameistrouble said:

Okay this is a good start - but I should have said I’m going for a master volume, is there any way to bring that second pot into the mix which isn’t a master tone?

Yes - either a master volume and one for the other pickup to allow blending; or a bass-cut control - no idea if that would be more useful than a normal tone, but sounds more like a coil split. A rotary coil split is probably not very useful since you can only use it for one pickup, but if you combine it with the pull-switch to select which coil is split to it can be quite versatile.

mynameistrouble

Okay thank you very much for all the suggestions. I think the p-rails setup sounds interesting and I'll look into how I could incorporate a blend control for the neck pickup.