HSS Wiring Preferences

BillDL

I wasn't sure whether to post this here in Making & Modding or in the Guitars topic area, but seeing as this covers playing and modding preferences, and that most luthiers and repair technicians also play guitar, I've decided to post it here.  I'm just picking peoples' brains here before I rewire an HSS guitar.

I'm not really wanting to get into using a "superswitch" or push-pull coil split pot switching.  I will just be using a good quality 5-position wafer switch and the guitar will have unswitched master volume and tone pots.  Assume Position 1 on the blade switch to be the humbucker in the bridge only, and Position 2 to be Bridge and Middle single coil.  The guitar had a switched coil split on the tone pot, but I felt it just gave a nasally sound on its own and I never used it other than when flipping to position 2 where I wanted just two single coil pickups working in combination, but that's a nuisance having to remember to pull the tone pot as well as flip the pickup switch.

I can wire the guitar so that when I switch to position 2 it automatically splits the humbucker to one coil without the need for a separate coil split switch.  I have always felt that when a humbucker and single coil are working together, the humbucker drowns out the single coil, so this will probably be what I do, but I'm curious about how others use a HSS guitar or like to wire them.  Do you like the sound of a bridge humbucker with both coils and a single coil middle pickup, or do you prefer splitting the humbucker down to one coil in that position.

There is the issue of what pot values to use in an HSS guitar.  I believe I can use a 500k pot and solder a resistor at the switch to reduce it to 250K when single coils are selected and bypass the resistor to work as a 500K pot when only the humbucker is selected in position 1.

How does everybody else wire an HSS guitar?

normula1

I do use a superswitch, but that's really to have a dedicated tone for bridge only. In terms of coil splitting, I tend to favour a partial split using a multi-turn preset to tune the split by ear. My main HSS (full size HB) has a push pull to split the bridge by itself and auto split by on position 2. My other (Duncan Red Devil SC sized) again splits on a push pull, but stays full HB on position 2 as it sounded better.

guitarfishbay

It depends on the pickups in question

I don’t like to split low output humbuckers in pos 2, but do like to split high output pickups in pos 2

I would choose whether or not to use a superswitch depending on your preferred settings

For low output humbuckers a partial split via resistor can sound better in the bridge position, but I still find I prefer the full humbucker in position 2.

For a stratty setup I wire pos 1-5 like a strat

Otherwise I prefer to not use middle only and wire pos 3 as bridge screw coil and neck pickup, like on Charvel DK24s

Funkfingers

BillDL said:

How does everybody else wire an HSS guitar?

I have more than one guitar in this format, wired more than one way.

Automated coil split via the second pole of the selector switch is simple enough to do but does not suit every pickup combination. Some bridge and middle pairings genuinely work better with no split.

My Cort G200 guitar is HSS by dint of having a "rails" type bridge position pickup. As mentioned in another thread on this general topic, my Cort is wired via a Schaller Megaswitch E, diagram HSS4.

1) Bridge rails, full output
2) Bridge neck side coil + middle
3) Bridge bridge side coil + neck in parallel (faux Telecaster middle sound)
4) Middle + neck
5) Neck

The Schaller switch is as easy to wire up as a CRL five-way. It is possible to configure the controls to have individual tone controls for the neck and bridge pickups but I wouldn't bother. 

BillDL

All good pointers.  Thanks.  I suppose it does depend very much on the pickups being used.  The guitar has all ceramic pickups.  The humbucker DC Resistance was around 10.5K and the single coils were about 6.5K.  The humbucker I will be using is a lower output Alnico 2 with 8.6K resistance and Alnico 5 single coils rated about the same as the stock ceramic ones.  It's possible that the lower output humbucker might well sound better along with the middle pickup than the stock pickups did and I won't need to worry about coil splitting.

BillDL

That's been two mentions of the split-coil bridge and neck pickups together on position 3.  I don't think I've ever played a guitar with that configuration (maybe I have, I'm getting older and memory is hazy), but my interest has been piqued sufficiently to seek out some demos of this sound.

[EDIT] I've played a few PRS guitars owned by other people, so maybe I have been playing with neck and bridge but hadn't realised this at the time.

normula1

I don't particularly like the middle position on my its own my so my secondary HSS is wired as per @Funkfingers albeit with the ability to do full HB as well as split. I much prefer the full HB here. I've another SSS which also can do bridge and neck and I'm not convinced about that either

Funkfingers

I find bridge + neck (in parallel, in phase) on a vibrato-equipped SSS Stratocaster kinda generic and unexciting. IMO, this makes it ideal for backing rhythm guitar parts that will sit in a mix without drawing too much attention to themselves. Like the seemingly useless settings on a Gibson Vari-Tone.

ICBM

BillDL said:

I can wire the guitar so that when I switch to position 2 it automatically splits the humbucker to one coil without the need for a separate coil split switch. I have always felt that when a humbucker and single coil are working together, the humbucker drowns out the single coil

You might be surprised how little difference it makes - the lower-impedance pickup dominates (not the louder one, counterintuitively) so what you're really hearing is the middle pickup plus some harmonic cancellation from the bridge, not the other way round.

I have separate switching for the coil split on my PRS - admittedly with a very odd, unusually low-impedance middle pickup - and the *full* humbucker actually sounds more 'Stratty' in the bridge/middle position than the split does, although there's not a lot in it.

BillDL said:

The humbucker DC Resistance was around 10.5K and the single coils were about 6.5K.  The humbucker I will be using is a lower output Alnico 2 with 8.6K resistance and Alnico 5 single coils rated about the same as the stock ceramic ones.  It's possible that the lower output humbucker might well sound better along with the middle pickup than the stock pickups did and I won't need to worry about coil splitting.

If so I would definitely try it without splitting - unless hum cancellation in that position is important.

matt_sefton

I’m using James’s Home of Tone HSS wiring harness - this one:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1117/5838/files/SSH_Strat.pdf?v=1590594837

Keefy

I’ve been following this thread as I currently have a project on the go to spritz up a Steinberger Spirit with HSS pickup layout. I’ve ordered a set of gold Lace Sensors, and judging from the quoted resistances the ‘Dually’ humbucker is 2 of the single coils wired in series. Consequently my chosen wiring scheme has the bridge pickup in single coil mode when combined with either of the other pickups, with the option of SC or HB when selected on its own. To some extent this replicates the operation of a Yamaha Pacifica 604 that I used to own - again, the humbucker was pretty much like two of the single coils in series. It worked well for the Yamaha so I’m hoping it will do likewise for the Steinberger.

BillDL

ICBM said:

BillDL said:

I can wire the guitar so that when I switch to position 2 it automatically splits the humbucker to one coil without the need for a separate coil split switch. I have always felt that when a humbucker and single coil are working together, the humbucker drowns out the single coil

You might be surprised how little difference it makes - the lower-impedance pickup dominates (not the louder one, counterintuitively) so what you're really hearing is the middle pickup plus some harmonic cancellation from the bridge, not the other way round.

That is interesting, and it certainly is counterintuitive, but when I think about it I realise that I have based my understanding of how one seems to overpower the other solely on screwdriver test tapping and usually before stringing. When you tap the single coil while in position 2 you hear a small thunk, then you switch to the humbucker and the much louder thump, so I've always just assumed that the humbucker is overpowering the single coil.  I would guess from what you have said that the phase cancellation is dropping some of the highs and leaves it sounding more like the beefier humbucker has taken precedence.  Interesting.

BillDL

matt_sefton said:

I’m using James’s Home of Tone HSS wiring harness - this one:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1117/5838/files/SSH_Strat.pdf?v=1590594837

Thanks Matt.  I'll have a look at that diagram and try to figure out how it would work on a master tone.  I can solder things well enough, but I still have to "draw" it out in my mind and write my own instructional notes with wiring colour codes or I waste a lot of time de-soldering.

BillDL

@Keefy Good luck with your project Graeme.

This IS actually a Yamaha Pacifica I have. It really is a beautiful guitar to play with its satin neck and good dark dense rosewood fretboard, and is solidly built, but for all I tried every trick in the book I couldn't get the trem stable and constant retuning was a pain in the arse.  It sounded just like any other Pacifica, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but after I decided to hard-tail it I want it to sound a bit more mellow, hence the pickup swap.  A lot of people scoff and look down their noses at the Pacificas, but I've had a few and they have all been very nice guitars.

Keefy

BillDL said:

@Keefy Good luck with your project Graeme.

Thanks @BillDL much appreciated!

Kebabkid

I, too, am following this thread and some useful suggestions - thank you.

I need my Rob Williams HSS to play to its respective pickup strengths and I'm looking at a 500K value for the pots as that's what's worked on my previous guitar, a HSS Tyler and I now have Tyler single coils coming in to match my Trembucker (very similar to the Tyler Secret Humbucker). Funnily enough, all are Alnico 5s and I've found that Alnico 2s just don't work for me and sound middly or brittle.

As my mate has my old Tyler, we'll take a look at how that's wired up to gauge where I go with it

The guitar also has a switch on it which I 'think' gives me the Gilmour switching (neck and bridge on and very similar to a Telecaster’s middle position and/or all three pickups on in parallel) but not sure. I'm toying what to do with that and whether to making it a coil-tap for the bridge humbucker or have it work as a Blower switch but in the past, I haven't minded Position 2 or 4 (middle pickup and humbucker) being an automatically tapped position without the need for a switch and it worked well.

In addition, the guitar goes from nothing to full on the volume knob with no graduation or clean up and so that needs addressing, too. Capicitor? Treble Bleed?

Keefy

BillDL said:

@Keefy Good luck with your project Graeme.

This IS actually a Yamaha Pacifica I have. It really is a beautiful guitar to play with its satin neck and good dark dense rosewood fretboard, and is solidly built, but for all I tried every trick in the book I couldn't get the trem stable and constant retuning was a pain in the arse.  It sounded just like any other Pacifica, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but after I decided to hard-tail it I want it to sound a bit more mellow, hence the pickup swap.  A lot of people scoff and look down their noses at the Pacificas, but I've had a few and they have all been very nice guitars.

My Pacifica’s trem was fine, usual solid Yamaha build quality. The guitar sounded really sweet too. Sold it when I got my first real Strat (an AVRI).

Dave_Mc

Kebabkid said:

In addition, the guitar goes from nothing to full on the volume knob with no graduation or clean up and so that needs addressing, too. Capicitor? Treble Bleed?

Sounds like the pot is jiggered or maybe it has a taper you don't like? Though I guess a lack of treble bleed can kind of give the impression that clean-up isn't great (but it still shouldn't really be like an on-off switch).

Regarding the original question about favourite HSS wiring... I usually wire in the coil split on a push-push these days as that gives access to a few more tones. It also means you don't need a superswitch to do the resistor trick to make the singles "see" 250k pots (with a single resistor for the two pickups, I mean)- I actually use ICBM's suggested circuit of another 470k resistor and 47nF cap in series to ground as well to sort of simulate the different tone pot resistance as well- I hope I've got that right! The resistor by itself does get you most of the way there, though- it's hard to be sure but I think the extra resistor and cap gets you slightly closer, but it's very subtle and hard to be sure when you're not directly A-Bing it. I usually use a 33nF tone cap, too. Oh and I use a resistor for a partial split on the humbucker (or even better, a trimpot if the guitar is rear-routed so it can be adjusted while playing). Finally, when I can be bothered (and assuming a standard volume and tone knob setup) I use the other pot as a push-push to add in the bridge pickup so I can get bridge and neck together, and all three pickups together.

Needless to say 99.999% of the time I'm just using the standard 5-way switching and never go near the push-push pots.  I could almost certainly get by with a regular 5 way switch and the resistors/cap to make the singles "see" 250k pots. But I guess they're there if I decide I need them...

Funkfingers

Dave_Mc said:

Kebabkid said:

the guitar goes from nothing to full on the volume knob with no graduation or clean up 

Sounds like the pot is jiggered or maybe it has a taper you don't like.

Could be a 1Meg pot à la Jazzmaster and Jaguar. Could be a regular audio taper pot in a left-handed guitar. 

Dave_Mc

Funkfingers said:

Could be a 1Meg pot à la Jazzmaster and Jaguar. Could be a regular audio taper pot in a left-handed guitar. 

Or that weird taper (reverse log I think) that I managed to buy by accident once!

prowla

I have a Freeway switch on a HSS Strat; it’s got one axis of 5 positions like a normal Strat and a second one with a further 5, including bridge humbucker, neck + bridge single, all three single and a couple of other options.