Parallel vs Coil Split for Les Paul

[asdaven]

Have a Les Paul Style guitar with two humbuckers with two push pull pots. First off, im debating between parallel wiring and coil splits. The guitar came with coil splits but I recently changed from coil splits to series/parallel and im undecided. I also added a hotter bridge pickup (12K, original pickups were 7.5-8.5K). The Neck is still the original. The Parallel option sounds better to my ears than the coil splits did...although never heard the new Bridge split.

So I wasnt able to A/B both since its the same guitar. I think Parallel sounds better to my ears than split. So technically on paper, what has more output parallel or coil split? Parallel sounded thicker but still has a volume loss. Dont know which has a bigger volume loss. And im only reading 1.9K on parallel. I didint take a resistance reading when it was set up to split.

So my second question, I see people do a partial split with a resistor to keep some strength to the signal. I think I want to do something along those lines. Can you use a resistor on the push pull to let some signal go through the series connection when on parallel mode? I like the tone of parallel but considering going to a partial split if I can do that? But is it possible to do partial parallel wiring?

[newey]

asdaven-

Sorry, I had to move your thread as it didn't belong in the Reference section.

If you want to try the "partial coil-split" thing, you'll probably want a capacitor instead of a resistor A resistor will cut across all the frequencies, this is useful if one is trying to "tame" a hot pickup to match better with a lower-output pickup. A cap will give you the full frequency range for one coil, and cut some frequencies from the other, giving a bit more "meat" to the single coil on the low end (if the cap is wired in parallel to the pickup).

As I think we said in the other thread you posted, experimentation is easy and recommended to find that "sweet spot".

[asdaven]

This a different application. The resistor goes between the ground and wiring here to be a partial shunt. Right now its a full shunt with a wire to ground. This is done with a partial split where a resistor throw a little signal into the other coil to fatten it up. Usually like a 4k or 7k resistor. Something small. Dont know what a cap will do.

Im asking if the samething can be down when it comes to parallel wiring and leaving a partial series connection to fatten it up? Dont know what a cap would do in this circumstance.

[newey]

Jan 12, 2023 11:20:53 GMT -5 asdaven said:

Im asking if the samething can be down when it comes to parallel wiring and leaving a partial series connection to fatten it up?

I got what you meant, it comes down to whether you want to attenuate all the frequency range from the one coil, or just some of the range. A resistor could be used whether the coils are connected in series or in parallel

[asdaven]

Jan 12, 2023 12:30:37 GMT -5 newey said:

Jan 12, 2023 11:20:53 GMT -5 asdaven said:

Im asking if the samething can be down when it comes to parallel wiring and leaving a partial series connection to fatten it up?

I got what you meant, it comes down to whether you want to attenuate all the frequency range from the one coil, or just some of the range. A resistor could be used whether the coils are connected in series or in parallel

Well I mean this would be coil split or parallel. Coil split with the resistor where its put in line to ground, pushes back some current though the other coil or allows the other coil to partially come through. With parallel, both coils are running in parallel and looking to put them partially into series in parallel mode to beef up the output. Dont know if this can be calculated but would like to boost the resistance up from 1.9K in parallel to about 3-5K resistance which would be about the same as a Strat in Position 2 and 4. This is just for the neck pickup. The Bridge is alot hotter and might not need anything or just a smaller resistor.

If parallel isnt going to sound good with a partial shunt or its not possible, then ill have to look at the coil split with a partial resistor shunt.

[JohnH]

Ive played with a few of those options, and it comes down to your own preference with regard to how they sound on your own guitar.

But in principle:

Simple coil split and and simple parallel wiring of coils both have about the same output level, which is less than the full humbucker

Parallel is fully humcancelling, often actually even better than normal series wiring

Coil split has more 'edge' to the tone than parallel, ie high treble, it gets closer to a real single coil

Partial bypass - ie series humbucker with one coil partly bypassed can be done with a resistor or a cap. In each case, you get a bit more low end weight in the tone, I prefer with a cap, typically 47nF = 0.047uF, this makes the tone bright and clear with treble from one coil, but bass from both coils. Its not humancelling though

Ive got an HSS Strat and a Les Paul with PAFs. On the neck of my LP, I like just a full coil split, as an alternative to full HB and I use it often. On the LP bridge, I prefer the cap-bypassed split, but I dont often use it, I prefer the full bridge HB. On the HSS, I have parallel and full split options at the bridge, but prefer the full humbucker

I dont see any mileage in partial parallel wiring, but no harm if you choose to experiment!

[asdaven]

The Partial Parallel is what im curious about . Do you think you would just use similar cap/resistor values?

Thanks-

[JohnH]

Never tried it like that so I can't tell.

But one fairly common mod that might give some insight, is blending in parallel between two Strat single-coils. One is fully connected output to ground, the other is via a pot, ie a variable resistor. You find that the transition from full parallel to a tone where one pickup is almost inaudible happens in the first few k, like somewhere between about 0 and 20k. So you could try in that range.

Or, for a cap in series with one coil, then all in parallel with the other coil, Id expect youd find that somewhere say 5nF to 22nF would give a sound different to a single or a full parallel wiring.

[Yogi B]

Jan 12, 2023 12:30:37 GMT -5 newey said:

Jan 12, 2023 11:20:53 GMT -5 asdaven said:

Im asking if the samething can be down when it comes to parallel wiring and leaving a partial series connection to fatten it up?

I got what you meant, it comes down to whether you want to attenuate all the frequency range from the one coil, or just some of the range. A resistor could be used whether the coils are connected in series or in parallel.

Unfortunately, because pickups are largely inductive, a partial series split with a resistor will also tend to favour cutting the high frequencies (you end up with a dipped response not unlike that of a Filtertron).

Jan 12, 2023 8:58:39 GMT -5 asdaven said:

Can you use a resistor on the push pull to let some signal go through the series connection when on parallel mode? I like the tone of parallel but considering going to a partial split if I can do that? But is it possible to do partial parallel wiring?

There is no "series connection" when in parallel, one half what was the series connection is instead connected to ground, the other half connected to hot — therefore connecting something between them is just connecting that something in parallel with the parallel coils. The direct complement of partial series splitting is a parallel blend type circuit, but any result of such would be somewhere between parallel and fully split — i.e. not somewhere between series and split, which I think is what you're wanting?

You could try something along the lines of what Washburn once did with their VCC and create an 'H' configuration, neither series nor parallel — see: Spin-a-parallel control, VCC mods or alternatives? — although obviously in your case using fixed values. (And I'm not sure you could fully toggle that on/off with only a DPDT push/pull.)

---

The other way to attain a more even response, using a more usual series split, is to use some inductance in the network used for the partial split, like a dummy coil (or two)...

Jan 12, 2023 8:58:39 GMT -5 asdaven said:

I also added a hotter bridge pickup

... Do you have a use for the old bridge humbucker and would there be space to fit it inside the control cavity of the guitar?

[asdaven]

Jan 13, 2023 1:09:30 GMT -5 Yogi B said:

Jan 12, 2023 12:30:37 GMT -5 newey said:

I got what you meant, it comes down to whether you want to attenuate all the frequency range from the one coil, or just some of the range. A resistor could be used whether the coils are connected in series or in parallel.

Unfortunately, because pickups are largely inductive, a partial series split with a resistor will also tend to favour cutting the high frequencies (you end up with a dipped response not unlike that of a Filtertron).

Jan 12, 2023 8:58:39 GMT -5 asdaven said:

Can you use a resistor on the push pull to let some signal go through the series connection when on parallel mode? I like the tone of parallel but considering going to a partial split if I can do that? But is it possible to do partial parallel wiring?

There is no "series connection" when in parallel, one half what was the series connection is instead connected to ground, the other half connected to hot — therefore connecting something between them is just connecting that something in parallel with the parallel coils. The direct complement of partial series splitting is a parallel blend type circuit, but any result of such would be somewhere between parallel and fully split — i.e. not somewhere between series and split, which I think is what you're wanting?

You could try something along the lines of what Washburn once did with their VCC and create an 'H' configuration, neither series nor parallel — see: Spin-a-parallel control, VCC mods or alternatives? — although obviously in your case using fixed values. (And I'm not sure you could fully toggle that on/off with only a DPDT push/pull.)

---

The other way to attain a more even response, using a more usual series split, is to use some inductance in the network used for the partial split, like a dummy coil (or two)...

Jan 12, 2023 8:58:39 GMT -5 asdaven said:

I also added a hotter bridge pickup

... Do you have a use for the old bridge humbucker and would there be space to fit it inside the control cavity of the guitar?

Then maybe putting a capacitor to ground vs a resistor would be an idea too to control the frequency response.

[reTrEaD]

Jan 12, 2023 8:58:39 GMT -5 asdaven said:

So I wasnt able to A/B both since its the same guitar.

If you want to wire your guitar to be able to A/B test parallel vs split, a clever modification to the wiring could be done so that the mode of BOTH pickups are controlled by the two push-pull switches.

Push-Pull 1	Push-Pull 2	Bridge Pickup	Neck Pickup
down	down	Series	Series
UP	down	South coil	North coil
down	UP	North coil	South coil
UP	UP	Parallel	Parallel

You could also connect your tone controls to the series links. By doing so, you could evaluate the effect of bypassing one coil of the HBs in series mode, by a capacitor.

[asdaven]

So got them wired up for parallel. The Neck pickup is PAF output. The Bridge pickup is like around 12K. I wired a .047 uf tone cap for the heck of it in place of the full shunt ground wire when in parallel. It makes a really great sound but its really just a thinner humbucker not unlike that of a P90 sound.

I think I do like the Parallel wiring better than coil split. Its dead silent and its more of a multi-dimensional sound. Would love to see a frequency graph of parallel vs coil split. Parallel wiring is running the humbucker like its meant to be run using both coils. The only coil split id try is a partial split with a resistor or capacitor. But im trying to do that here with parallel. Parallel sounds fuller and more output but on paper its not. Got 1.01K for parallel and 1.8K for coil split. But the coil split sounds thinner. Theres a big volume drop with both.

So I cant find an answer for this. If im using a capacitor shunt with a .047 cap and I want less affect and more treble and more signal bled to ground, do I go with a higher or lower value cap? Im still going to try a resistor as well.

[reTrEaD]

Jan 16, 2023 7:56:52 GMT -5 asdaven said:

So got them wired up for parallel. The Neck pickup is PAF output. The Bridge pickup is like around 12K. I wired a .047 uf tone cap for the heck of it in place of the full shunt ground wire when in parallel. It makes a really great sound but its really just a thinner humbucker not unlike that of a P90 sound.

I think I do like the Parallel wiring better than coil split. Its dead silent and its more of a multi-dimensional sound. Would love to see a frequency graph of parallel vs coil split. Parallel wiring is running the humbucker like its meant to be run using both coils. The only coil split id try is a partial split with a resistor or capacitor. But im trying to do that here with parallel. Parallel sounds fuller and more output but on paper its not. Got 1.01K for parallel and 1.8K for coil split. But the coil split sounds thinner. Theres a big volume drop with both.

So I cant find an answer for this. If im using a capacitor shunt with a .047 cap and I want less affect and more treble and more signal bled to ground, do I go with a higher or lower value cap? Im still going to try a resistor as well.

Modeling the frequency response of parallel vs split will tell you something, but not the more important part of the story. You'll see the peak is shifted higher in frequency when in parallel as compare to split. But it won't show you what's going on with the upper harmonics of any particular note. Split senses the string at one point. Whatever the harmonic content is at that point is what you hear. The harmonic content is different at different locations on the string. When you add those two together, some harmonics are nearly in phase so they add. Some harmonics are out of phase so they cancel. Or you might get some harmonics that are present at one location but nearly absent at another. This plays a larger role in the character of the sound than the slight difference you'll see in the basic frequency graph.

When doing "partial" with a capacitor, the basic configuration matters. If the configuration is series and you shunt one coil with a capacitor, you'll have more effect with a larger capacitor. If the configuration is parallel and you connect one of the two coils through a capacitor, you'll have more effect with a smaller capacitor.

Personally, I prefer series with a capacitor shunt over parallel with one coil connected through a capacitor.

[asdaven]

Well did a little more testing and wired the bridge for coil split. I think I like Parallel better. Both Resistance and Inductance readings show there is significantly more output with the coil split over parallel. However, parallel seems to sound fuller and have slightly more volume over split. How is this? My only explanation I can think of is the EQ of the coil split and it produces more frequencies above the range of hearing. They both sound thin unaided without a cap or resistor but parallel just sounds MUCH better even though on paper theres less output. Not as thin. Weird. Thats with a straight wire to ground on the push pull.

Im going to try a resistor with the coil split before returning it to parallel wiring. I have a 2.2K resistor on the neck still wired in parallel. It does work. The weird thing with adding a resistor to the parallel wiring scheme is that it seems like no matter what value cap OR resistor I try, its a similar sound and it increases the resistance from 1K to 1.9K no matter what value. Well I only tried one cap. But a 2.2K resistor seems to have the same effect as a 10K resistor here. Inductance seems similar too. But a super low value resistor like 2.2K seems all thats needed for the parallel. It sounds good. This wired on the ground wiring shunting the series connection when the push pull is pulled.

[ashcatlt]

With a capacitor in series with one coil, the DCR is going to look infinite. When you measure the DCR of the parallel combination, you’re only actually reading the one coil. DCR measurements are basically meaningless at that point.

[gckelloch]

Jan 18, 2023 7:50:31 GMT -5 asdaven said:

Well did a little more testing and wired the bridge for coil split. I think I like Parallel better. Both Resistance and Inductance readings show there is significantly more output with the coil split over parallel. However, parallel seems to sound fuller and have slightly more volume over split. How is this? My only explanation I can think of is the EQ of the coil split and it produces more frequencies above the range of hearing. They both sound thin unaided without a cap or resistor but parallel just sounds MUCH better even though on paper theres less output. Not as thin. Weird. Thats with a straight wire to ground on the push pull.

Im going to try a resistor with the coil split before returning it to parallel wiring. I have a 2.2K resistor on the neck still wired in parallel. It does work. The weird thing with adding a resistor to the parallel wiring scheme is that it seems like no matter what value cap OR resistor I try, its a similar sound and it increases the resistance from 1K to 1.9K no matter what value. Well I only tried one cap. But a 2.2K resistor seems to have the same effect as a 10K resistor here. Inductance seems similar too. But a super low value resistor like 2.2K seems all thats needed for the parallel. It sounds good. This wired on the ground wiring shunting the series connection when the push pull is pulled.

High -Z pickups don't have much output above the human hearing range, and less so with Fe core coils. My understanding is that adding two of the same level frequencies together increases output 3dB. It's unlikely that the in-phase vibrations above each coil are the same level at the bridge pos, but adjusting the pole screws can even them out. If the SC you select is the closest to the bridge, it's probably the weaker output of the two. There's also some high freq roll off with a wider aperture. Hence, parallel mode sounds "fuller". My experience is the SC generally has more perceived high end because the peak is more likely closer to being in the most sensitive 2-4kHz human hearing range. I may have previously written 2-5kHz for that, but it's more like 2-4kHz at average listening levels on the F-M loudness curve-- 3-3.5kHz being the "mostest".

[asdaven]

I set it up to split to the slug coil furtherest from the bridge. The Bridge is a hot pickup (12K) so was able to get a good sound with a 2.7K resistor to ground. But I cant really tell the difference between parallel with the 2.7K resistor to ground and coil split with that same resistor. I think for the Bridge I prefer parallel. Need to experiment with the neck more.

When I say "fuller". Its not so much fuller as far as output but fuller as far as dimension. Hard to explain. But if you have a room your playing. Parallel is like being in the same room but quieter and less saturated sound. Sounds complete but lower output. Coil Split is almost like moving from a big room to a closet and playing your guitar. It has more of that piercing single coil sound but parallel sounds better balanced, hum cancelling and complete. A resistor added to the coil split helps it alot. But im getting a pretty good sound out of parallel with a 2.7K resistor.