HSH vs. HHH - Reviving the Dead

[haydukej]

I have had the itch to build a custom guitar from the ground up for quite sometime. My main focus of inspiration is Jerry Garcia's Tiger because of its versatility and beauty. With that as a springboard, the following are the ideas I'm working towards.

After reviewing Tiger's wiring configuration/pup options and reviewing HSH/HHH configurations on the threads here, I think I have settled on either JohnH's HSH Super 15 or his Three Humbuckers 3x5. Both of which have been vetted on previous threads and seem to offer fairly similar options that I would be happy with. At the moment I can't decide which would be the more versatile option: HSH or HHH, or if it is just a matter of personal preference from this point?

Other details for design: I also plan on incorporating Jerry's on-board effects loop (OBEL) via TRS output jacks, a stereo cable and a mono cable. With the addition of the OBEL, I'll also need to incorporate a buffer similar to Jerry's which I plan on using JohnH's version of the JFET Buffer.

Pickups I'm currently eying are SD Alnico Pro II APH-1 for the neck and possible bridge or the SD Pearly Gates for the bridge. If I went HSH, I'm leaning towards a DiMarzio True Velvet for the "S".

As this is a custom build, I can plan out any number/combinations of pots/switches so other feasible/useful ideas could be incorporated. I think I would like to keep just the master volume/tone setup, but not opposed to adding another pot if useful. If I kept the V/T setup with push/pulls I would need an additional DPDT toggle for the OBEL on/off switching, which would still not clutter things up too much and keep operation fairly simple.

Final thoughts:

1. JohnH's designs include Series/Parallel and single coil options, but I don't believe either of JohnH's designs incorporate phase switching. Although since their pup selection is somewhat linear (minus the position 3 on the HSH Super 15 wiring), phase switching would probably not produce a noticeable effect, based on what I've learned here (i.e. pups further apart = better OoP sounds). Is my understanding correct on this?

2. These wiring options don't include selections such as full NeckHB or BridgeHB plus a middle coil (either SC or a split HB). How different would this sound be compared to the available options of Ni x M or Ni + M with JohnH's designs.

With all that, it seems this guitar would be more of a JohnH inspiration than a JerryG. Again, thanks to all of the regulars in the Nuthouse for their insight and inspiration.

Thoughts, complaints, grievances?

[candyflipper7]

I finally just finished my wiring on my HHH project with the help of GN2 members and the forum. Good luck! You have come to the right place.
Here is a link for my project. Just waiting on my 70's style neck.

guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=music&action=display&thread=6774&page=1

[JohnH]

My ears are burning

Thanks for considering my designs. Between the HSH super 15 and the HHH 2x5m I would say that the Super 15 would be my choice. It has a real single coil available and it has tone options that combine a coil from neck and bridge, whearas on the HHH, all selected coils are next to each other, like a moving humbucker.

Both of these can only offer a selection of the zillion options that you could get from 5 or 6 coils, so many are left out. They concentrate on every pair selected being humcancelling, and focusing just on one or two coils at a time, which IMO provide some of the clearest most useful options.

I didnt put phase switches in, because on guitars that have them, I find I never use them. THis couls be added, but if a normal two-pole phase switch was added, to operate say on the left-most of the selected coils, all humcancelling would go pear-shaped and every selected Oop combo would hum!

So if this was wanted, then Id suggest a 4-pole toggle, acting on the neck hb pickup, to reverse the phase of both neck coils and also swap their position electrically, entering the 5-way. That way, combos involving neck and another coil will be Oop, but still humcancelling.

John

[haydukej]

Based on JohnH's thoughts and the options I'm wanting I think I'll go with the HSH setup.

After getting permission from JohnH to edit his drawing, I've added in the OBEL and his buffer design into the HSH Super 15 drawing for my reference or anyone else who might be interested.

This project is unfortunately still very much in my head/planning stages, and I'm estimating it will take me at least a year to complete, but once I get started I'll track it in a new thread. Thanks for the help.

[haydukej]

So if I go with the SD APH-1 in the neck (which has adjustable poles polarized "South") and a SD Pearly Gates in the bridge (same polarization as APH-1) I would rotate the Pearly Gates 180 degrees so the adjustable poles are furthest away from bridge? Then for the middle pup, the DiMarzio True Velvet, would need to be polarized "North"? Their RWRP True Velvet is polarized "South" so that would not be good for this layout right?

Also noting that the wire colors will be different for the SDs.

[newey]

A good exercise would be to redraw the diagram with the SD colors so that you have a hard-copy reference, and also because doing so will help you "see" what's going on in this circuit.

As far as rotating the PG 180«, are these pickups all the same, or are they sold as a matched neck/bridge set? If they're all identical, then your intuition about rotating one, so that you get the adjustable coils to the inside, is well placed.

The middle needs to be of opposite polarization, so yes, you're correct that if the RWRP is "south", you'd want the "normal" one instead.