Post by reTrEaD on Dec 6, 2016 17:05:10 GMT -5
In this final installment, we'll continue on our quest to get the classic pair of local series HBs connected in parallel without causing warts in any of the other possible combinations. When I look back at how well the linkable tail worked in V2.0, I begin to wonder if having two coils with linkable tails might be the solution. But how could we possibly free up yet another pole?
If we steal the pole from SL/Hot we lose the ability to connect to the Raised group. We could directly wire one or more of the (+) ends of coils to SL/Hot but if just one, that severely limits our choice of combinations. If more than one, that creates the potential from hanging from hot in parallel mode and hanging from middle in series mode. These are the little warts we're trying to avoid. Embedding them would be counterproductive.
Freeing up the pole from Hot/Hot also creates problems. Worse yet, unused coils attached to Hot/Hot will always hang from hot. I dislike this immensely.
SL/Gnd might be a reasonable choice from which to steal our pole. We already have one linkable tail that can potentially connect there. The second linkable tail will also have that option. So let's press forward with that strategy for Version 3.
I chose to attach the second linkable tail to the Bridge coil with the same magnetic polarity as the Neck coil which had the first linkable tail. Because the remaining Bridge coil no longer has the ability to connect to SL/Gnd, the most functional solution is to pre-wire its (-) to Gnd/Gnd. As we will soon learn, this does present a few minor limitations. But in my opinion the new doors this opens are more beneficial than the limitations we'll encounter.
This would be an appropriate time to note one of the biggest limitations:
Disclaimer: If the selection of a combination that's out-of-phase is on your must-have list, look elsewhere. This structure is devoid of OoP selection.
Another limitation: Only the red coils can be Raised. The are the only ones that can connect to SL/Gnd.
It should also be noted that while Neck blue and Bridge blue can be accessed together when the S/P is in parallel mode, it defaults to one of them being a forced single when the S/P is in series mode. But since these coils are of same magnetic polarity, they don't hum-cancel in-phase. So there isn't much reason to ever make this selection.
Now that we've noted the major limitations, let's evaluate the benefits.
Although it's possible to create a hanging from hot problem, this structure is inherently free of any possibility of that happening unintentionally.
Our elusive pair of local series HBs, connected in system parallel is possible. Since both blue coils are in play, only one of the HBs will present when the S/P is in series mode. The one that is selected by Hot/Hot.
If we arrange our HBs such that the magnets are SNSN or NSNS, "inners" and "outers" are possible in hum-canceling pairs.
Neck coils, S/P is possible.
Bridge coils, S/P is possible.
(all the above results in full hum-cancellation)
Bridge HB with Neck single is possible, either parallel combination of two pickups or all three coils in series.
Neck HB with Bridge single is possible, either parallel combination of two pickups or all three coils in series.
Undiscovered territory:
The parallel HBs can be cross-coupled.
That is to say: we can pair Bridge red in series with Neck blue, Neck red in series with Bridge blue, and connect these pairs in parallel. I'm not sure if the result will be significantly different from the normal HB series pairings being connected in parallel but this structure supports each as an individual selection. So it could be a testbed for direct comparison.
The two red coils can be strung together in series, connected to either to SL/Gnd or Gnd/Gnd. Then combined with one of the blue coils. This would result in a slightly different connection of three coils than what we usually see. Again, it's not clear if this would sound significantly different from what we were previously able to connect.
Although I drew this as a HH, it could apply to a HSS.
For HSH we could add a fifth coil and pre-wire its (-) directly to Gnd/Gnd.
That would expand the possibilities even farther.
But even with just four coils, the choices of very useful combinations greatly outnumber the positions on our selector switch. Many of the selections are fully hum-canceling. A few are partially hum-canceling. No issues with hanging from hot. Therefore, the big problem is deciding which of these many possibilities to assign to each the five positions of our coil selector. What a delightful problem to have!
Those of you who have endured this entire journey may come away with some greater insights when designing your own wiring strategies. Others might just see this as a different way of looking at what they already knew. In any case, I hope you've enjoyed the trip.
If we steal the pole from SL/Hot we lose the ability to connect to the Raised group. We could directly wire one or more of the (+) ends of coils to SL/Hot but if just one, that severely limits our choice of combinations. If more than one, that creates the potential from hanging from hot in parallel mode and hanging from middle in series mode. These are the little warts we're trying to avoid. Embedding them would be counterproductive.
Freeing up the pole from Hot/Hot also creates problems. Worse yet, unused coils attached to Hot/Hot will always hang from hot. I dislike this immensely.
SL/Gnd might be a reasonable choice from which to steal our pole. We already have one linkable tail that can potentially connect there. The second linkable tail will also have that option. So let's press forward with that strategy for Version 3.
I chose to attach the second linkable tail to the Bridge coil with the same magnetic polarity as the Neck coil which had the first linkable tail. Because the remaining Bridge coil no longer has the ability to connect to SL/Gnd, the most functional solution is to pre-wire its (-) to Gnd/Gnd. As we will soon learn, this does present a few minor limitations. But in my opinion the new doors this opens are more beneficial than the limitations we'll encounter.
This would be an appropriate time to note one of the biggest limitations:
Disclaimer: If the selection of a combination that's out-of-phase is on your must-have list, look elsewhere. This structure is devoid of OoP selection.
Another limitation: Only the red coils can be Raised. The are the only ones that can connect to SL/Gnd.
It should also be noted that while Neck blue and Bridge blue can be accessed together when the S/P is in parallel mode, it defaults to one of them being a forced single when the S/P is in series mode. But since these coils are of same magnetic polarity, they don't hum-cancel in-phase. So there isn't much reason to ever make this selection.
Now that we've noted the major limitations, let's evaluate the benefits.
Although it's possible to create a hanging from hot problem, this structure is inherently free of any possibility of that happening unintentionally.
Our elusive pair of local series HBs, connected in system parallel is possible. Since both blue coils are in play, only one of the HBs will present when the S/P is in series mode. The one that is selected by Hot/Hot.
If we arrange our HBs such that the magnets are SNSN or NSNS, "inners" and "outers" are possible in hum-canceling pairs.
Neck coils, S/P is possible.
Bridge coils, S/P is possible.
(all the above results in full hum-cancellation)
Bridge HB with Neck single is possible, either parallel combination of two pickups or all three coils in series.
Neck HB with Bridge single is possible, either parallel combination of two pickups or all three coils in series.
Undiscovered territory:
The parallel HBs can be cross-coupled.
That is to say: we can pair Bridge red in series with Neck blue, Neck red in series with Bridge blue, and connect these pairs in parallel. I'm not sure if the result will be significantly different from the normal HB series pairings being connected in parallel but this structure supports each as an individual selection. So it could be a testbed for direct comparison.
The two red coils can be strung together in series, connected to either to SL/Gnd or Gnd/Gnd. Then combined with one of the blue coils. This would result in a slightly different connection of three coils than what we usually see. Again, it's not clear if this would sound significantly different from what we were previously able to connect.
Although I drew this as a HH, it could apply to a HSS.
For HSH we could add a fifth coil and pre-wire its (-) directly to Gnd/Gnd.
That would expand the possibilities even farther.
But even with just four coils, the choices of very useful combinations greatly outnumber the positions on our selector switch. Many of the selections are fully hum-canceling. A few are partially hum-canceling. No issues with hanging from hot. Therefore, the big problem is deciding which of these many possibilities to assign to each the five positions of our coil selector. What a delightful problem to have!
Those of you who have endured this entire journey may come away with some greater insights when designing your own wiring strategies. Others might just see this as a different way of looking at what they already knew. In any case, I hope you've enjoyed the trip.