series/split/parallel but with a DPDT on/on switch and a pot...?

[Danage]

In my head, there is no reason why this shouldn't work, but I thought it'd be a good idea to check with people who probably know better... 

let's consider the following humbucker wiring:
Coil A negative > Ground
Coil A positive > volume pot > series/parallel switch > master volume
Coil B negative > series/parallel switch > master volume
Coil B positive > series/parallel switch > master volume

Now, in my head, with the volume pot all the way off, you'd have a single coil sound, regard less of where the switch is. But then you could blend in the second coil in either series or parallel. 

So you'd get everything that you'd have from a series/split/parallel set up, but even more with the blend... and it could all be done on a single push-pull pot..?

[Acebassmusic]

Hi, I think I get what you're trying to achieve with the wiring system you describe and I'm not sure it would quite work like you want....but nearly 🤣

 

For me the key to this is thinking about how the signal passes through the system. From your description above the switch has 3 states - series / single / parallel:

 

Single - the full signal runs through only Coil B direct to the Master vol control.

 

Parallel - Coil B - as above, the full signal runs direct to the Master vol control.

                Coil A - the signal runs through the secondary volume pot which attentuates the signal before going to the Master vol. In theory this should allow you to blend A and B coils together in varying amounts.

 

Series - the signal runs through Coil B and then through Coil A and into the secondary volume pot which would obviously affect the total output from both coils. This would just be acting like the signal going direct to the Master vol pot.

 

I've done a few series / single / parallel set-ups in the past using either a 6 pin DPDT for each humbucker or one 9 pin DPDT to control both pickups at the same time. What I've noticed it that main change in sound is when you go to Series (fatter & louder). Going from single to parallel is a bit more subtle and I'm not sure how useful a volume pot giving incrementaly small changes to an already minimal change 🤷‍♂️ If you're doing a lot of recording where you can make the best of theses subtleties then it's probably worth trying. On the other hand if your gigging, then once the drummer has counted 4, you're lucky to hear the bass never mind any nuances! 🤣🤣

 

If you do go ahead let us know the results as it would be interesting to hear what the results are both from a useability and audio files. 👍

[Danage]

8 hours ago, Acebassmusic said:

Hi, I think I get what you're trying to achieve with the wiring system you describe and I'm not sure it would quite work like you want....but nearly 🤣

 

For me the key to this is thinking about how the signal passes through the system. From your description above the switch has 3 states - series / single / parallel:

 

Single - the full signal runs through only Coil B direct to the Master vol control.

 

Parallel - Coil B - as above, the full signal runs direct to the Master vol control.

                Coil A - the signal runs through the secondary volume pot which attentuates the signal before going to the Master vol. In theory this should allow you to blend A and B coils together in varying amounts.

 

Series - the signal runs through Coil B and then through Coil A and into the secondary volume pot which would obviously affect the total output from both coils. This would just be acting like the signal going direct to the Master vol pot.

 

I've done a few series / single / parallel set-ups in the past using either a 6 pin DPDT for each humbucker or one 9 pin DPDT to control both pickups at the same time. What I've noticed it that main change in sound is when you go to Series (fatter & louder). Going from single to parallel is a bit more subtle and I'm not sure how useful a volume pot giving incrementaly small changes to an already minimal change 🤷‍♂️ If you're doing a lot of recording where you can make the best of theses subtleties then it's probably worth trying. On the other hand if your gigging, then once the drummer has counted 4, you're lucky to hear the bass never mind any nuances! 🤣🤣

 

If you do go ahead let us know the results as it would be interesting to hear what the results are both from a useability and audio files. 👍

Close, I've clearly explain things badly!

The switch would be an DPDT on/on switch, so only two positions, which would be series and parallel. The idea is to get all of the series/split/parallel options, but also with the ability to blend out one coil in the humbucker modes. Also this would allow the use of a push-pull pot. 

In series the signal flow would be:
Coil A > volume control > switch > coil B > volume control > output 

In parallel the signal flow would be 
Coil A > volume control > switch > volume control > output
Coil B > switch > volume control > output

I think I've got it figured out - I could get the additional volume control to work in both series and parallel modes by attaching it to the same lug on the DPDT as where the output of coil A goes. To get it to only make an effect in series mode, I just need to attach it to where that same lug connects to when in series mode. 

If I have time at the weekend I'll just tack a pot on to my existing series/parallel switch setup and have it dangling out the back of the control cavity to see if it is any use. 

Danage. 

 

[Acebassmusic]

Ah, ok I get it 👍 I was thinking 3 options for the coils. Keen to see how the series configuration works out.

[itu]

On 29/04/2025 at 02:23, Acebassmusic said:

If you're doing a lot of recording where you can make the best of theses subtleties then it's probably worth trying. On the other hand if your gigging, then once the drummer has counted 4, you're lucky to hear the bass never mind any nuances!

Dear @Danage,

Please read and reread this a couple of times. As long as you have a system without active components, @Acebassmusic pretty much described all you will get.

 

I have done these ser/par/single mods since 80's, and my findings could be abriged to this:

Ser / single is the most useful because of the change in level and sound.

[Danage]

@itu similarly, I've been doing them since the 90s. Personally I've found series/parallel to be my favourite. 

I'm aware of what the outcomes of my choices would be. The question I was posing was whether I had my technical implementation correct or not. 

[itu]

6 minutes ago, Danage said:

The question I was posing was whether I had my musical implementation correct or not. 

Corrected.

 

No, I love similar projects, too. Something you could put some effort to, is the blending of the pickups. Most straightforward option is to use the Noll Mixpot. With it mixing does not load pickups, and for me the result sounds far better than with any hi-Z blend.

Edited 3 hours ago by itu

[Hellzero]

Check page 336, I think that's another very interesting wiring and even if it's in German, the schematics are very clear.

 

Bassschaltungen.pdf

[Danage]

20 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Check page 336, I think that's another very interesting wiring and even if it's in German, the schematics are very clear.

 

Bassschaltungen.pdf 8.87 MB · 0 downloads

Wow, that is one hefty resource, thank you!

[Danage]

1 hour ago, itu said:

Corrected.

 

No, I love similar projects, too. Something you could put some effort to, is the blending of the pickups. Most straightforward option is to use the Noll Mixpot. With it mixing does not load pickups, and for me the result sounds far better than with any hi-Z blend.

Never heard of that before, thank you!