ill take the lead on my own question then.

i've drawn this up (poorly, sorry) and i think this is right:

Im looking to keep the standard Ibanez H-S-H config, (bridge, bridge 1 coil and middle, middle, middle and neck 1 coil, neck), but then to switch wiring to parallel when the pot is pulled up.

could someone check this for me? thanks!

 

Sorry to chime in so late but actually this diagram is better....



Here you'll get the coil taps in position 2 and 4 in series mode but 2 and 4 will have both coils in parallel in parallel mode i.e. you won't have coil taps in parallel mode. (hope that makes sense)
This is the best you can do as the other option, connecting the tap wire to one of the centre lugs on the switch as in your later diagram will turn the whole guitar off in 2 and 4!
The parallel selection should sound more like a single coil anyway (but without the hum) so you probably won't need the taps anyway.
Of course check what reguv760 says about the wire colours but otherwise go with this one...
Jim

 

just so you know, BKP green + black wires are slightly different:

vs

based on your diagram, i think you reverse the green with the black.
I haven't tried wiring a setup similar to what you're asking but that kinda looks right? just not sure what it sounds like in positions 2 + 4 with the push-pull up.

Reg

 

just not sure what it sounds like in positions 2 + 4 with the push-pull up.
Reg

that is exactly my concern. i added the out on the top left pin of the dpdt to allow for the coil split in 2 and 4 when its in series,

but i dont know how to make that work in parallel.

anybody else got any suggestions?

 

i could be wrong here but i think the black wire on the top left should be on the middle lug, white wire [on your diagram]. Otherwise, it kinda makes sense

 

.....

 

could be wrong here but i think the wire on the top left pin should be in the middle lug white wire since positions 2 + 4 takes only one of the coils into the switch.

Reg Today 02:09 PM

yeah i think you're right.
otherwise i'll get no output from the pup when in parallel.

 

so, it looks like this is the correct wiring!:

unless anybody wants to say otherwise?
PLEASE SAY if you know its wrong, it will save a 17 year old moron alot of wiring grief

 

but with the first diagram, wouldnt the first position of the 5 way switch give me both coils in parallel mode? so theres no need to have 2 as both coils aswell?

 

True, but don't forget 2 and 4 have the single coil as well so won't sound the same as 1 and 5.
Also the way you tap series coils is by shorting them out hence the tap wire to the switch, the way you tap parallel coils is by disconnecting them, not possible to do both with the switches that are available.
Finally if you tapped 2 and 4 in both modes then it would sound the same, here 2 and 4 in parallel will sound slightly different to 2 and 4 in series.
Jim

 

ah yeah, i completely forgot 2 had the single coil aswell xD

thanks alot! so my first diagram should be spot on? not bad for a noobies first pup wiring

 

Yup, good work, don't forget the wire colours for the Bare Knuckles aren't quite the same as the Dimarzio, so swap the green and black to the switches if necessary.
I was thinking of putting a series/parallel switch for the neck pickup of my guitar, as you've done the hard work for me maybe I will now!
Jim

 

ahaha! cheeky sod

and about the colours, it doesnt matter too much in the diagram, i'll check the pup schematics when they arrive and adjust my colours accordingly (Y)

also, i was gonna get some alluminium tape to shield from interference, but being as there's only one position which isn't hum canceling, i guess i dont have to bother really

 

Consider that diagram stolen! I've been trying to work out how to have both parallel/series and the standard position 2/4 splitting on one guitar. Now you've worked it out for me - cheeeers!

 

uhh... 2 and four won't split the humbuckers...
that was our problem, and we resolved to just deal with it

also remember, on this diagram, the up position on the DPDT is series, and down is parallel.

i prefer down as series, and for this you'll need to flip the DPDT upside down ^^ (on the diagram!)

 

Oh - I thought the splitting would work in pos 2 and 4 when the switches are set to series. If that's not the case forgive my silliness!

I'll be using mini switches instead of push pull pots so the direction doesn't matter too much to me!

 

You will get split single coils in series mode in 2 and 4. In parallel mode when arguably you don't need the split you'll just get the parallel coils with the middle pickup.
Jim

 

yeah that's what i meant.
it will split in series, but it WONT split in parallel

 

That's all I need! I'm a wiring dunce so I couldn't work it out myself! My switches arrived today at work. Supoib.

 

Ok err... folks. i tried this last night aaanndd.... well, it doesnt work
haha! a real pain for me #_# ill take a look at it when i have more time. sunday probably.

 

Uh - oh. I left my strat with a tech and this diagram.

 

aha! oh dear! maybe it'll be ok, it may just be my poor wiring.
the main problem is, no output in parallel mode for positions 1 and 5. but im sure if he's a good tech he'll get it!

 

Hey, Spnge Monkey, don't let the solution go unposted. I'm in the process of putting together a similar wiring scheme - with DiMarzio Evos in the bridge and neck and a SC in the mid position, push pull pots to coil tap the 2 Evos, and a 5-way switch to direct the action. I'm really pretty much a spedhead on this stuff, but I can read a schematic, do a decent job of soldering without it looking like it was done in Dresden during the firestorm, and am looking to wire this thing up for my kid kinda like Vai's rig, but with coil tapping. (Is that redundent?) I'm really looking for guidance on how to do this stuff, and this is the best stop I've made on the web so far. Looks like your first schematic would do what I'm trying to do - assuming the colors are right for the DiMarzios. Any advice folks?

 

Hey, I just realized that to start with, the OP here was trying to achieve a series/parallel switch along with standard Ibanez 5-way wiring, not a coil tap, which should be relatively simple. So I don't think any of these diagrams will be appropriate for you. I found the following in another thread, which should do the trick:

The red and green wires in the diagram should be the only addition to the existing wiring. This shuts off one coil of each humbucker when the switch is pulled up, so you get single coil sounds in the 1 and 5 positions. Positions 2-4 are unaffected by the push-pull as there is already automatic coil-tapping in those positions.

Now, as for whether this is worthwhile, that's up to the individual player of course. I personally don't care for coil-tapped humbuckers by themselves that much. You tend to end up with something that reduces the output level a lot, which of course is expected, but I think it reduces it to the point that it's ever lower than a standard single coil pickup. In addition, guitars with humbuckers tend to have 500K pots, so a single coil, especially in the bridge position, can tend to sound really bright, to the point of being somewhat harsh.

I'm not really a big fan of single coil sounds in general, so my opinion in the matter should be taken with a larger grain of salt than usual. As such, I'd have a hard time recommending an appropriate replacement middle pickup, though if you're going with Evos, I should think the Evo middle (sometimes called the ISCV2) might be a good bet. Someone else might have more thoughts on that issue.

As for where to get parts, there are a couple of good resources online. I generally like Stewart-MacDonald (http://www.stewmac.com/) even though some of their stuff is a little overpriced. For something small like pots and switches, the difference, if any, is negligible. You may only need to get a single push-pull pot, found here.

 

Yeah, i was going for parallel switching on each humbucker with standard ibanez 5 way switch.

it didn't work

i WAS gonna have a split coil option like you're going for but decided that parallel switching would be more worthwhile.
sorry i can't be of any more help, and goodluck!

 

I'm shure the scematic should work, have you got the coil wire colours correct?
Why not check the schematic with the guys at Bareknuckle?
I don't suppose you're anywhere near the South West UK are you?
Jim

 

Hey, thanks for the help - I'll let th' rotten kid go sit with a coil tapped guitar and see if he likes the sounds that come out. He's got a Jem77V to compare it to. Now about that switch - is it a standard one or is it an Ibanez designed for the JEM?

 

The 5-way or the DPDT?

the DPDT is just a push/pull i ordered from bareknuckles for about £7.50

and the 5-way is a standard 5 way that was already in my RG.

and @Vim, nope im the other side: south east

 

Ok too far for me to check it for you...
@chafinlw: The Jem has a different switch, or at least the new ones do, it should be possible to work out the equivalent schematic. If not I can paste the jem version if that helps.
Jim

 

@Vim Fuego, i'd just like to point out... you are an incredibly helpful person

thankyou!

 

Well the tech's not called me to say mine's not working and I'll be picking it up on Saturday - so I'm hoping Vim's right! Those were DiMarzio colours though weren't they? Not sure whether BKP have them another way around!

 

yeah they were dimarzio colours, and BKP's ARE a bit different. BKP's go Red, Green, White, Black (from the top down), i believe...

if i'm wrong then... that would explain my botched installation

 

Just to put this to bed... from the Bareknuckle site, this is correct:

as posted earlier, so the final diagram would be:

With the correct wire colours for the BKPs
Jim