to coil tap or not to coil tap

[1big1]

i've got a very nice lp hondo II copy that somebody really messed up over the years and i'm looking to put it back into playing condition. basically i have to re-do the entire electronics package on this guitar. i know i need paf spaced pups because that's what the measurements are telling me. since it's an opportunity to start from scratch i'm looking for opinions as whether it's worth coil tapping one of these or am i better off setting it up to blend the pups instead? i've found some yt videos that i've checked out.. but they're inconclusive to my ears because the sound quality just isn't there. there are some tunes i would like to have the single coil sound for without having to swap guitars. will coil tapping an lp get me there? thanks.

 

[Robotechnology]

Coil tapping/splitting will get you close to a true single coil tone. The standard LP type blending with the 2 volume knobs won't.

 

[mboogman]

I always try to set up my guitars for coil tapping. My two PRS guitars with two humbuckers actually sound pretty good/convincing when tapped. I just use a single push pull pot to tap both pickups. Works great for me.

 

[1big1]

there isn't a gc around here or i'd just head there and try one of the new lp's with splitting to see if i'd like it. i can hear the difference on some of the yt vids.. but it sounds more evident with the neck pup than the bridge. since i have to start from scratch it might be worth it just to wire it up with the jimmy page mod and go from there. i've got the full on paf hb sound covered with my sg.. which i'm not going to touch.

 

[blackba]

Both my les Pauls have push pull tone pots to coil split. On the bridge, I really like the change, but I have an Aldrich pickup in there and its pretty hot. I generally find that hot pickups split better than lower output pickups. Another thing to consider is parallel wiring, you will still get noise canceling. Seymour duncan sells their triple shot rings if you want to have the option for both without using push pull pots.

 

[1big1]

Both my les Pauls have push pull tone pots to coil split. On the bridge, I really like the change, but I have an Aldrich pickup in there and its pretty hot. I generally find that hot pickups split better than lower output pickups. Another thing to consider is parallel wiring, you will still get noise canceling. Seymour duncan sells their triple shot rings if you want to have the option for both without using push pull pots.

thanks for the input. i was thinking that hotter pickups would split better than the 8k-9k paf's. i haven't decided on which pups to go with yet either. so many choices.. which is good.
the advantage to the page mod is that it puts ALL the splitting options into play and i don't have to add any toggles to do it.

i've got time to check it all out before i start re-wiring. just trying to see what options are available based on what i want this guitar to be able to do.
it would really be great if i could get down to one or two guitars for club dates.

 

[Valtyr]

I have a guitar with that capability. It's cool, but I never use it. Not sure why, guess I'm just more into humbuckers.

 

[boost]

I've set up my LP with a push pull on the bridge alone for series/parallel. The parallel wiring drops the volume slightly and gain a bit and to my ears kinda gets a sort of tele vibe happening. It's more prominent as you turn the guitar volume down. At full blast through high gain there is a difference, but it's not as prominent. My front pickup is not super hot so I leave that stock and like the way it blends with the bridge in parallel. Totally hum free also. Not a fan of tapping for single coil as the tone always seemed shrill and weak on humbuckers probably do to the 500K pots. Never tried an Anderson though. People say they split well.

For the cost of the pot and the little work involved I think it's worth doing, especially if you going in to re-do everything anyway. I prefer the Dimarzio push pull BTW. the lugs seem a little bigger than the other import ones. I also set the push pull up as the tone control as I like a nicer pot for the volume. Again, I prefer the Dimarzio pots for those. CTS and Bourns will work just fine, just a matter of preference.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I never heard a split coil that I liked...there's no short cut to the single coil tone, the split coil sounds like a bad imitation and is basically useless to me. I'm sure others enjoy it, just my 2cents

 

[1big1]

i meant to say that the page mod uses all the taps available.. not necessarily all the wiring options. the series/parallel sounds interesting as well. i have also heard some folks say they like a hot bridge pup combined with a not so hot neck pup. that's the problem with starting from scratch. lots of great options.
i'm sure if keep researching i'll find even more options to think about.
i've also read where splitting sounds more tele-like than anything else to compare it to. got to mull the options around for a bit.. but it's nice to have that blank canvass to start with.

 

[rupe]

It all depends on your needs. Do you need single coil tones? If so, do it, if not, don't. Simple as that.

 

[1big1]

It all depends on your needs. Do you need single coil tones? If so, do it, if not, don't. Simple as that.

true. and yes i do.

 

[rupe]

It all depends on your needs. Do you need single coil tones? If so, do it, if not, don't. Simple as that.

true. and yes i do.

Then you know what you've gotta do

 

[The Hoff]

It all depends on your needs. Do you need single coil tones? If so, do it, if not, don't. Simple as that.

true. and yes i do.

Then you know what you've gotta do

 

[1big1]

a little body tapping tells me it will fall somewhere in between my sg.. which is bright.. and my ibby cn 100 which is dark and warm. so it'll have some edge.

 

[Badronald]

I've had/have some taps on a few guitars and I never use them.

 

[Schaf]

I've had/have some taps on a few guitars and I never use them.

I humbucker split isn't going to sound as good as a single coil for that sound. But, if you're gigging, I doubt someones's going to say "man, that pickup doesn't split well". If that's not a main part of your sound, it'll work.

 

[1big1]

i do have a strat that i use for gigging. a strat and a paul for gigging would be good. i do know i don't want to be carrying a whole bunch of gear around for club dates. less is more when it comes to gigs.. imho.

come to think of it.. i'm going to be on the road working later this week and most if not all of next week. there is a gc that's about half an hour out of my way. maybe i'll swing through there on my way back home and test drive a couple of their lesters with coil taps and see if i like any of them. if nothing else i should come back with a better idea of what i want mine to do.

pardon the pun.. but so far this poll looks about evenly split.

 

[tripstan]

I got Suhr Aldrich's in a Modern that are rewound to 8k neck and 9k bridge by Jim Rolph. It's got a 5-way switch and I don't really like positions 2 and 4. I think 2 is just neck spilt and 4 is just the bridge spilt. 2 is o'k if your pushing the amp a lil bit but I never use 4 really thin and alot of volume drop. It also has a push pull on the bridge pick up and that totally sounds like a real single coil and that one I do use when I want spanky tele tones. I don't know what the difference in wiring is. Is someone could enlighten me I would appreciate and it might help 1big1 too. I'm guess that 2 and 4 positions are parallel and the bridge w/ push pull is series?

 

[luxxtone]

If you like that single coil sound, then might as well just do it. Basically...why not! It's always there to use if you want it, and if you don't want to use it, then just leave them pushed down. It's not like they sound any different when they're in humbucking mode, so it's just an added color you have access to if and when you want to use it.