408 Tweak

[carydad]

So I've recently fallen for a 408, and just placed an order on a certain sig-lim because I am a fan of binding and 3way toggles. Anyway, in reading all about them I found someone had mentioned a hotter 408 bridge pup request. I dont really need that, but was wondering if anyone had tweaked the wiring. Basically, instead of dropping the screw coil and adding 1500 winds to the slug coil-don't drop the screw coil, just make the slug extra heavy. Haven't looked at the wiring, and not really willing to give up the default wiring, was just curious if anyone had messed with it and the results found.

 

[yankeebulldog]

I was under the impression the extra winds were coming from the other coil.

 

[carydad]

Hmm, I guess I need to pop it out and see what's-what. If the extra windings were from the screw coil, it wouldn't be the single coil they are marketing it as. I envisioned an extra wound coil, say 3000 turns, mated with another coil that is 1500 turns, with a tap in the middle of the 3000 coil slug coil. Normal operation, that tap would connect to the other coil, both being ~1500 turns, the second half of that slug coil open on one end, and grounded on the other. Flip the switch, that connection is broken and instead that tap connects to the other half of that single coil-hence the no-hum-cancel by itself. So it's still 3000 turns, but in a one coil/pole configuration instead of 1500 on two in series. I'm probably way off. But what I was wondering-if the above was true, what would it sound like with that 1500 paired with the 3000. Sort of a like a massively mismatched burstbucker. No idea if there is any value there, just figured somebody had tried it by now. I'm way late to the game. I've tried a dozen PRS's over the years and never bonded with any of them. The 408 is doing it for me. Great guitar there. Might be the first guitar I don't change anything in. Of course, can't change some things-like pups, at least not without making it look awful.

 

[Twinfan]

I was under the impression the extra winds were coming from the other coil.

That's my understanding too as I can't see any 'dummy coils' anywhere. However, the slug coil may well be 5500 turns in single coil mode (as the pickups are quite deep) with the switch only activating 4000 turns in humbucker mode.