coil tap with Freeway switch (instead of rotary)

[BlueSky]

I got a Custom 22 from 2003 and have been debating for a while to replace the rotary with a toggle switch. I'd like to have as many tonal options as possible of course but without having to resort to a push/pull tone pot. So the 6-way Freeway switch seems ideal. However: how can I get the coil tap (with the 1.1k and 2.2k resistors) as opposed to the weaker split humbucker tone? Is this possible with a regular tone pot and the Freeway switch? Any help or even wiring diagram is much appreciated.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Great share, that’s some versatile sounds right there!

 

[BlueSky]

Great share, that’s some versatile sounds right there!

I know -- but I'd like to know if it is possible to get coil tap tone (as opposed to split) with a regular tone pot (no push/pull).

 

[Malloc]

Short answer: yes

Long answer: yes if you mean using one of these 6 way toggles with a non push/pull tone. You’ll have to pick only three extra combinations of coils. He says “taps” in that video, but PRS really uses splits with resistor (MT excluded). In this case his demo of both inner (slug) coils active is what you would get with the resistor mod on both pickup splits.

 

[BrianC]

on paper it makes perfect sense to have a switch like that

for me though, I rarely use my split tones at all. i like the idea that they are there and my guitar is a swiss army knife but again not much time on it that way.

 

[Boogie]

You could add/subtract the resistors with a push/pull and wire the Freeway as recommended. I envision a lot of play testing and trial-n-error in your future.

 

[BlueSky]

Short answer: yes

Long answer: yes if you mean using one of these 6 way toggles with a non push/pull tone. You’ll have to pick only three extra combinations of coils. He says “taps” in that video, but PRS really uses splits with resistor (MT excluded). In this case his demo of both inner (slug) coils active is what you would get with the resistor mod on both pickup splits.

I hope I got this right. If using a regular non-push/pull tone pot I can get the tap splitting by soldering the 1.1k and 2.2k resistors to the pot? In humbucking mode the resistors are not in the circuit, right?
I might do the mod when I decide to change the Dragon 2 pups. Still undecided on that one.

 

[Malloc]

I hope I got this right. If using a regular non-push/pull tone pot I can get the tap splitting by soldering the 1.1k and 2.2k resistors to the pot? In humbucking mode the reistors are not in the circuit, right?
I might do the mod when I decide to change the Dragon 2 pups. Still undecided on that one.

PRS splits work by shunting one coil to ground rather than changing the hot (though you still can switch hots if you want). Resistors go between the tap and ground to keep some of that signal still in circuit.

 

[Boogie]

No. The resistors need to be switchable unless you want them on all the time. You may have to have the pickup leads go to the switch before going to the Freeman, not sure. One of the best examples is the DGT wiring diagram. Note the resistor location on the push/pull. Instead of the pickup leads on the bottom lugs of the switch, you could also connect the appropriate terminal on the Freeway for the spit coil and this should add the tone shaping of the McCarty/DGT splits. Hope this helps.

 

[jxe]

considered it, guy’s frowny face talks me out of it every time. i do hate s push-pull tho; mini toggle forever.

 

[Johan Allard]

I have used the freeway switch in a couple of my PRSs, and currently have a P245SH with one. There's a few different versions of the freeway switch, the one in the video is pretty much a direct replacement for the rotary switch, with the outer/inner parallel, and inner series option. For that switch you cannot use resistors, and you wouldn't because in no position would you get a split humbucker on its own. With other freeway switches, you can do split humbuckers, and you can use resistors like in the DGT and a lot of other PRSs. The wiring in a freeway switch is split in the middle, where you have the hot side on the right, and the ground side on the left. You would have to work out in the wire diagram on the ground side where the switch is grounding one of the coils, and instead of directly connecting the wire to the switch, you solder the resistor to the switch and the wire to the other end of the resistor.

Unless you're very familiar with wiring diagrams, I'd get the freeway switch in the video, which is much, much easier to use than the rotary, and you don't need to worry about further wiring changes. If you want to get a more flexible setup, I would use pickups with 4 conductor wirings instead of the PRS 3 conductor wirings. In my P245SH I have a freeway switch and Bareknuckle Abraxas pickups. On one side, it's the standard 3 humbucker sounds and on the other I have it so it's the bridge pickup in parallel, two coils from different pickups in parallel and the split neck pickup. I also have a push/pull switch on the tone and the push/pull will switch from using the split neck to use parallel neck (making all positions noise cancelling). Works great, but it took quite a while of experimenting with different setups to workout that's how I want it.

 

[BlueSky]

Thanks everyone for the detailed explanations. If I get the Freeway switch installed, it will be the 3X3-03 model and then will replace the Dragon 2s with 4 conductor wiring pickups (not sure yet which). I'll use the wiring as Johan above: regular humbuckers on one side and then bridge pickup in parallel, two coils from different pickups in parallel and the split neck pickup.