Much better single coil sounds from a humbucker using the Partial Split mod

[Lewguitar]

I think the "PRS partial coil split" is a tonal improvement over splitting the coils of a humbucker by switching one coil completely off.

The two coils of a humbucker are connected in series with the end of the first coil's copper wire winding connected to the start of the second coil's copper wire winding. That junction is almost always the red and white wires of a 4 conductor pickup.

If you connect a switch to that junction so that when you engage the switch you connect that junction to ground, you'll shut the first coil OFF but leave the second coil ON. That's how a coil split switch works.

Basically what this Partial Split mod does is use a resistor connected to ground when the switch is engaged, instead of a wire.

Using a resistor prevents 100% of the output of that coil from going to ground and being lost. Some of the signal is "resisted" from leaving, and it stays in the audio signal.

The #1 coil remains partially ON and adds to the strength of the #2 coil.

I replaced the tone control in my '00 CE22 with this CTS 500K push/pull tone control that can split TWO humbuckers separately. The switch is actually TWO separate switches, one for each pickup.

I used a 1.1K resistor for the neck pickup and 2.2K for the bridge pickup.

https://imgur.com/n2EZUQ9

https://imgur.com/yuLBhES

This CE22 had already been modified by the original owner before I bought it from him. The original Dragon II pickups and rotary switch were already gone.

I removed the replacement pickups he'd put in it and installed a set of John Suhr SSV and SSH+ pickups.

The SSH+ is about as hot as a Dragon I Treble pickup, and if you're a Dragon lover it's a viable alternative to the Dragon I bridge pickup.

https://imgur.com/t9ZvZ2y

 

[JasonE]

So what you are saying is that PRS may be on to something with this method?

 

[Lewguitar]

So what you are saying is that PRS may be on to something with this method?

Absolutely. It's a brilliant improvement over just switching one coil of a humbucker on or off.

The idea of turning one coil of a humbucker "down" instead of switching it "off" has been around a while though.

Twenty years ago the members of the Seymour Duncan User Forum were doing something very similar, called the SPIN-A-SPLIT.

Instead of switching one coil on or off, they would use a potentiometer to split the coils. That way the volume of the coil that was being turned off could be adjusted and you could determine the "best" single coil sound for you.

If you then wanted to replace that Spin-A-Split pot with a resistor, you'd find the setting you liked best, measure the resistance the pot was set for, and replace it with a resistor of that resistance.

 

[JasonE]

Absolutely. It's a brilliant improvement over just switching one coil of a humbucker on or off.

The idea of turning one coil of a humbucker down instead of turning it off has been around a while though.

Twenty years ago the members of the Seymour Duncan User Forum were doing something very similar, called the SPIN-A-SPLIT.

Instead of a switch to turn one coil on or off, they would use a potentiometer to split the coils. That way the volume of the coil that was being turned off could be adjusted up or down and you could determine the "best" single coil sound for you.

If you then wanted to replace that Spin-A-Split pot with a resistor, you'd measure what that pot is set for and replace it with a resistor of that value.

I like the idea of having that adjustment on a knob on the guitar. That is a really cool idea. Put that on a push pull pot and have it all on one control.

 

[Lewguitar]

I like the idea of having that adjustment on a knob on the guitar. That is a really cool idea. Put that on a push pull pot and have it all on one control.

You'd need two more knobs. One for each pickup.

So four knobs plus a selector switch.

Volume
Tone
Split neck
Split bridge

 

[Rider1260]

Wait till you try a Pauls , or 408 or Sig Limited also the 58/15mt pickups in my Special Semi Hollow have the extra turns when tapped

 

[Torvald]

Hmmm. I did this on my McCarty and I agree it works well, but I'm not quite understanding how your new pot works vs the standard push/pull or what the red lines are in your diagram. With the standard push/pull both pickups are spit at the same time but with different value resistors. You show two pots in your pictures. Did you replace both the volume and tone pots?

 

[Lewguitar]

Hmmm. I did this on my McCarty and I agree it works well, but I'm not quite understanding how your new pot works vs the standard push/pull or what the red lines are in your diagram. With the standard push/pull both pickups are spit at the same time but with different value resistors. You show two pots in your pictures. Did you replace both the volume and tone pots?

Two pots because I have two guitars. One for each.

The CE22 is finished.

Next is this one: SE Singlecut with Duncan 59 neck and JB bridge.

Going to do the same mod I did on the CE22.

Red lines? You must mean red wires.

A 4 conductor humbucking pickup has black, green, red and white wires.

Each wire is connected to either the start or finish of the copper wire wound around each bobbin to create the coil.

https://imgur.com/t2MLeFc

 

[Torvald]

Two pots because I have two guitars. One for each.

The CE22 is finished.

Next is this one: Korean made SE Singlecut with Duncan 59 neck and JB bridge.

Going to do the same mod I did on the CE22.

Red lines? You must mean red wires.

A 4 conductor humbucking pickup has black, green, red and white wires.

Each wire is connected to either the start or finish of the copper wire wound around each bobbin to create the coil.

https://imgur.com/t2MLeFc

I mean the red lines that seem to have been added to the wiring diagram. Going from the neck pickup resistor to the neck hot side of the three way.

 

[Lewguitar]

I mean the red lines that seem to have been added to the wiring diagram. Going from the neck pickup resistor to the neck hot side of the three way.

I don't know what the hand drawn red lines are indicating. I'm going to remove that diagram so no one gets confused.

The only part of that diagram I followed was the wiring of the tone pot.

The wiring of the tone pot push/pull switch is not really different from a conventional coil split switch with a wire soldered to ground to switch one coil of a humbucker "off".

The difference is that a resistor is substituted for the wire and then that coil will be reduced in volume but not completely off when the switch is engaged.