Rigging Core Custom 24 to split coils

[Randwulf83]

Hi - I'm a lefty guitarist looking to finally make the upgrade from an SE Custom 24 to a core model. Problem is, I love the versatility of having coil splits, as I often play middle position with splits, but love switching to a beefy humbucker in bridge position every so often. And the core PRS C24 models I find in lefty don't split.

If I got a core C24 and took it to a luthier, could they rig it so the coils split via push/pull and do so without having to change the pups? Part of my love for these instruments is in the signature 85/15 pups.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

I'm pretty sure those do, but open it up to check - if your pickups have 4 wires off each (red, green, black and white, usually) then you're good to go.

 

[Mystic38]

I believe the 5-way blade gave you splits.. don't lefties get that?

 

[chicagoslim]

Welcome to the forum. The 5-way switch splits the pickups in position 4 and position 2 gives you a split neck pickup, with the bridge humbucker. They are wired in parallel and sound better than with the push/pull splits. Position 2 has become my most used sound.

 

[Malloc]

To directly answer the OP: yes core 85/15 pickups are splittable. There is also a fairly easy mod which gets you 8 total sounds out of the 5 way switch plus a single push/pull tone if you want independently splittable combinations. If you’re fine with both splitting on the same push/pull and don’t mind overlap of position sounds that’s a trivial mod.

 

[Randwulf83]

To directly answer the OP: yes core 85/15 pickups are splittable. There is also a fairly easy mod which gets you 8 total sounds out of the 5 way switch plus a single push/pull tone if you want independently splittable combinations. If you’re fine with both splitting on the same push/pull and don’t mind overlap of position sounds that’s a trivial mod.

Do the eight total sounds include having just one coil on for either HB with the other HB completely turned off? Like the sound of a lone single coil on a strat?

 

[Malloc]

Yes the positions would be:

Push/pull down:
1. Bridge HB
2. Bridge HB + neck single
3. Bridge HB + neck HB
4. Neck single
5. Neck HB

Push/pull up:
1. Bridge single
2. Bridge single + neck single
3. Bridge single + neck HB
4. Neck single (dupe)
5. Neck HB (dupe)

Essentially it makes the push/pull split the bridge with a slight rearrangement of the standard 5 positions.

 

[garrett]

Assuming it has a blade switch then yeah you can do my 8-tone mod. Or if you want to keep it more like the SE, you can put in a three-way blade and a push/pull to tap the pickups.

Again assuming it's a blade switch guitar, you'll have red, white, black, and bare wires on the 85/15 pickups. Good to go for coil tapping.

But if they're the newer TCI pickups, I got nothin' for ya. They are wired differently and I haven't gotten to work with them. But you could still tap 'em somehow.