SE Hollowbody II Piezo Can the 85/15 s be split?

[chuck eppinger]

Hey Y'all,
I am the proud owner of a BG SE Hollowbody II Piezo.. absolutely love her....
I have been checking out the
https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/components-and-parts/switches/free-way-pickup-switch.html
Free-way pickup switch which gives 6 configurations of pickups but the big question is are the 85/15s pickups 4 wire conductors and capable of splitting

Thanks and Jam on

 

[CandidPicker]

It's an interesting question, but I don't have an answer for you. The SE uses 85/15s pickups, which may or may not have the 4th conductor wire to enable you to do what you'd like.

Without physically peeking under the hood and pulling the pickups, you might contact PRS tech center at [email protected] directly and ask your question there. The PRS website also has a phone number where you can call and ask more directly, or leave a message and have someone get back to you.

Other than that, there are much more adventurous folks than myself on this forum that might lend a helping hand. I've not pulled the pickups and am somewhat hesitant to mess with something that sounds good to my ears just the same.

Not to dissuade or discourage you, but wouldn't splitting the pickups require that the Stew Mac device enable a coil-tap feature, in order to prevent 60 Hz hum from "true split pickups"?

The StewMac device sounds intriguing, but I personally don't have the tinkering skills required for a project of this kind. OTOH, if you've got some skills, no shame in trying. Best wishes, hope it works out for you.

 

[CarolD]

Yes. The pickups can be coil split. I’ve seen two now that have been sent to PRS to have the mini-toggles installed. I would love to have that done to mine…. Not sure what the pups sound like coil split.

 

[CandidPicker]

Yes. The pickups can be coil split. I’ve seen two now that have been sent to PRS to have the mini-toggles installed. I would love to have that done to mine…. Not sure what the pups sound like coil split.

@CarolD,

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[CarolD]

@CarolD,

Thanks for the clarification.

No worries. I was surprised to find out that they were splittable and that it wasn’t made a feature, esp given the price. One thing I think I recall (and I’m not 100% sure so you’d want to check it out) is that the push/pull tone pot doesn’t fit so you have to go the mini toggle route.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

No worries. I was surprised to find out that they were splittable and that it wasn’t made a feature, esp given the price. One thing I think I recall (and I’m not 100% sure so you’d want to check it out) is that the push/pull tone pot doesn’t fit so you have to go the mini toggle route.

Yeah , there was an earlier thread regarding coil splitting in a HB Piezo ... PRS Service replied as Carol D has said here, You have to go mini-toggles in a Piezo, as the piezo circuitry will not allow space for a push pull.

The Stew Mac gizmo might be interesting ... the switch location might work, and I wonder if PRS Service has been asked about this switch .

The pickups are 58/15S, not 85/15S however both are splitable. (I much prefer the 58/15 s set however)

BUT one thing that has not been mentioned in working on a HB. is that there are no neat little access plates to remove to get to the components. I saw a video, where a guy had to pull out the pickups, and use tubing on pots and stuff... to avoid having them fall into the hollow guitar cavity !

Tech labor charges probably go up accordingly ...

I'm not sure why the tone pot on the Std and 2 versions of the HB did not come with a push pull as do the
CU24's ...

I'm thinking (danger, danger) that I may want to split the bridge to get a split signal to feed into an acoustic simulator to do "better than piezo" acoustic tone . with a HB 2 ..

 

[CandidPicker]

No worries. I was surprised to find out that they were splittable and that it wasn’t made a feature, esp given the price. One thing I think I recall (and I’m not 100% sure so you’d want to check it out) is that the push/pull tone pot doesn’t fit so you have to go the mini toggle route.

IIRC, even my former Archtop didn't have a PP knob; it used a 3-way mini-toggle for switching between magnetic, mag/piezo, and piezo only. Something PTC could do, but not in my wheelhouse this time.

 

[CarolD]

I think the mini toggles that I’ve seen installed for coil tapping are these: https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/components-and-parts/switches/mini-toggle-switches.html

 

[CandidPicker]

I think the mini toggles that I’ve seen installed for coil tapping are these: https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/components-and-parts/switches/mini-toggle-switches.html

Yep, looks correct. The On/On/On switch was the one I had in mind.