[KH Guitar Freak]

Hey mates. Just wondering what are you thoughts on this. Recently I installed a Dimarzio Crunch Lab in the bridge position of a Telecaster with a six saddle bridge configuration. I have it wired to a single 500k ohm volume pot, Dimarzio of course. Have it wired to a three way blade switch, whereby it toggles between series humbucking, inner coil split, and lastly parallel humbucking. Quite like the sounds I'm getting, especially the parallel kinda simulates that clucky country picking tone.

Anyway, running a single volume does lead to the pickup sounding rather bright. Perhaps it's only normal when you have a single volume. A little bit strange to me as the pickup sounded rather dark and smooth in a EBMM JPX that I had tried a while back. I think I can live with the brightness, but a darker sound wouldn't hurt I guess. More crucially, I was thinking what are your opinions on another Dimarzio pickup that has similar tonal qualities to a Crunch Lab, but with less output for slightly better dynamics. I guess it would work very well if my Telecaster had a neck pickup, then toggle the inner coils of both pickups for cleans ala John Petrucci, but my Telecaster only has a single bridge pickup rout, and I would like to keep it that way.

Your thoughts are much appreciated. Enjoying my new Telecaster/Esquire right now 

[darkbluemurder]

You can simulate having a tone control by inserting a 470k or 560k resistor in series with a 0.022uf cap, going from the volume input to ground. This network acts like a tone control that is always full up.

Cheers Stephan

[KH Guitar Freak]

Hmm. Interesting. If I ever take up on that offer, I would wire it to a push pull to select between simulating a tone control on full, and volume only

That being said, I think the tone control simulation would only roll down the highs just a little. It must be the guitar. Same pickup sounds dark and smooth through a EBMM JPX

[darkbluemurder]

Correct - the effect is mostly subtle, in some cases barely audible.

Cheers Stephan

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Other than the simulating the tone, you can:

For series operation: 
1) Wire a resistor between the outer legs of the volume pot, or if for only one pickup or one pickup position, the hot tab on the switch for that pickup /position and ground.  This drops the effective value of the volume pot.  You can go anywhere from 10M, 5M, 3M, 2M, 1M, 820k, 680k, or 470k depending on how far you need to go.  Experiment and see what gets you there. 

2) Wire a very small cap on the tone control and roll it down for that pickup.  Helps to have a dedicated tone control for that pickup.  If your guitar is a 1 tone guitar, you can get concentric tone pots to split things up.  For bridge PAFs (7.5k-8.5k range 42ga wire) I find .001uf works great.  For anything hotter, 750pf works great.  Removes the obnoxious frequencies but leaves the cut and articulation. 

For parallel:

If you want your bridge humbucker to sound like a lighter version of itself instead of two bright singles in parallel, when you wire your push/pull or however you put it into parallel, run a .0022uf cap in parallel with a 470k resistor between the 2nd coil's hot and the first coil's ground.  This is shorted when the pickup is in series as these wires are shorted to create series operation; in parallel mode it rolls off highs and lets those two coils see ~230k to ground, which is more what a single coil wants to see. 

So for standard Dimarzio wiring R+ B -, W+ G-, run the cap/resistor between the tabs where the black and white wires are soldered. 

This trick works great for getting a 'vintage' sounding humbucker sound in parallel with pickup that is a hot humbucker in series. 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Thanks. First time getting a parallel humbucker sound. Is it normal to have a noticeable low end reduction in parallel mode compared to series humbucking?

[DarthPhineas]

Thanks. First time getting a parallel humbucker sound. Is it normal to have a noticeable low end reduction in parallel mode compared to series humbucking?

Depends on your concept of "noticeable".   imagine it being closer to running 2 single coils more so than 1 Humbucker. A little less presence than a Humbucker and a little more presence than a single cool.

[satch_jr]

For parallel:

If you want your bridge humbucker to sound like a lighter version of itself instead of two bright singles in parallel, when you wire your push/pull or however you put it into parallel, run a .0022uf cap in parallel with a 470k resistor between the 2nd coil's hot and the first coil's ground.  This is shorted when the pickup is in series as these wires are shorted to create series operation; in parallel mode it rolls off highs and lets those two coils see ~230k to ground, which is more what a single coil wants to see. 

So for standard Dimarzio wiring R+ B -, W+ G-, run the cap/resistor between the tabs where the black and white wires are soldered. 

This trick works great for getting a 'vintage' sounding humbucker sound in parallel with pickup that is a hot humbucker in series.

that's definitely interesting!!! thanks for sharing that info!

[darkbluemurder]

For series operation: 

2)  If your guitar is a 1 tone guitar, you can get concentric tone pots to split things up.

I run different caps to the tone control input from each of the connections on the switch if I want different values for bridge and neck pickups. In one guitar I have a 0.0022uf for the neck Firebird type pup and a 0.001uf for the bridge humbucker. No special tone pot needed.

BTW that parallel trick is very hot (or should I say "cool") indeed! I used it with great success on two teles and one DLX Plus equipped guitar.

Cheers Stephan

[satch_jr]

For parallel:

If you want your bridge humbucker to sound like a lighter version of itself instead of two bright singles in parallel, when you wire your push/pull or however you put it into parallel, run a .0022uf cap in parallel with a 470k resistor between the 2nd coil's hot and the first coil's ground.  This is shorted when the pickup is in series as these wires are shorted to create series operation; in parallel mode it rolls off highs and lets those two coils see ~230k to ground, which is more what a single coil wants to see. 

So for standard Dimarzio wiring R+ B -, W+ G-, run the cap/resistor between the tabs where the black and white wires are soldered. 

This trick works great for getting a 'vintage' sounding humbucker sound in parallel with pickup that is a hot humbucker in series.

that's definitely interesting!!! thanks for sharing that info!

So I've tested this with my paf joe. I already had a push pull to switch to parallel the neck pickup in the past, without the additional cap and resistor. I must say I was used and I liked that brighter sound, I don't think I'm gonna keep the additional R and C. I'll see...

[darkbluemurder]

In the neck position brightness is always welcome.

Cheers Stephan