Coil splitting a Jagstang bridge for Start like quack / positions 2+4?

[andrew00]

Heya,

I was wondering if anyone has modded their Jagstang by splitting the humbucker coils, ie so they operate as two single coils, then using this with a strat style wiring / 5 position switch to get the positions 2+4 quack?

I have a Jagstang, and a partscaster Mustang with single coils, to which I added a 3 position switch. I also have a strat, that I like but I find too heavy / big, hence the love of offsets. I do miss the in-between position sounds, ie the quack of positions 2+4.

I was wondering if I could mod the Jagstang to split the humbucker coils, then add a strat style 5 position blade switch. The idea being that I'd now have, essentially, 3 single coils pickups, and wired like a strat would give me the quack on 2+4.

Has anyone does something similar and how did it go?

[GilmourD]

Unfortunately that wouldn't work as you're thinking. Basically what you're describing is wiring a humbucker in parallel instead of its normal series operation, which is a thing people do already for a more single-coil-like tone out of a Gibson-type humbucker.

The reason for the quack is frequency cancellation due to the pickups being a particular distance from each other and picking up different harmonic content. The two coils of a humbucker are too close together for that particular effect.

[andrew00]

Ah I see, that's a shame. Do you think it'd worth with a one of the coils in the humbucker + the neck in parallel? With a tele, say, that produces the nice but very different both position sound, compared to the strat quack. But on a short scale the distances might be more commensurate?

[GilmourD]

Ah I see, that's a shame. Do you think it'd worth with a one of the coils in the humbucker + the neck in parallel? With a tele, say, that produces the nice but very different both position sound, compared to the strat quack. But on a short scale the distances might be more commensurate?

Yeah, it would be more Tele-like. You could do what I did on my purple Tele. I have a Tone Zone T in the bridge of that and I put a three-way toggle on it so I have the middle position as straight series humbucker, down is the coil closer to the saddles, and up is both coils in parallel. If you did that with the bridge humbucker on your Jag-Stang then flip to the middle on the main selector it would do what you're suggesting there. It would, however, still be difference since one coil from a humbucker isn't quite the same as a regular Fender-style single coil.

Also, if you want to lose your mind... Do that and play with pickup heights. On a Strat I'll play with the height of the middle pickup to adjust the quack. I also slightly prefer the quack of a Strat where all three pickups are the same (vintage pre-1980, apparently, but I could've sworn it was '77 or so that they added a hotter bridge pickup, current Pure Vintage '59 and '65 sets, etc.) meaning the middle is also not RWRP.

[F15hface]

I feel like it would be possible with a 4-wire humbucker? Just treat each coil as it's own pickup rather than wiring the south of one to the north of the other to create a regular series humbucker?

[GilmourD]

I feel like it would be possible with a 4-wire humbucker? Just treat each coil as it's own pickup rather than wiring the south of one to the north of the other to create a regular series humbucker?

But like I said, electrically it's just wiring a humbucker in parallel, which doesn't quack since the coils are right up against each other.

[F15hface]

I feel like it would be possible with a 4-wire humbucker? Just treat each coil as it's own pickup rather than wiring the south of one to the north of the other to create a regular series humbucker?

But like I said, electrically it's just wiring a humbucker in parallel, which doesn't quack since the coils are right up against each other.

Clearly I should've done more than very quickly skim.

I guess the only real answer is route + add a middle pickup. Would be cool.
Or sell the strat and get a cyclone, though I'm not sure if they're 24" or 24.75".