The Chorus of the Cosmos... first demo page 34!

[sylnau]

Ry, there's single coil in my guitar too (tap coil).
The more I play the v3 proto, the more I like it.

[Ryan]

Well ok.. but we'll still do the pizza and root beers thing hey?

I've never had a guitar with coil tap humbuckers but I wish I did, I like that idea, best of both worlds innit?

[AngryGoldfish]

It never sounds the same, though. I've never tried a coil-split/tap that sounds as awesome as a P90 or a Bareknuckle Tele neck pick-up.

[sylnau]

Doesn't sound like P90... I will need a P90 equiped guitar soon.

Pizza, wenever you want buddy. Bring that G&L so we could jam.

[Holy Schnikes]

I focused on sound quality first, noise levels second, and headroom third. I would warn people to not expect higher headroom out of v3, but to definitely expect better sound quality. I've got a trimpot on the pcb that can turn down the input level of the wet signal which can then be compensated by turning the volume knob up more, but the increase in headroom comes at the price of higher noise. That's the way the compromise works though, the classic 2 out of 3 scenario where you can only have 2 and not the third...

I think you'll find it works with your fuzz/distortion better now too, Shannon, remember how you found the v2 to be a little quieter and a lot darker... the level is sorted out and while the wet signal is still noticeably darker when used with a lot of gain (it can go brighter than dry when clean, it's just that the extra high frequency content added by a lot of gain doesn't make it through the filtering), the wet and dry blend in a way that doesn't emphasize it as much... to my ears at least.. you can keep the fuzz/dist tone very similar while adding in the chorus effect.

I'm sure Shannon will like it. I like the v2 a lot, but the v3 is a lot better with dirt.
I have humbucker so I reduce that trimpot a bit... sound great.
Nice work Ryan... can't wait to have mine with the sparkly finish.

Yep, my ONLY complaint with the v2 was how it worked with dirt in my particular setup. Coulda been a combination of many things amp/guitar/other pedals but I love and miss everything else about my v2. Psyched to have a v3 back on the board. Beyond psyched even....

[Ryan]

Bareknuckle is such a cool brand name... gotta get a set one day!

So there's a bit of a compromise with a coil tap setup? Can you do that to any humbucker or does it take a special humbucker?

I like P90s for sure, very awesome... I think the EGC pickups are in the P90 style/family although I might be talking out of my butt there. I've got an ASAT Tele with P90 style pickers in it and they sound great.

[Holy Schnikes]

Well ok.. but we'll still do the pizza and root beers thing hey?

I've never had a guitar with coil tap humbuckers but I wish I did, I like that idea, best of both worlds innit?

Bareknuckle is such a cool brand name... gotta get a set one day!

So there's a bit of a compromise with a coil tap setup? Can you do that to any humbucker or does it take a special humbucker?

My Maton and Fender both have coil-tapped HBs and the Fender adds phase switching as well. It rules Ryan, you should try it. I really love the middle position with one set to standard HB and the other single coil, tons of options! Only compromise would be loss of volume and a little added noise in single coil mode but that goes with the territory.

I recently wired my LP Custom Bare Knuckles with series/parallel switching as opposed to coil tap and it rules too. Not as much volume drop and no noise so that's something else to consider. Not quite single coil sounds, kind of a hybrid, really full and sweet.

Oh, and you need a 4 conductor HB as opposed to 2 conductor to experiment with these wiring options.

[sylnau]

So there's a bit of a compromise with a coil tap setup? Can you do that to any humbucker or does it take a special humbucker?

I have no idea... I have the Dragon II pickup in my PRS.
There's a little volume drop on the single coil side... but sound great. Sound Teleish to me.

One day I might try to replace them with Lollar Imperial.

[AngryGoldfish]

Bareknuckle is such a cool brand name... gotta get a set one day!

So there's a bit of a compromise with a coil tap setup? Can you do that to any humbucker or does it take a special humbucker?

I like P90s for sure, very awesome... I think the EGC pickups are in the P90 style/family although I might be talking out of my butt there. I've got an ASAT Tele with P90 style pickers in it and they sound great.

Yeah, there is a compromise, but it's basically what everyone has detailed already. To most it's minimal, but to those who are single-coil enthusiasts they will always say that it's just not the same. The fact is, it's not the same. There is always going to be a compromise in some area. We all know how the fine details make a big difference in the gear acquisition obsession.

Those G&L P90's are frickin' awesome sounding. G&L really got it right.

[Holy Schnikes]

^ Agreed.

Coil tap or series/parallel options are better suited to those who love and rely on Humbuckers but want some versatility as opposaed to a true single coil enthusiast.

[AngryGoldfish]

^ Agreed.

Coil tap or series/parallel options are better suited to those who love and rely on Humbuckers but want some versatility as opposaed to a true single coil enthusiast.

Exactly. I generally prefer humbuckers for all styles of music and playing styles, but that extra versatility can make a world of difference. It's not going to be strictly a Tele and a Les Paul in one, but it'll get you great tones nonetheless. The biggest hurdle is finding a humbucker that you like that can be split properly without losing too much tone or output. Anything below 8-10k can be sometimes too soft when split, making it impractical live. Around 12-15k is commonly more ideal, but by then you've lost the PAF sound and you're into high gain and high compression territory.

I think a series/parallel is a great alternative. A bass contour control also derives similar results to a coil-tap.

[sylnau]

I only have one guitar... so for me this is the most versatile option I could get.
And I prefer the sound of humbucker (but not hot humbucker).
Still wish to purchase a great P90 equiped guitar.
But those builders, they should stop build pedals for a year, so I could finaly funds that guitar.

[AngryGoldfish]

I've had to completely avoid spending any money on pedals in order to finish saving up for an amp I've been jonesing after for almost a year.

[Holy Schnikes]

The biggest hurdle is finding a humbucker that you like that can be split properly without losing too much tone or output. Anything below 8-10k can be sometimes too soft when split, making it impractical live. Around 12-15k is commonly more ideal, but by then you've lost the PAF sound and you're into high gain and high compression territory.

I think a series/parallel is a great alternative. A bass contour control also derives similar results to a coil-tap.

Bass contour would work well, never considered that. And yep, finding the right HB can be difficult. I went with the Bare Knuckle Abraxas, part of their Vintage Hot series. Basically the Mule (refined PAF 59/57 design) but with some extra output to make 'em hang in when you coil tap or go series/parallel. Bridge is like 14K and the neck comes in around 8K but they somehow retain a kinda vintage sound as opposed to high gain compression. Worked out well.

Interested to check out some of the Motor City stuff too. The Riffer was thoroughly impressed with some he recently tried out.

I only have one guitar... so for me this is the most versatile option I could get.
And I prefer the sound of humbucker (but not hot humbucker).
Still wish to purchase a great P90 equiped guitar.
But those builders, they should stop build pedals for a year, so I could finaly funds that guitar.

Haha, yeah, so much easier to buy multiple pedals than save up for guitar but so worth it when you can manage.

And you did the right thing Sylvain esp if you're a fan of humbuckers like myself. I'll honestly never go with a straight hb set again. Series/parallel will probably be my go-to from here out cuz I'm now accustomed to that versatility. And a nice P90 equipped guitar would rule too but I've yet to fall in love with those pickups. One day....

[mynar7]

Yo, I'll chime in on coil-splitting. I took this old korean les paul I had and threw some of these in it http://www.guitarfetish.com/VEH-Vintage ... p_786.html
They're 11.2k and 9.4k for bridge and neck respectively. So a little hotter than normal humbuckers.
Then I pulled a wiring diagram off the internet and rigged it with some other after market parts so that I could split each humbucker with push-pull volume pots.



Anywho, my experience with it for about $100 worth of shiz is pretty damn good. The humbuckers are sort of shit for clean tones but when you switch them back to singles you get nice warm cleans. It's not like having a tele in your paul or anything, but it gives you a lot more to work with with one guitar. Of course, the humbuckers are pretty damn good with a little to a lot of dirt too. So you do get to have your cake and eat it too. I suppose if you're a real pickup snob you'd probably be dissatisfied, but the pickups are better than stock and they sound pretty damn good to me. It really breathed new life into an old, sort-of-shitty guitar.