Albert Lee folks -- I need some mentoring...

[Gschrock313]

I have a question about a possible pickup variation -- Has anyone done the parallel wiring for the bridge (or both) pickups?
I'll give up the split; EBMM says they've never done it so they have to defer from any wiring advice.
I think removing the PCB and just putting in a new Push/Pull to give a series/parallel option is the simpler route but my tech here will need some guidance. I'll continue to check around for resources but I figured this is a great one to snoop around in first.

 

[beej]

You can do parallel wiring, but you would have to rethink how the 5-way switching works- it's not really compatible and you'd lose one of the in-between positions. (Though you could so something different with it.)

If you want something really interesting, ask for a wiring diagram from the 25th Anniversary guitar / Reflex. Same pickups, and it has series/parallel wiring with a toggle switch. (It's not simple to wire up, though.) Very cool and unique wiring scheme.

If you don't want to make it too complicated, you could wire it up to split the pickups in positions 1 & 5 only. That way the guitar is fully usable in every switch position, and you get two extra options. I have a 25th wired up like this (and a LIII HH that does this only in position 5). It's not hard to do.

 

[Gschrock313]

Thanks Beej,
Are you saying it could it be easily modded to do the parallel option in positions 1 & 5 without removing the PCB?-- that would be plenty for me, even if it were only for the neck (the wiring with the super switch is far beyond my conceptual capacity...). Also I'm not opposed to adding a simple toggle if it's the cleanest way.

 

[beej]

I’m suggesting a split in 1 & 5, not parallel wiring. Parallel would require losing one of the in-between switch positions (it would be grounded out).

As for the pcb … you shouldn’t have one in there. You could replace a pot with a push/push or push/pull that can split either one or both pickups.

 

[Johnny Alien]

I was going to say that I don't remember a PCB in my AL HH when it was stock. I would also throw out to not be quick to drop to 9's. IMO EBMM guitars with trem units have a knack for making the strings fell pretty slinky. I go up a gauge on my Music Man's. So if I normally like 10's I actually go to 11's. Double so on the full rosewood necks. Last time I took my Axis Sport to the tech with some strings he asked me if I really wanted to go up to 11's and his mind was blown when I told him it already had 11's on it. I don't know the science behind it and maybe I am the only one that experiences that but for me personally its always one up on the balls

 

[Johnny Alien]

You could replace a pot with a push/push or push/pull that can split either one or both pickups.

This is a really elegant solution. You could move to a 4 way blade switch and have B - HH (series) - HH (parallel) - N and then a push pull pot to split the humbuckers. You would lose the variation of split inside and split outside but IMO that tonal difference is small enough to not worry about