Help! modding Axis SS with Series/Parallel/(onboard)Clean Boost switch?

[douglasspears]

So I picked up a sweet Rosewood Axis SS a year ago. It had a 3-way mini switch (on the front) and battery compartment (around back) professional installed. I believe the intent of the previous owner was to then add a piezo preamp and saddles....but these were not added.

Instead of the piezo, I'd like to add an onboard clean boost of some sort and wire the 3-way mini switch to switch between series, parallel and the clean boost. Basically, I'd love to get 3 output levels with each of the 3 switch positions.

A few questions I'd love some help with:
1 - Am I correct in thinking that either series or parallel is a bit louder than the other? Which one is louder?
2 - is a stock Axis SS currently in series or parallel?
3 - would wiring for series/parallel degrade the original tone (signal path) in any way?
4 - would also wiring in a clean boost degrade the original tone in any way?
5 - any recommendations on an on board clean boost? One that would be small enough to fit into the existing control cavity? Again, there is already a battery compartment installed but doing nothing currently.

Basically I'd like 3 levels of output: 1 - main output level, 2 - slight boost to bring single coils up to HB volume, and 3 - that extra little zip to push things over the edge.

Any thoughts, ideas, or things I may be overlooking would be appreciated. I'll have this professionally done, I'm just getting an idea if this is possible.

Thanks!
Doug

 

[GrooveHT]

So I picked up a sweet Rosewood Axis SS a year ago. It had a 3-way mini switch (on the front) and battery compartment (around back) professional installed. I believe the intent of the previous owner was to then add a piezo preamp and saddles....but these were not added.

Instead of the piezo, I'd like to add an onboard clean boost of some sort and wire the 3-way mini switch to switch between series, parallel and the clean boost. Basically, I'd love to get 3 output levels with each of the 3 switch positions.

A few questions I'd love some help with:
1 - Am I correct in thinking that either series or parallel is a bit louder than the other? Which one is louder?
2 - is a stock Axis SS currently in series or parallel?
3 - would wiring for series/parallel degrade the original tone (signal path) in any way?
4 - would also wiring in a clean boost degrade the original tone in any way?
5 - any recommendations on an on board clean boost? One that would be small enough to fit into the existing control cavity? Again, there is already a battery compartment installed but doing nothing currently.

Basically I'd like 3 levels of output: 1 - main output level, 2 - slight boost to bring single coils up to HB volume, and 3 - that extra little zip to push things over the edge.

Any thoughts, ideas, or things I may be overlooking would be appreciated. I'll have this professionally done, I'm just getting an idea if this is possible.

Thanks!
Doug

Hey Doug, I can help with the first three questions. A humbucker wired in series is generally going to be louder than in parallel. Stock, the Axis Super Sport humbuckers are in series in positions one and five, and the individual pickups are in series while being parallel with each other in position 3. It's easier to explain like this:

+ is parallel
x is series
neck humbucker is coils 1 and 2 , bridge is 3 and 4. Sooo,
Pos1: 1X2 this means coil 1 is in series with 2
Pos2: 2+3 this means the inner coils are together in parallel with each other, clucky like a strat although somewhat brighter
Pos3 (1x2)+(3x4) I talked about this above, but this is like a Les Paul does it
Pos4: 1+4 outer coils are in parallel with each other, like a tele's neck+bridge combo
Pos5: 3x4, bridge humbucker in series

So, that being the case, I think wiring a series/parallel switch could make sense for positions 1 and 5, it sounds like a bit of work.I also believe that using a 3-way to do all that might be a bit challenging as I'm almost sure the previous owner used an two-pole switch, which you would have to replace with a 4-pole switch, as used on the Petrucci. The short, short version is that while its probably all technically possible, it sounds like a huge pain in the keister A two position switch that acts as a clean boost on/off sounds like a better idea to me, unless you're set on putting the humbuckers in parallel. Hope that helps!

Oh yeah, if you do the wiring neat and tidy-like, it won't degrade the signal path to do a series/parallel switch, just so long as you keep the work neat!

 

[douglasspears]

ah, thanks for the info Groove. I guess I really never fully understood series and parallel. I didn't realize that some pickups were wired in series and some in parallel on the same guitar. I was thinking the entire guitar was either series or parellel, and I could switch to the louder on when using the single coils. Guess it's not that easy.

Makes sense about the 2-pole vs. 4-pole switch on my 3 way mini. I'm not sure which it is.

Just reading about the 25th with the series/parallel switch, I figured, "hey, I've got a 3 way in there and a battery compartment, why not wire it like the 25th, but add a clean boost for a 3rd output level as well?".

I may still be interested in adding a clean boost of some sort, just to bring the single coils up to HB output, and have a little extra breathing room if needed when using the HB's.

Thanks again! I'm open to other ideas and input too.
Doug

 

[GrooveHT]

No problem Doug, glad to help!