Tech Question : Silo HSH Rewiring

[Dizzy]

Just wondering what the possibilities are of rewiring a Silo's (HSH) Switching to enable selection of Coils 2 & 5 (To give same configuration as Silo Special (HSS) Coils 2 & 4 in position 3)
The separation between coils would be less due to the 24 frets, but would be greater than the 1 & 3 or 3 & 5 Coil configs already available via positons 2 & 4.

From what I can see in the wiring spec, it looks possible ?
(I'm no electrical tech, just like toying with ideas and finding out as much as I can)

Obviously one position would have to be sacrificed (Unless a 6 way swtich was available ?) I'd say probably position 2 (Coils 1 & 3), as I think the cleans I'll get via position 4 (Coils 3 & 5) will be more beneficial.
As crazy as it seems, I was even thinking Position 5 (Coils 4 & 5) could go (effectively nulling the humbucker!), as I've already got 4 HH guitars (One being a Satch with coil tap). If any of this is possible, I'd be interested in comments regardinging which one to sacrifice.

You may ask "why didn't you just get a Silo Spec ?"
Answer : Serious GAS led me to pull the trigger on a great deal on a very clean Silo. I had also thought that the selection of Position 3 (Coil 3) could give a bit of a Tele-like sound ? (Coil 3 alone isn't available on the Special)

Any ideas ? / Anyone done anything similar ?
Would/could the difference be worth it ?
Am I crazy / deluded ?

Thanks !

 

[beej]

Ok, so essentially you want to wire up the switch to give you one coil from either humbucker and have the middle coil on it's own switch position? I think that's doable. You'd have to do some odd wiring, but I think you could do that with a Super Switch from Stewmac.

The separation between coils would be less due to the 24 frets, but would be greater than the 1 & 3 or 3 & 5 Coil configs already available via positons 2 & 4.

True. But as you separate the coils more, you're more likely to get a tele type sound than a strat "quack". If that's what you want then why not do coils 1 & 5 for the most separation?

Obviously one position would have to be sacrificed ... I was even thinking Position 5 (Coils 4 & 5) could go (effectively nulling the humbucker!), as I've already got 4 HH guitars (One being a Satch with coil tap) ... You may ask "why didn't you just get a Silo Spec ?"

Yep, it does sound like you want the Silo Spec wiring. Another option is to buy a replacement pickguard that's milled for SSH and put in different pickups to suit your needs- then you can always go back to HSH by swapping in the old one (and avoid lots of messy wiring).

Coil 3 alone isn't available on the Special

The middle coil is accessible on the SSS Silo Spec, just not on the SSH one.

If you don't care about the middle pickup on it's own, the easier option to wire up is the Megaswitch from Stewmac. You'd get both humbuckers, the strat positions and the middle position would be the outer coil from either humbucker rather than the single on it's own.

 

[jamminjim]

additionally

a person could add in a push/pull volume pot to even further add to the selections and complexity.

 

[Dizzy]

Thanks Jim & Beej.

The Megaswitch sounds like a great option.
The push/pull option is good too.

Thanks for the feedback.

Has anyone actually done any modifications ?
I'd be interested to hear how the PAFs and single coil sound with a modded switching.

 

[uvacom]

If you don't care about the middle pickup on it's own, the easier option to wire up is the Megaswitch from Stewmac. You'd get both humbuckers, the strat positions and the middle position would be the outer coil from either humbucker rather than the single on it's own.

That is exactly what I've been looking for! I've been trying to figure out how the hell to get that configuration with my AL (I never use the middle pickup but have been wanting a tele-like neck+bridge) without adding any additional switches or push-pull pots, now I have my answer.

Thanks!

 

[beej]

Hey- happy to help

Has anyone actually done any modifications ?
I'd be interested to hear how the PAFs and single coil sound with a modded switching.

I regularly noodle with the wiring in my guitars, and most of the time things sound fine. The only thing to watch for is the coil split in the HBs- the split coils will hum and it's a hassle to wire that system up to the silent circuit.

One other crazy mod you can do is wire up a 4P3T toggle switch to control both HBs and put them in series/parallel/split mode. In parallel, they'll sound very similar to split coils but without any hum

Though, most of the time extra switches are a hassle. Easier to figure out what you really need and just stick with that.

 

[Dizzy]

Hey- happy to help



I regularly noodle with the wiring in my guitars, and most of the time things sound fine. The only thing to watch for is the coil split in the HBs- the split coils will hum and it's a hassle to wire that system up to the silent circuit.
.

Thanks again.

From what I've now read on the stewmac switch, all positions are hum-cancelling, hence my enthusiasm for this mod - it seems to cover all bases.

 

[beej]

Yes, any combination of two single coils will be hum-canceling, so the Stewmac switch is ideal.

It's just if you wire up something that involves a single on it's own without the silent circuit (e.g. coil split) that you'd have noise.

Rawk on.

 

[ghostinabottle]

Interesting topic.

I´d like to have the options to get the outer coils together with a push /pull and leave the stock hsh wiring without a stew mac/megaswitch.
would this be possible?
anyone who can do a picture of this?

 

[brokenvail]

Although I really like Beej idea another option would be to make your Silo an hss config then you can have a single coil in the neck position.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

There are always options. Both volume and tone can be push-pulls, which can break up or add whatever you're looking for, with some wiring work.

If you want way more options, you can go with a rotary switch in place of say the tone knob....or add it in. I did this on my first iteration of my Sublhouette, going to a volume and 2 double pole rotary switches with 6 positions each. I was able to get in phase/out of phase on any coil (2 hum sub pickups) and each hum was independent, so I could add in whatever I wanted. The wiring was not for the faint of heart.....I'm a EE, so it was fun for me. I decided to change because I wanted to try a fairly straight forward HSS setup, so bought everything from a silo spec, including the silent circuit. But, of course, I had to wire it differently from a Silo spec.