Z-Coils in Series vs. Parallel

[xg5a]

A few weeks ago I played one of the new Ibanez artist reissue guitars with the tri-tone switches, that let you set up their humbuckers with the coils in series (standard), but also in parallel, and I thought it was a great system. The humbucker in parallel sounds like the in-between position on a strat: chimey and bright.

So that got me thinking, my Comanche lets me select adjacent pickups to be switched on together in the normal parallel but not in series. Series/parallel switching would allow me to turn two single coils into a humbucker, the opposite of how the Ibanez turns the humbucker into two single coils. I found this article, and it seems pretty doable wiring-wise:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/A ... Your_Strat
I'm guessing it would be really punchy and a little warmer than a single Z-coil, but would still retain some of those wonderful MFD highs, so I really want to try it.

I was wondering two things:

Does anyone have experience making this modification - Do you think it sounds good? For what it's worth, I've removed the treble bleed cap from my volume control (I never play with the treble tone on 10, so it doesn't matter and I like the added bass without it), and I've also removed the fixed capacitor to balance things out and retain some highs, although I'm thinking of putting it back since the guitar is a little too shrill. I want to evaluate the pickups in series first, though.

Also, are the brass base plates of the Z-coils grounded? And if so, what do I need to do to set them up with their own ground leads? I'd like to avoid removing the covers, if possible, for fear of destroying the windings.

My guitar is actually in for a warranty repair right now, so I won't be able to try out this modification for a few weeks. But I wanted to get my plan together and see what everyone thinks about the sound plus possible pitfalls. Thanks for the help!

[Craig]

A few weeks ago I played one of the new Ibanez artist reissue guitars with the tri-tone switches, that let you set up their humbuckers with the coils in series (standard), but also in parallel, and I thought it was a great system. The humbucker in parallel sounds like the in-between position on a strat: chimey and bright.

So that got me thinking, my Comanche lets me select adjacent pickups to be switched on together in the normal parallel but not in series. Series/parallel switching would allow me to turn two single coils into a humbucker, the opposite of how the Ibanez turns the humbucker into two single coils. I found this article, and it seems pretty doable wiring-wise:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/A ... Your_Strat
I'm guessing it would be really punchy and a little warmer than a single Z-coil, but would still retain some of those wonderful MFD highs, so I really want to try it.

I was wondering two things:

Does anyone have experience making this modification - Do you think it sounds good? For what it's worth, I've removed the treble bleed cap from my volume control (I never play with the treble tone on 10, so it doesn't matter and I like the added bass without it), and I've also removed the fixed capacitor to balance things out and retain some highs, although I'm thinking of putting it back since the guitar is a little too shrill. I want to evaluate the pickups in series first, though.

Also, are the brass base plates of the Z-coils grounded? And if so, what do I need to do to set them up with their own ground leads? I'd like to avoid removing the covers, if possible, for fear of destroying the windings.

My guitar is actually in for a warranty repair right now, so I won't be able to try out this modification for a few weeks. But I wanted to get my plan together and see what everyone thinks about the sound plus possible pitfalls. Thanks for the help!

Check out this recent post: Breakfast Report Thursday, July 31, 2014: Comanche VI stuff.
I'm certain there are other posts which will relate to your questions, so try searching on them individually.
Also check the Album: Instrument Manuals and Wiring Schematics of the Gallery, too.

Hope this helps.

[zedsnotdead]

Hello,

I have a Tribute S500 and installed a switch to make middle PU in series with Neck or Bridge (depending on 5way switch position).
The schematic i think it is not like the one on premierguitar that you posted, but the effect is the same, and with MFD pickups also.

You sure have a huge output bump, but the tone becomes really dark and muddy. I mean so dark I have to turn the bass control almost to zero so it retains any brightness.
I was thinking of trying a different capacitor but I don't know...
YMMV of course.

[xg5a]

Craig - thanks for the links! I had seen most of the previous topics and the wiring diagrams, but I had NOT seen that "history of the Comanche" thread you linked. Very interesting read! It seems like the Z-coils are kind of an unfinished project for G&L. I would love to hear what the "version 2" pickups that were never manufactured were like. It's also funny that the author of that article thought the Comanche VI was better because the pickup halves were in parallel, whereas I'm thinking of doing the opposite by putting two sets of pickup halves in series. Jeez - I feel like the Comanche is treble-heavy enough as it is! But still it would be an interesting experiment that's easy enough to wire up. I have a friend with a P-bass that has series/parallel switching on its pickup, and it's really a remarkable change in tone, which makes sense since you're radically altering the inductance of the system.

Zed - thanks for the info, that's a good data point! I used to have an S500, and I THINK it had a lot darker sounding pickups than the Comanche. I didn't have both guitars at the same time, though, so I can't really say. Does anybody have both and could compare the relative bass & treble of the straight vs. Z MFDs?