PRS switching on a Les Paul

[fivetone]

I'm considering doing a mod on my late 70's Gibson LP Standard, to give it the pickup switching configurations of a PRS model.

Here are two options:

PRS 5 way Rotary Switch Positions

1: Bridge pickup
2: Outside Coils
3: Series single-coils
4: Parallel single-coils
5: Neck pickup

2nd option:

McCarty Electronics

3-way toggle, master volume and a tone pot with push-pull.
The push pull pot, in the up position, renders both
humbuckers to single coils. (positions 4-6)

1: Bridge Humbucker
2: Both Humbuckers
3: Neck Humbucker
4: Bridge Single Coil
5: Both Single Coils
6: Neck Single Coil

Does anyone on the forum have experience playing either of these PRS setups, or have you done such a mod on your LP? I would appreciate some advice on the tone possibilities.

 

[Snags]

I have quite a bit of time logged on a PRS with the five-way selector. It was handy as hell in the cover band I worked in, because combined with a three channel preamp I was able to reasonably approximate a variety of different guitar tones. None of the sounds are exactly like a Tele, Strat, or Les Paul, but it was close enough for the songs we did. I also have piezo saddles and an onboard preamp to add the semi-acoustic thing to the mix. Again not dead-on for an acoustic, but I was working in a band in bars, not co-headlining with Eric Clapton.

 

[fivetone]

Thanks, Snags. I'm not locked into the worship of vintage sounds. I don't really care if it sounds like a Strat, Tele or a Les Paul, I'm just looking for some new and interesting sounds. I've got a Fat Tele and a Nashville Tele that go beyond the traditional Tele sound, and piezo pickups in a Strat and one Tele.

How much did you use the single coils in parallel vs. in series settings? From what I've read, that's where the tone really deviates from a standard 2-humbucker set neck guitar like the Les Paul.

 

[Snags]

The single coils in parallel had almost a strat position 2 vibe going, and the single coils in series had something similar to BB King's tone going. I used all five positions, but I would say that the single coils in series was the position I used the least. There is a schematic somewhere on the PRS forum for rewiring the switch so that position three gives you both humbuckers in parallel, like the middle toggle position on a Les Paul. Some people claim that the rotary switching is too difficult for them to figure out the positions on, but they just haven't given it enough time to get used to it.

 

[fivetone]

I've got the schematic for the 5-way rotary switch. I got it from some guitar electronics website. I'm trying to decide between the rotary switch, which has the inner or outer single coils in series or in parallel, versus the push-pull tone pot used on the McCarty model, which gives either humbucker alone, both together, or the neck or bridge single coils alone or together. I think I prefer the idea of the 5-way switch, which seems that it would give a greater variety of sounds.

 

[Dave Paetow]

Of course you will have to find the switch, which I think runs about $50. Then you will have to figure out where to put it. Wherever you put it, you will have to do some major rewiring. Personally I would just put a pull pot in one of the tone controls to split the coils ala a McCarty.

 

[fivetone]

I think I agree with you, Dave. I'd have to totally rewire the guitar--change from two volume and tone pots to one each, put the rotary switch where one of the tone pots was, leave another tone or volume pot there just for show to plug up the hole, and have a useless toggle switch not connected to anything. The push/pull tone pot would be much easier. I just discovered yesterday, tho, that the neck pickup, a Seymour Duncan 59, seems to have only two leads, which would prevent even using the push/pull tone pot.

 

[blackdog]

Fivetone,

I have a Custom 22 (dragon I pups) that came with the original 5-way switching.

I found that the single-parallel positions were highly useable but never really liked the singles-series setting. I found it weak in the high end department.

For a time I rewired the rotary for a both HBs-parallel in the mid position, but finally settled with the McCarty switching. It's a lot more intuitive for me.

Now about rewiring a Paul, doing the Mc Carty trick of coil tapping is by far the easiest way to go, and it's going to be the easiest to work with, IMHO.

L.

 

[Snags]

I always have been a sucker for the project end of it. I have a Peavey Odyssey that came stock with a Les Paul type of electronics layout- selector switch, two volumes, two tones. It also had a phase switch. I came up with a schematic utilizing four push-pull pots that enabled me to cut any of the four coils individually. It took a while to figure it out and solder it all together, but it worked. The downside was that the pot sections of the push/pulls were garbage.

 

[Crazy Carl]

I liked the sounds available w/the rotary on the CU22 I had, but just could never get the hang of shifting on the fly w/it. My McCarty, however, is just too easy. My vote is for the MC push/pull wiring. Easier to use (for me) & seems like it'd deffo be easier to re-wire for that vs. the rotary. Hell, before I got rid of the CU22, I seriously considered converting it to the MC style switching.

 

[fivetone]

Thanks for the input. It's good to here which sounds are most usable from a PRS player. The McCarty switching mod would allow me to keep the two volume and tone pots, but would not give me the bridge and neck single coils in parallel. The other problem I have to figure out is I think my neck pup has only 2 leads. It's a Seymour Duncan '59 model and looks pretty old, but in great shape. If I take the pup out, is it possible to find the 4 individual leads, and separate them out?

 

[rays44]

On one of my lesters I wired 1 tone pot as a master and used the other as a avariable coil splitter. Not nearly the options you're looking for, but a simple cool mod if you want simplicity.

 

[blackdog]

fivetone,

The McCarty mod will NOT give you the single-coils in SERIES, but I don't believe you're missing much with that option.

However, something that MUST be taken into account is that all the original PRS 5-way switching options involve two coils and are thought so as to be ALL humbucking.
This was achieved by using opposed magnetic polarities in the neck and bridge pickups.
The McCarty switching option, on the other hand, has at least two real-single-coil options which will be hum catching as usual. The third option, single-coils-parallel, will only be humbucking if your PUs have different magnetic polarities.

If you plan to go with the full 5-way conversion in the Paul you'll have to think about reversing the electrical and magnetic polarities of one of your PUs. If you decide the McCarty switching is all you need you only need to make this mod if you want hum cancellation in the mid switch, single-coils position.

Anyway, you should check the polarities of the PUs first, because you said you had two different makes of PUs... Who knows, maybe they're opposed already !!!

And YES, you can get the extra wire you need out of your SD59. You just need to remove the first layer of black tape from the bobbins and find the splice that connects the two coils in series. Don't need to break this connection, you just need to solder an extra lead there and bring it out of the PUp in any way you see suitable. Just remember to keep it shielded...

If you need any more help with this just let me know...

L.

 

[Robert Sherman]

I went full boat and wired one of my LPs to the Jimmy Page LP specs. Choice of coils tapped in the bridge, neck tapped, series, parallel, in and out of phase. 21 options in all and it makes for some interesting tones.

 

[GuitarG]

I used to have one of the early PRS' with the 5-way switch and it made me crazy. I could never get comfortable changing pickups with the rotary. I sold the guitar because of it.

 

[fivetone]

Thanks, blackdog, for your advice. This project is starting to look harder and harder. I'll see if I can figure out the polarity on the Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio pups. I appreciate your instructions on how to get the extra two leads. I'll have to think about it a bit before I decide if I'm brave enough to look into that SD59.

The other thing that confuses me a bit is that the wiring on the guitar is not the same as the typical LP schematics I've found on the Internet. The latest setup was done by the uncle of the former owner, a guy who builds custom electric guitars in the Monterey area (for Alan Holdsworth, among others)--forgot his name, but it may already be a bit of a custom wiring job. I might have to start all over from scratch with the wiring, and I'm not sure I want to do that right now. Actually, I was playing the guitar last night and it sounded great! I've been neglecting it in favor of a couple of Teles lately,...

 

[Ian Anderson]

calling fivetone...

I'd appreciate it if you'd email that schematic for the 5-way switch.

Maplins sell a suitable rotary switch for a few quid that'll do the job a treat. You can 'select' how many positions it has too

:smokin