Wiring options for Les Paul with 2 conductor pickups

[Marker]

Hello friends,
it's my first post here
I'm a Les Paul and Marshall enthusiast from Portugal and am very happy that I found this great board now, sure will take a long time to get up to date as I'm just starting now!

I've checked the Wiring sticky thread on this forum but couldn't find the answer for my questions so would be very happy if you could help me clarify what are the wiring options for a standard Les Paul loaded with 2 conductor cables Seymour Duncan's with the normal Les Paul configuration (2 volumes + 2 tones + 3 way switch):

Considering that the 2 pickups are both 2 conductors cable only, what options do I have other than the 50s or modern wiring while maitaining the normal configuration options 2 tones, 2 volumes, 3 way switch (altough I can use push/pull pots but I don't want any drills for aditional switches on my precious Les Pauls ) :

1) Can I wire it with a series / paralell option ?

2) Can I wire it with a push/pull DPDT tone or volume knob so that when I pull it the pickup signal bypasses all the pots and goes directly to the output jack?

3) What other creative options do I have for this configuration other than the 50s / modern wiring ?


I would be very gratefull if you could post some wiring schemes!
Many thanks in advance!

 

[David Mccarroll]

Sorry - none.

As an alternative - if you are willing to unwrap the pickups and identify the point where the two coils meet you can try any of the mods people post ..... at the risk of destroying your pickups.

Les Pauls sound ....... like Les Pauls because they have two humbucking pickups - in the mid position they are in parallel - to my ear anything else is kinda weak and funky - why not just explore the tonal options open to you with this already very versatile arrangement before fiddling around with dubious mods?

 

[Marker]

Hello friend,
thanks for the quick reply and informations!

I sure ain't gonna try to mod the pickups, they're fine the way they are.

One last option that I'm considering is modify my CTS 500k tone pots to be no-load pots at maximum. Does this makes a noticeable difference on a Les Paul (volume, too much brighness,...)?

Does a no-load tone pot also works with the 50s wiring? Is the scrapped tiny part made on the same ring as it would be for the modern wiring in order to create a no-load tone pot?

Thanks!

 

[johnh]

Theres not much else you can do properly. No load makes a tiny difference with 500k. Test it before doing it by disconnecting one end of the tone pot or cap.

 

[Marker]

Thanks for the tip!

I've just tought of wiring the following options, with 4 push/pull knobs:
- Every knob pushed down: regular 50s wiring style
- Pulling up any of the volume knobs will bypass all the pots resistor going from the respective pickup directly to the jack output
- Pulling up any of the tone pots will bypass the tone pot (same function as a no-load pot)

With this configuration I can have the 50s vintage syle, option for no load tone pots or set any pickup to direct output to the jack.

I made up this wiring diagram:

Does this makes sense?