parallel , series

[six-one-6-six]

sounding like an idiot here


what is the difference ? what exactly does it means??

 

[Darkstrike]

It changes how the coils are wired,
parallel = both wired side by side.
Series = one wired through the other, in a line.

Parallel = less volume, more highs and lows, Stingray pickups on MM basses are wired in Parallel.
Series = More volume, more mids, more grindy and agressive, most guitar humbuckers, and probably the majority of bass humbuckers are wired like this too.

EDIT: Two sepretate pickups, like Jazz basses are wired in parallel, just the coils have seperate voulmes, and are spaced far apart.

 

[lunarpollen]

My Dillion bass has three PUs wired in series, and I really like how big it sounds when I use more than one pickup. To my ears, it makes basses with PUs wired in parallel sound "strangled" in comparison.

 

[Darkstrike]

My Dillion bass has three PUs wired in series, and I really like how big it sounds when I use more than one pickup. To my ears, it makes basses with PUs wired in parallel sound "strangled" in comparison.

You must have a switch to turn each pickup on and off, and a master volume?

 

[i_g55]

You cannot turn off any pickup within a series connection, that would result in zero output. All three has to act as a single pickup with one master volume.

To be able to adjust individual volumes, they have to be wired parallel.

 

[Darkstrike]

You cannot turn off any pickup within a series connection, that would result in zero output. All three has to act as a single pickup with one master volume.

To be able to adjust individual volumes, they have to be wired parallel.

Actually you can, but I worded it wrong, its possible, if each pickup had a bypass switch, cutting it out of the series link, but leaving the others in. Obviously, all pickups bypassed, no sound.

 

[UncleBalsamic]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_circuits

 

[Vynns]

So could you take two humbuckers and put them in series? Four coils in total? Would that sound as ballgrabbingly good as I imagine, or would it just become a dull thud?

 

[Darkstrike]

So could you take two humbuckers and put them in series? Four coils in total? Would that sound as ballgrabbingly good as I imagine, or would it just become a dull thud?

Its entirely possible, may sound like mud, may not, depends on a million things, pickup placement, output, lots of stuff, strangest I've tried is three Jazz pickups in series. IMO, thats the ballgrabbingly good sound right there!

 

[i_g55]

Actually you can, but I worded it wrong, its possible, if each pickup had a bypass switch, cutting it out of the series link, but leaving the others in. Obviously, all pickups bypassed, no sound.

That's true. A bypass switch as the one used for active/passive switching in active basses would do...

 

[GODSBASSMAN]

So if series is so good why don't manufacturers offer it or do they?

 

[Darkstrike]

So if series is so good why don't manufacturers offer it or do they?

Having two pickups in series is not a common option, Fender used to do it, the "S1" switch.

Humbuckers wired in series, are very common.

 

[Virgil]

My Skjold has a switch that you can solo the rear p/u, next position is in parallel (Jazz), next position is series and the last position is solo neck p/u (Pbass).

 

[GODSBASSMAN]

My Skjold has a switch that you can solo the rear p/u, next position is in parallel (Jazz), next position is series and the last position is solo neck p/u (Pbass).

Virgil; U got all the "basses" covered, my friend.

 

[Bocete]

Even more extreme, a Dingwall Z3 has three humbucking pickups, each can be switched independently to be series/parallel, plus a rotary pickup selector with pre-set combinations of pickup interconnections. And a 3-band preamp with a passive/active switch