Simple "Megabucker" Wiring Mod

[duhvoodooman***]

It occurred to me that some folks here who wouldn't want to tackle the full-blown pickup wiring mods I recently completed on my Epiphone Dot might be interested in some simpler alternatives. So, attached below is a diagram I made for what I call the "megabucker" wiring mod--installing a switch that enables you to run both humbuckers of a dual-humbucker guitar in series for an ultra-fat sound. When engaged, it essentially turns the two pickups into one big, 4-coil "megabucker"--fat, loud and nasty! Quite different than when you play a dual-humbucker guitar with the 3-way pickup selector toggle in the middle position, which puts the two p'ups in parallel.

This mod requires replacing just one of the four control pots (and it really makes no difference which one you use, from a functional standpoint) with a double-pole/double-throw push-pull 500K pot and then doing some fairly straightforward rewiring. This is considerably less complicated than wiring for series/parallel, coil-cut or phase-change switching. Also, it can be done using the standard humbuckers that come in most guitars; you don't need 4-conductor humbuckers for it to work. So, no need to buy new p'ups from Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, et.al. The cost of the mod is basically just the $10 or so that the push-pull pot costs.

How you decide to wire it (using the "hot" wire from one p'up and the ground wire from the other) determines which set of controls will be active when the series switch is engaged. In the diagram, I have it configured to run through the neck controls, and the 3-way pickup selector toggle should be in the neck position. When the series switch is not engaged, you still have the three stock pickup settings available.

The colors shown in the diagram for the pickup wiring are per Seymour Duncan. Dimarzio is different, as are many other 4-conductor pickups makes, I'm sure, so consult the manufacturer's product literature or web site before doing this. If you use 2-conductor humbuckers (as most stock guitars have) for the mod, the braided metal shielding on the outside serves as the ground (-) wire, and the inner insulated wire is the "hot" (+) lead.

Here's the "megabucker" wiring diagram. I've also included a diagram of the stock humbucker pickup wiring, for reference:

Attachment 581 Attachment 582