Need help with a G&L S-500 humbucker mod

[ArnieK]

Hi, guys,

I already posted this thread in the GuitarsByLeo-Forum.
One of the guys there meant, it would be better to post it here.

I own an US G&L S-500 and love it, but I think I would
even love it a little bit more with an humbucker at the
bridge position.
I want to change the guitar as little as possible,
but want to get as much sounds as possible.

I bought a Seymour Duncan SL59b. It fits in the hole
of the single coil pickup and is optimized for the
slant bridge position.

First I thought about implementing an auto split, to
not even drilling an additional hole into the pickguard,
but then I decided to use an additional 3-way switch, to
have access to all options of splitting.

I found a wiring diagram with an additional 220 nF
capacitor for using the humbucking option even in split
mode and want to try to use it.

And here's the problem:
I'm used to soldering and reading wiring diagrams, but
not in creating and modifying them.

... therefore I need your help!
- the splitting diagram with the highpassing capacitor
does not assume, that there are other capacitors in
the total diagram.
But the S-500 is known for its hum reducing design and
there are already several capacitors in it.
Would you rely on the original hum reduction of the
S-500 or leave the 220 nF capacitor in the splitting
diagram?
What are the impacts by combining the two diagrams with
the various capacitors?
http://www.glguitars.com/schematics/S-500_schematic_blockdiagram.pdf
http://www.guitar-letter.de/Knowledge/Images/scm125_16.gif

- Seymour Duncan wiring diagrams propose using 250k pots,
but in the configuration of a S-500 you can find one
250k pot, one 500k and one 1M.
Do I have to do some adjustments?

- Are there other objections against this solution?

I'm looking forward to your answers

Thanks
Arnie

[Rattle&Hum]

It wouldn't hurt to try the capacitor in the circuit - I'm not sure it would have much of an impact on the overall tone - just attenuating some of the high-frequency noise that you've mentioned. It may. That would have to be a judgement call by trying it. Put it in. If you feel its a little too dull clip it. Installing it wouldn't conflict with the other capacitors in the circuit, if that's your worry.

The SD wiring diagrams also assume you're using all SD pickups. The 250k pots are great for vintage-style single coils in a typical strat setup. Stick with the S500 wiring first and then make changes if you feel its necessary.

Try to avoid making too many changes all at once. I've found that its much easier to do one thing, try it, decide to keep it and move on or undo it before proceeding. Its easier to keep track of what is affecting your tone in a positive/negative manner.

Hope that helps!

[walterw]

how is the circuit of the s-500 "hum-reducing"? it's just volume, treble rolloff, and bass rolloff, with an extra option to connect the bridge pickup to the neck.

+1 to one thing at a time; put the duncan in first, leaving the rest stock, and try that.

i would expect that switching from one coil of that duncan to the other will make little difference in the sound, since they're so close together. also, while it can be neat sounding switched to parallel with itself, splitting the duncan to single will be really thin-sounding by itself.

split, it can sound good with the middle single coil, especially if the coil left on in the duncan is opposite magnetic polarity from the middle pickup so they'll hum-cancel together.

[Rattle&Hum]

Its not "hum-reducing" (which is 60Hz), but I guess the capacitor to ground is meant to filter out some higher-frequency noise and smooth out the single coil tone as the capacitor is only engaged when the coil is "split."

[Rattle&Hum]

BTW, Tom Anderson's "Vintage Voicing" is a similar idea, but he uses a resistor to ground to account for the pot values and alter the overall frequency response of the volume/tone network. In a nut-shell, its like having 500k pots engaged for humbucker tones and 250k pots for single coil tones.

[frankencat]

I rewired my Legacy years ago. I put a Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge with 250k CTS pots wired master volume/master tone, an auto coil-tap for the bridge and an "S-500 style" middle-on toggle switch. I think I have a 150p treble bleed cap on the volume pot. It's been wired like this for at least 10 years and I have never felt the need to change it. It works and is my go-to studio and stage #1.