How do you wire Epiphone ProBuckers to use them simply as single-coil pickups?

[DHart]

If you use a metal device, you will notice one set of poles will have greater magnetic pull than the others. in general, I put these stronger poles towards the bridge for a more focused sound. So, you can alter the tone by moving the coil/bobbins closer or further away from the bridge. Also, keep in mind that if you go 100% single coil, you may need 250kΩ or 300kΩ pots.

I'll tell you what...you should try hooking them up with a coil splitting micro switch and solder in a 0.01uf tone capacitor. I did this on some of the Tele-esque Von Herndon's and the tone was really incredible....

Good stuff, Robert. Since I would never run these pickups as humbuckers (I've kind of moved along from enjoying the wooly tone quality of PAFs) I decided to just go straight single coil with them. And the guitar sounds delightfully single-coil-ish, without duplicating any of my other Teles or my Strats. Win, win.

 

[DHart]

Coil tapping would be a great way for a ham fisted clod as myself to kill a pickup experimenting.
Best left to an experienced winder.

I most certainly would never attempt coil-tapping. You're so right - that's probably the easiest way to kill a perfectly good pickup!

 

[smitty_p]

Smitty... indeed! The result is a single coil tone of its own character. Doesn't sound quite like a Tele, doesn't sound quite like a Strat, but it does sound like a sweet, rich single-coil, with all the inherent sparkle, richness, and almost a "hi-fi" quality.

Glad to hear your reaction. I liked the split humbucker sound when I first tried it. I read negative comments about it every now and then. I really think people are expecting to get a Strat or Tele sound.

Like you pointed out, it is neither of those, but it is a sound that I think is very useful.

These are the two guitars that I’ve wired for switchable coil splitting:

Les Paul Studio:




Jackson Dinky:

 

[DHart]

Glad to hear your reaction. I liked the split humbucker sound when I first tried it. I read negative comments about it every now and then. I really think people are expecting to get a Strat or Tele sound.

Like you pointed out, it is neither of those, but it is a sound that I think is very useful.

These are the two guitars that I’ve wired for switchable coil splitting:

Les Paul Studio:

View attachment 33269


Jackson Dinky:

View attachment 33270

Awesome, Smitty! I'll bet that they sound just great!

 

[DHart]

The ProBuckers wired for single coil ultimately landed in this Fender FSR Sea Foam Pearl Tele

I'm still a little amazed at how great they sound in single-coil operation.