Fletcher Mods
Wouldn't it be nice to have a simpler way to modify our guitars for maximum versatility?
The following PCBs are intended for those capable of using a soldering iron competently, but are looking for less Spaghetti in their cavities!
All PCBs come with wiring instruction & I'm at hand to help if needed.
CoilSplit
Coil Splitting takes a humbucker - which consists of two coils running in series - and dumps one of those coils to ground. (Coil Tapping is different - one single coil has an extra output tapped into the middle of the coil somewhere - I can do that too, but its a pickup mod, not a wiring mod)
This produces a tone more akin to a single coil, without having to change guitars. Probably the oldest Mod there is.
My CoilSplit PCB has space for two humbuckers to be split on one board/switch. Or you can have one switch for each humbucker. These are colour coded as per FletcherPickups standard colours.
Each PCB is designed to have either the North/Neck-facing coil ON, or the South/Bridge-facing coil ON - just follow the colour coding.
Simply wire the pickup to the PCB, solder the PCB to the switch, connect to Ground and wire the Hot output to where you want it (typically to volume pot or to the switch, depending on wiring diagram).
North Coil ON.
South Coil dumped to Ground.
South Coil ON.
North Coil dumped to Ground.
Partial CoilSplit
Complete Coil Splitting can leave the tone a bit thin and uninspiring - especially on Vintage output Humbuckers where each coil is wound considerably less than a standard Single.
A simple solution to this is to dump only part of the coil to ground by placing a resistor between the dumped coil & ground. Leaving a bit more signal in the mix reduces volume drop & hum as well as adding a bit more life.
The Partial CoilSplit PCB has space for two humbuckers to be split on one board/switch. Or you can have one switch for each humbucker. These are colour coded as per FletcherPickups standard colours.
Each PCB is designed to have either the North/Neck-facing coil ON, or the South/Bridge-facing coil ON - just follow the colour coding.
Simply wire the pickup to the PCB, solder the PCB to the switch, connect to Ground and wire the Hot output to where you want it (typically to volume pot or to the switch, depending on wiring diagram).
Resistor values for Vintage output and not set-in-stone
Variable Split
I'm really proud of this one!
The problem with splitting, or partial splitting is that the split sound is hard wired in. So if it's not quite right, you are stuck with it. But we don't have to stand for that outrage, do we? No!
This neat little mod allows you to dial in your split using a variable resistor. Just wire it in to your guitar and play it loud (easier on a rear cavity guitar) and rotate the dial until you hit your sweet spot on the split. Simple and satisfying.
The Variable CoilSplit PCB has space for two humbuckers to be split on one board/switch. Or you can have one switch for each humbucker. These are colour coded as per FletcherPickups standard colours.
Each PCB is designed to have either the North/Neck-facing coil ON, or the South/Bridge-facing coil ON - just follow the colour coding.
Simply wire the pickup to the PCB, solder the PCB to the switch, connect to Ground and wire the Hot output to where you want it (typically to volume pot or to the switch, depending on wiring diagram).
Phased!
Pickups are made with the same Wind & Polarity (or the exact opposite, which is the same, but isn't....) so when played mixed together they are in phase - the waveforms all wobble in the same way and all is good in the world! Some crazy people like to reverse this at the flick of a switch. Perfect reversal of Phase would cancel the signal & produce silence, but because guitar waveforms are complex & pickups are in different places, only certain frequencies are cancelled leaving a pleasant, bright, hollow tone. Peter Green was happy with it so who are we to judge!
This simple PCB has holes for the input & output of a pickup. The board output is wired to where you want it. Phase switch. Simple.
Equally useable on humbuckers or singles.
Simply wire the pickup Hot & Ground wires to the PCB, solder the PCB to the switch, connect to Ground and wire the Hot output to where you want it (typically to volume pot or to the switch, depending on wiring diagram).
Pickup Hot to IN
Pickup Ground to OUT
Communal Ground Hole!
SeriesParallel
Some folk aren't happy with a big fat beefy humbucker tone, or perhaps they just want every thing all at once! The easiest use for this mod is to change a humbucker from standard Series, to parallel - giving a much lighter single coil like voice. Beats changing guitar mid gig!
Available as separate Series UP & Series Down pcbs, depending on how you intend to use your guitar.
Series Down can be used on a humbucker, where you pull the pot for that almost single coil, parallel sound
Series Up is just the opposite. Not sure I'd use it, but there will be ways to squeeze this into a wiring diagram somewhere.
