About Wiring in Series or Parallel

Ever wonder why the cheaper christmas tree lights will all go out when one light fails and on the more expensive christmas tree lights only the one that breaks goes out? That is because of the way they are wired. The cheap ones are wired in series meaning that the electricity goes through one light then the next, then the next, etc. If one light breaks the whole circuit is broken and all of the lights go out. The more expensive christmas lights are wired in parallel meaning that the electricity can continue to the next light on the chain even if the one before it broke.

Series and parallel wiring are important concepts to understand in electricity. If you have two 1.4k resistors wiring them together in series will double the resistance to 2.8k where as wiring the resistors in parallel would result in half the resistance, .7k. It makes sense because as the electricity comes to the resistors wired in series it must pass through one and then the other explaining the doubling of resistance where as with the resistor wired in parallel, the electricity arrives at both resistors simultaniously and so goes through both with half the effort. Just like with lights, resistors and all electrical components, being wired in series or parallel can greatly change there effect in a circuit. Wiring guitar pickups is no exception.

How Guitar Pickups Wired in Series or Parallel Effect the Sound

Although the resistance of a guitar pickup is often the only measurement that companies choose to inform us about, it is also one of the least important electrical qualities that define the sound a guitar pickup makes. The three qualities that matter in defining the sound of a guitar pickup are Inductance Capacitance and Resistance. The most important being Inductance, measured in "Henries". It is good to know this when trying to understand how wiring guitar pickups in series is going to affect their tone. All guitar pickups have these three electrical qualities and the combination of which creates the character of the guitar pickup. When two single coils are wired together to form a humbucker they are always wired in series. When this happens the combination (in series) of the two pickups effects the character because the inductance and resistance is now twice as much and the capacitance is half as much as just one of the single coils. Just the opposite happens when the guitar pickups are wired in parallel. The inductance and resistance are half of what one of the pickups alone is and the capacitance is doubled.