Just to clarify everything;

I don't really know how any of this is wired up. I'm just going on what I know is possible or more than likely possible to do. I got the L6-S switching description from Wikipedia. After deciding that hpb is probably right about series on these pickups, that left 4 selections, only 1 of which isn't standard on pretty much every 2 pickup guitar. That seems to be what people are referring to as HOoP or HOP; Half out of phase. Since I wanted a rotary selector anyway, it seemed that I might as well go for a 4 way with the HOoP setting over a 3 way with only standard options, unless for some reason, the HOoP setting wouldn't work well with these pickups. I don't think I could possibly get the sound of an L6-S. In addition to different pickups, my guitar has an alder archtop body, bolt on maple neck with rosewood and a 27" scale. I'm using light gauge strings, standard E-E tuning, not a baritone setup. Unless it would sound bad with these pickups, people have said it's a good tone.

Until I read the responses to this thread, I had never had the idea of treating the center position of the selector switch as if it were a separate pickup, with its own tone control. I had read people talking about ways to optimize tone controls and make them more useful though. Before reading about Bill Lawrence and his pickups, and what can be done with them, I would have more than likely skipped the tone control entirely, and went with master volume and pickup switching options. I had an idea for an H-S-S guitar that did just that. Now, I like the idea of the separate tone controls, and the way that caps can be chosen to dial in a specific tone. I have read the microcoil coloration guide, but I don't get from reading that how the math is done to go from your pickup's inductance to the cap value you'd need. The setup N described does sound good, with a standard value on the neck and a Q filter bridge.

I don't want to add holes to the guitar, or leave open holes, and I don't want to leave what seems to be a less than useful arrangement of 2 volume controls when there are surely better things that can take the place of one.

I'm assuming that the basic sound I want from the guitar; a nice, fat P-90 tone with a more raw, rocking bridge and a mellower, more SC sounding neck, will come from the pickups themselves just as a drop in replacement. Only replacing the substandard tiny pots and cheap switch would be needed to get that, but if I'm going to rewire anyway, why not go for more versatility? Exactly what form that takes is dependent largely on what would work well with the pickups, without being harsh sounding, or redundant with capability they already have with proper cap selection alone.

The setup I described also appeals to me as being simple to use once it's wired up. Essentially, you have a 1V, 1T guitar with a selector switch, except that when you change pickup selections, you get a different tone control. I've gotten the idea from reading about BL pickups that his innovations and techniques brought out versatility in simple setups that others used control layouts that looked like they belonged in a cockpit to get, like some BC Rich guitars or the odd experiments of 1960's Europe and Asia.

One question I have now is that if the HOoP setting would work with this guitar, would it be better served by the middle position tone control or the bridge position Q Filter tone?