question about pickup "tapping"

[itbepopples]

hey guys...i know what coil tapping is on a humbucker but i have also seen readings for single coils in normal mode as well as when tapped. is this some sort of thing where it only uses some of the wiring? like...if u take a hose and u wanna add a tap to it u cut the hose in half and make a valve to put water through the tap and not the other end of the hose. is that what tapping a pickup is?

[flank]

Re: question about pickup "tapping"

you "split" a humbucker, you "tap" a single coil..........splitting the humbucker only uses one of the coils, tapping a single brings it down from using all of the windings, to much less, which makes it output go down, and become clearer.... some like it to use it tapped all the time, for the vintage sound, and then put it full on for soloing........ its just a useful feature for singles if you want a more modern and vintage output sound

[itbepopples]

Re: question about pickup "tapping"

so i was kinda right? cuz i was thinking of getting an overwound alnico 2 mag so that its pretty hot for a single but then tap it for vintage style alnico 2 butter.

[ArtieToo]

Re: question about pickup "tapping"

Just to be clear, a single coil pup must be built from the manufacturer for "tapping". Its not something you can really do yourself. Unless you want to unwind half the pup, solder on a wire, and then rewind it.