Is this guy right about finding start/finish wire?

[Jack_TriPpEr]

If I flip the magnet, I'll get a positive for the white wire and a positive for the green wire. Again, a start and a finish.

Trying to wrap my head around why the meter reacts that way to a magnet flip. This seems to infer that a meter's volt test functionality is somehow keyed to North polarity showing up as positive charge, and South as negative charge? How is that possible - wouldn't the meter have to contain a magnetic polarity detector within it to do this? I didn't think meters had one internally?

You only need to know positive vs negative to wire a pickup properly. Start and finish are irrelevant.

Ok, yes, I never put 2 and 2 together on this, but yes, great insight! I've been mentally equating "+" and "-" as interchangeable with Start and Finish, but your example of how Duncan's two "+" wires (Black and Red) are not both a Start nor both a Finish. Duuhhhh! Haha. Luckily i've ended up "operating" the correct way in how I have actually wired up pups and designed diagrams - and the only error was my understanding of this particular point.

 

[Artie]

Trying to wrap my head around why the meter reacts that way to a magnet flip. This seems to infer that a meter's volt test functionality is somehow keyed to North polarity showing up as positive charge, and South as negative charge? How is that possible - wouldn't the meter have to contain a magnetic polarity detector within it to do this? I didn't think meters had one internally?

Hey Jack. The three things that affect a pickups output polarity are: coil direction wind, (CW or CCW), magnet direction, and finally, just the way you connect its two output wires. (Talking singles here for simplicity.) So, obviously, if I flip the wires, I reverse it's polarity. If I flip it's magnet, same thing. If the manufacturer winds the opposite way, reverse again. Do any two, and you're back where you started. Do 1 or 3, and it's reverse polarity. So a Strat middle pup is reverse wound/reverse magnet polarity. They did two. NOT out-of-phase. That throws people, for some reason. I'm surprised by how many folks think the middle Strat pup is reverse polarity.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Thanks Artie,

I guess because I've not yet had to flip a magnet - i.e. i've been able to get away with just rotating the pup and rewiring it so i got split inner coils that were hum-canceling - i've never seen how a meter reacts pre- and post- mag flip. I always assumed the mag polarity was its own thing and would not "show up" on a meter. Thanks once again for taking the time to explain. Cheers.