Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

[wasteofo2]

I have a Quarter Pounder which I'd like to coil tap, could I just take 2 wires, solder them both to the end of it's black lead and then use them both and get the same thing as I would if I ordered the pickup to be tapped from the factory?

[ArtieToo]

Re: Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

Unfortunately, its not quite that easy.

A coil tap means, that at some point, while winding the pickup, they stop, connect a wire, and then continue with the rest of the winding.

So, you end up with a "tap", or connection thats somewhere deep within the coil. In order to make your own, you'ld have to unwind a certain number of coils, attach a wire, (without causing any damage), and then rewinding whats left.

A bit of a daunting task, but I think some have done it.

[rspst14]

Re: Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

I think it can be done much easier on a humbucker...there should be a wire connecting one coil to the other, all you need to do is cut it in half and solder red and white wires to the two ends. I know nothing about the quarter pounder though, so I'm guessing it's not wired the same at the coils.

Ryan

[ArtieToo]

Re: Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

I think it can be done much easier on a humbucker...there should be a wire connecting one coil to the other, all you need to do is cut it in half and solder red and white wires to the two ends. I know nothing about the quarter pounder though, so I'm guessing it's not wired the same at the coils.

Ryan

But thats coil-splitting. Which is different than coil-tapping.

Here's the text from Duncans FAQ:

What is a coil tap?
A coil tap refers to a lead connected to an individual coil’s winding and is used to raise and lower a pickup’s output and change its tone. This is most often utilized on single coil pickups where the player wants a higher output pickup but also wants to be able to switch to a lower output and more vintage-type tone using the same pickup. Many of our pickups for Strat® and Tele® are available in tapped versions for an additional $1 - $11, depending on the model. In addition,you can special order a "Shop Floor Custom" tapped version of any other pickup for an upcharge of $12.

What is coil splitting?
Coil splitting refers to the ability to disable one coil in a humbucker-type pickup. This offers the player option of getting a single coil-type tone from a humbucker-loaded guitar. Many pickups have three- or four-conductor wiring that allows for one coil to be disabled by shorting one coil to either ground or hot. All production Seymour Duncan humbuckers can be purchased with four-conductor wiring either stock from the factory or as a Production Floor Custom order. The exceptions to this rule are the Vintage Rails (SVR-1) and Duckbuckers (SDBR-1), which are wired internally in parallel from the factory.

[rspst14]

Re: Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

Ah, right...I always get those two confused.

Ryan

[wasteofo2]

Re: Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

Hmm, I've got an old Ibanez single coil lying around, I'll see how tough it is unwinding it. Do I have to make sure to leave the original wire connected, or do I reconnect that once I'm done rewinding?

[Kent S.]

Re: Making my own coil tappable Quarter Pounder.

But thats coil-splitting. Which is different than coil-tapping.

Here's the text from Duncans FAQ:

I hate this! A *tap* is both, as that's literally what it is (think transformers). SD just uses two different terms to avoid confusion ... one for tapping one coil (turning it off) ... a *split*; and one for tapping within a coil (turning part of that coil off). Too me it adds confusion when I have to refer to tapping a pup, because I never know what the other guy is actually referring too, and whether he's going to misinterpret what I'm talking about. A coil tap is a coil tap, whether you are tapping between two coils or within one coil.