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Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

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  • Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

    I put an Alnico 5 bridge humbucker (14.20k ohm) in the neck position of my guitar, and I have a D. Distortion (16k ohm) in the bridge position.
    The neck sounds a bit boomy but I like a hot pickup in the neck so I'm happy with that.
    Obviously I had to turn the pickup around so the bobin with the screws is facing the neck, which means it's really 'upside down'.
    Now when I select the middle position of the 3 way toggle switch I get this really funky sound which I quite like, it sounds almost like I have a
    wah pedal going on. So that was a nice surprise.
    Is this something that people do sometimes to get that sound?
    Is it harmful in any way to any of the pickups?
    Why does this happen?
    I'm new to experimenting with pickups as you can see...

  • #2
    Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

    I usually just flip the magnet, and put the pickup in normally to get that sound. It is a really good, useful sound, however.
    Administrator of the SDUGF

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    • #3
      Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

      It's not harmful, your pickups might just be out of phase with each other.
      You could try reversing the hot and ground wires of the neck pickup.
      What's your control setup?
      You can do some interesting things with out of phase pickups if you have separate volume and tone controls.

      Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

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      • #4
        Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

        Click image for larger version

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        The neck is a 8.00K PGb! The bridge is a Brobucker (tb).

        B
        FaceBook; SoundCloud; Barlo's Blues; Barlo Digitalized; Soundclick!;

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        • #5
          Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

          Originally posted by Demanic View Post
          What's your control setup?
          You can do some interesting things with out of phase pickups if you have separate volume and tone controls.

          Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
          I rewired the guitar to the most simple way, just one volume control, no tone control.

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          • #6
            Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

            It won't harm anything. If you like it, keep it that way.

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            • #7
              Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

              Originally posted by Vastard View Post
              Obviously I had to turn the pickup around so the bobin with the screws is facing the neck, which means it's really 'upside down'.
              No . . . it isn't. I don't know why people get confused by this. What you did has no affect at all on phase or polarity. The winds go the same direction regardless of which way you "turn" the pickup. Consider a simple Duncan set. Let's say 59's. Both are manufactured exactly the same way. You then rotate the neck so that the screws are on the outside. It has zero affect on the sound. The only difference in tone would be the relative position of the screws to the studs, and even that has little impact at the neck position. It makes more difference at the bridge position.

              It's possible that your two pickups are naturally reverse polarity, but that will remain the same if you rotate it back, so to speak.

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              • #8
                Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                If the neck gets too muddy you can put a .047 capcitor on the hot lead to cut bass.

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                • #9
                  Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                  Originally posted by Vastard View Post
                  I put an Alnico 5 bridge humbucker (14.20k ohm) in the neck position of my guitar, and I have a D. Distortion (16k ohm) in the bridge position.
                  The neck sounds a bit boomy but I like a hot pickup in the neck so I'm happy with that.
                  Obviously I had to turn the pickup around so the bobin with the screws is facing the neck, which means it's really 'upside down'.
                  Now when I select the middle position of the 3 way toggle switch I get this really funky sound which I quite like, it sounds almost like I have a
                  wah pedal going on. So that was a nice surprise.
                  Is this something that people do sometimes to get that sound?
                  Is it harmful in any way to any of the pickups?
                  Why does this happen?
                  I'm new to experimenting with pickups as you can see...
                  When you combine both pickups is the sound thinner and more nasal than either pickup used by itself?

                  That would mean the pickups are out of phase for some reason.

                  That shouldn't be if they're both Duncans, but if the bridge pickup is made by a manufacturer other than Duncan, then there is the chance that they're out of phase.

                  Just turning the pickup in the neck position around like you did would not put them out of phase.

                  One way to tell if they are MAGNETICALLY out of phase is to hold a magnet over one pickup's screw polepieces and see if it's attracted or if it repels.

                  Then holding that same edge of the magnet that you used before, hold it over the screw polepieces of the other pickup.

                  They should match. If it attracts on one pickup and but repels on the other, they're probably magnetically out of phase.

                  In any case, you're not hurting anything.

                  If you like it, leave it.

                  If you don't, then reverse the magnet in the bridge pickup so it matches the polarity of the neck pickup.

                  You'll have to remove the pickup and loosen the four screws on the backside so you can slide the magnet out and turn it around to do that.

                  If they are magnetically out of phase you'll get a thin sound when they're combined.

                  If they are magnetically in phase you'll get a much thicker, fatter sound that doesn't sound like a mosquito.
                  Last edited by Lewguitar; 06-29-2020, 12:54 PM.
                  “Practice cures most tone issues” - John Suhr

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                  • #10
                    Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                    You sir, have discovered "Out of phase"

                    As have many others over the years. Many do it on purpose. All is fine. Enjoy the tone!
                    Originally posted by Bad City
                    He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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                    • #11
                      Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                      Originally posted by Lewguitar View Post
                      When you combine both pickups is the sound thinner and more nasal than either pickup used by itself?

                      That would mean the pickups are out of phase for some reason.

                      That shouldn't be if they're both Duncans, but if the bridge pickup is made by a manufacturer other than Duncan, then there is the chance that they're out of phase.
                      The neck pickup is not a Duncan, it's an unbranded pickup that somebody gave me, probably a cheap one, and it was a bridge pickup originally.

                      I like the sound of the two of them combined, it's a little thinner but not too much, and really cool for soloing.

                      As long as it's not going to damage anything I'll leave it on because I really like it.

                      Thanks a lot for all the info!

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                      • #12
                        Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                        Originally posted by Aceman View Post
                        You sir, have discovered "Out of phase"

                        As have many others over the years. Many do it on purpose. All is fine. Enjoy the tone!
                        Haha... I think it's really cool that I discovered it by chance, without knowing what I was doing.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                          Thanks everyone for the advice and info!

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                          • #14
                            Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                            A bit late to the party, but if you assumed that the wire color codes mean the same and treated the green wires as hot, than that is where it stems from. As far as I know, all SD hot wires are black and green is greound, while most other manufacturers use green as hot. So by soldering in the greens as hot and the blacks as ground (or the other way around, doesn't matter) creates the out of the phase circuit.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Bridge pickup in the Neck position and unexpected results! What have I done???

                              best "Out of phase" tone I ever got, was with a humbucker in the bridge, and a P90 in the neck.... so that one of the coils? were out of phase....

                              a great, vocal, open tone...

                              Too bad I lost that guitar aswell, in the great "house fire" :/
                              If somethings important- send a PM. I might be offline for long periods. Rock on!!!

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