4 conductors for phase wiring = what tone difference?
- Thread starter Jazz Rock
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Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: 4 conductors for phase wiring = what tone difference?
When you connect a humbucker out-of-phase with itself, you cause the signals of the two coils to cancel each other out. But the cancellation isn't total, or complete. Low frequencies tend to cancel better than high frequencies so you get a thin tinny sound. The couple of times that I've done it, it was by accident, and I thought it sounded horrible.
But then again, its a popular "mod" by many people. Its just one that I don't get.
When you connect a humbucker out-of-phase with itself, you cause the signals of the two coils to cancel each other out. But the cancellation isn't total, or complete. Low frequencies tend to cancel better than high frequencies so you get a thin tinny sound. The couple of times that I've done it, it was by accident, and I thought it sounded horrible.
But then again, its a popular "mod" by many people. Its just one that I don't get.
SpiderVenom
New member
Re: 4 conductors for phase wiring = what tone difference?
It's a good sound... for certain, extremely abnormal situations. Certainly not a staple effect.
It's a good sound... for certain, extremely abnormal situations. Certainly not a staple effect.
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: 4 conductors for phase wiring = what tone difference?
Ok, we need to clarify a couple things. The term "out of phase" refers to two different things:
1. Having one entire pickup out-of-phase with another in a two-pickup guitar. (Two, or more, actually.) This doesn't require 4 wires. You just reverse the hot and ground of one pup relative to the other. You'll still get the thin, tinny sound, but not quite as bad as #2 below. btw - This would also be the same as flipping the magnet.
2. Wiring a single 4-conductor humbucker out-of-phase. This would be reversing the polarity of one coil relative to the other, and would usually be done with a push/pull switch so that you can operate the pup in its "normal" configuration also. Since the two coils are more closely coupled, the thin, tinny part would be even more pronounced. This mode would not be hum-cancelling.
See #2 above.
Artie
Jazz Rock said:
Ok, we need to clarify a couple things. The term "out of phase" refers to two different things:
1. Having one entire pickup out-of-phase with another in a two-pickup guitar. (Two, or more, actually.) This doesn't require 4 wires. You just reverse the hot and ground of one pup relative to the other. You'll still get the thin, tinny sound, but not quite as bad as #2 below. btw - This would also be the same as flipping the magnet.
2. Wiring a single 4-conductor humbucker out-of-phase. This would be reversing the polarity of one coil relative to the other, and would usually be done with a push/pull switch so that you can operate the pup in its "normal" configuration also. Since the two coils are more closely coupled, the thin, tinny part would be even more pronounced. This mode would not be hum-cancelling.
Funky P said:
See #2 above.
Artie
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