59 and reverse polarity 59

BigBazz

New member
whats the difference between these 2 pickups, my friend is buying a guitar with them fitted ande hes wondering about changing them, but what is the difference between a 59 and a reverse polarity 59, i know if it gives the same sound as a 59 hes likely to keep them in there. oh and a pearly gates + whats the diff between the + and the original
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

There's really no such thing as a "reverse polarity" 59, so I'm not sure what you're refering to. Where did you see this designation?
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Interesting . . . never seen that before. I would assume, that they've just connected it backwards, but can't imagine why.

So . . . better wait for someone who actually knows. :laugh2:
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

I don't truly know but I can make a guess.

I assume that the reverse polarity pickup it is a standard 59 with the magnet fliped. That doesn't affect the tone of the pickup at all. BUT it does affect to the way the pickup combines with other pickups. Combinations are endless but if you stick to standard two humbuckers have the same polarity. When you combine them you hear a tone that it is the "sum" of the output of both pickups.

If you flip the magnet of a pickup the output will be "reversed". You won't notice when you hear it but when combined with the other humbucker instead of "suming" the output it will be "minused". Since the frecuencies of both pickup are different the result it is and not a dead output but a very trebly output that some people finds related to a single coil. IMO it is not...

How is the tone of the middle selection of this guitar? Is that trebly?
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Thanks for the info, very helpfull. i havent actually played the guitar yet. since even though my friend bought it in january they sent him a letter saying they dispatch it on 19th of march (bummer). i was just wondering about the pickups. anyone know the difference between a Pearly gates plus and a pearly gates?
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Pearly Gates Plus uses an Alnico 5 magnet, while the original Pearly Gates uses an Alnico 2 magnet. I'm not sure if they are wound any differently or not.

Polarity issues are usually only relevant with single coil pickups. In a guitar with three singles, the middle pickup is usually RW/RP so that you get a hum-cancelling effect in the two and four positions. I have no idea what Fender is talking about with this one. Phase and polarity are two different things. Wiring it differently or flipping the magnet changes the phase when both pickups are combined, but it doesn't affect the polarity.

Ryan
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

So - from what I gather here...I have a question:

I have a regular 4-conductor '59 in my neck and a regular 4 conductor JB in my bridge. I have a 3-way LP-style switch and a coil tap mini-switch for each pickup. I have the adjustable coil tapped on both humbuckers [coil closest to neck on the '59, coil closest to the bridge on the JB]. I don't usually play with both HBs on in series in the middle position - if I'm in middle position, I have the coils tapped. I want these to be hum-cancelling when I have both coils tapped in the middle position on the 3-way. Could I take apart my '59 and reverse the orientation of the mag 180 degreesto accomplish this? Would this have any adverse effects on the pickup when used by itself?

Thanks!
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Alright, here's my take, I tested with my JP wired LP. If you split two humbuckers, and combine them in parallel, in order to get hum cancelling you need to use the slug coil of one pickup and the screw coil of the other. (JP seems to combine Screw of the Bridge with Slug of the Neck) If you want both outer coils or both inner coils, you'd need a neck or bridge pickup with coils wound opposite of a standard Duncan bucker. I don't know the specifics of magnet polarity and color coding, but it seems like this is the intention of the Reverse Polarity pickup in question.

Again, all speculation on my part, but that is what makes sense to me.
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0262400506

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0262400506#

Fender telecaster Blackout

Pickups : 1 Seymour Duncan® SH-1N RP ‘59 Reverse Polarity Humbucker (Bridge),
1 Seymour Duncan® SHPGP-1B Pearly Gates Plus Humbucker (Neck)

No products matching "0262400506" was found.
No products matching "0262400506#" was found.

But I did find this one....

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0262000561

And I just purchased this one last week from Musician's Friends with expected delivery 05 January 2010
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...-Custom-Telecaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=513879

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0262600521
 
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Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

That Fender should not be that far away from a Les Paul studio - soundwise.
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Isn't the reverse polarity HB pup the miracle that happened to Peter Green's LP by accident? His tone went from great to unmistakable.
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Pickups : 1 Seymour Duncan® SH-1N RP ‘59 Reverse Polarity Humbucker (Bridge),
1 Seymour Duncan® SHPGP-1B Pearly Gates Plus Humbucker (Neck)


Is this right? SH-1N <-- (Neck) in the Bridge and a PGP-1B <-- (Bridge) in the Neck?

And they call me crazy :lol:
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Oh yea....

Here is mine!

Had to get my son to take these photographs!
 
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Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

I have a telecaster special edition with the SH 1N '59 reverse polarity in the neck position and an SHPGP-1B Pearly Gates in the bridge. No matter how I adjust the tone, it still sounds somewhat thin and " nasally" I thought about getting replacement pickups. Is there anythinhg else I can do? I like the guitar, juust not the tone! Thanks, Phil
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

I have the same guitar. What do you mean thin and nasal? In what of those 6 positions?

Mine sounds totally normal.
 
Re: 59 and reverse polarity 59

Are they 4 conductor or 2 conductor?

If 2 conductor, then when in parallel they'd be out of phase. Maybe they wanted that sound, but not many people actually like it. The low end goes buh bye and the rest of the sound is thin and annoying, like playing through an AM radio with a wah cocked fully forward.

There are definitely reasons to do that with 4 conductor pickups though. They can still be wired to be in phase when in parallel, but it switches which coil is on and hum cancelling with the other pickup when in parallel. Here's what I mean:

If you want to split both '59s and have the resulting parallel combination to be hum cancelling like on a strat in positions 2&4 with a RWRP middle, you'd use oposite coils, i.e. what I do is split so that the screw coil on the neck pickup is active and the slug coil on the bridge is active. You could also do slug coil on the neck and screw coil on the bridge, either way gets you in phase and hum cancelling when split.

With one reversed, you would get both screw coils or both inner coils being active and hum cancelling when split and in parallel. That would sound a little different.
 
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