Bucker splitting.. neck to screw, bridge to slug

[rainsong86]

Is there any issue splitting to the screw coil of the neck bucker and slug coil of the bridge bucker in a les paul? Will the middle position be hum cancelling? Any phase issues? I'll be using duncan pickups (custom 5 and alnico ii pro) with a miniswitch to split.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Bucker splitting.. neck to screw, bridge to slug

Is there any issue splitting to the screw coil of the neck bucker and slug coil of the bridge bucker in a les paul? Will the middle position be hum cancelling? Any phase issues? I'll be using duncan pickups (custom 5 and alnico ii pro) with a miniswitch to split.

No issues. I have my Explorer wired that way and it works great with a hum-canceling middle position. I'm planning on re-wiring my LP that way the next time I take the cavity cover off. For the Explorer, I used this diagram, but flipped the bridge and neck pickups. (the top pickup in the diagram splits to the slug coil, bottom pickup to the screw coil)

 

[Ascension]

Re: Bucker splitting.. neck to screw, bridge to slug

That how my Carvin DC 400 with their active module splits the Sentient in the neck and 59 Custom Hybrid in the bridge and it sounds great.

 

[kyleivanblake]

Re: Bucker splitting.. neck to screw, bridge to slug

I just installed a set of Fishman Fluence Moderns on an old Ibanez Artist. We installed every option. It allows you to choose which coil you want to hear, and I was quite surprised in what a different it makes.

I’m not sure I’m sold on the pickups in general. They do something most pickups don’t, but they are also missing something too.

 

[rainsong86]

Resurrecting an old thread here....

I brought my split-to-slugs HH guitar to my luthier and asked that he switch the neck split to the screw coil. I figured I'd get hum-cancelling in the middle position and also a fatter sound for the split neck since the screw coil is further from the bridge. He said that the result would be out-of-phase in the middle position. Is there no way to wire this up without modifying tne pickups?

I was googling my problem and my post from 3 years ago was at the top of the search lol

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Resurrecting an old thread here....

I brought my split-to-slugs HH guitar to my luthier and asked that he switch the neck split to the screw coil. I figured I'd get hum-cancelling in the middle position and also a fatter sound for the split neck since the screw coil is further from the bridge. He said that the result would be out-of-phase in the middle position. Is there no way to wire this up without modifying tne pickups?

I was googling my problem and my post from 3 years ago was at the top of the search lol

You can keep the present wiring and just physically rotate the neck pickup 180° (as long as there's enough slack in the wiring).
It'll still split to the slugs, but that will now be the coil nearest the fretboard. No phase issues this way, either.
Screws will then be the inner coil, but you can still adjust for string balance and overall character.

 

[GuitarDoc]

In the neck pup, you won't really notice much difference in just relocating the active coil an inch closer to the fretboard. In the bridge pup you will notice a difference.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

In the neck pup, you won't really notice much difference in just relocating the active coil an inch closer to the fretboard. In the bridge pup you will notice a difference.

I agree here. Forty years ago I moved the bridge humbucker on one of my Floydcasters a quarter-inch further from the bridge.
It made a huge difference and really revoiced the character of the 59B I was using. Noticeably more Les-Paulish.
Fuller, smoother, and even a bit more output. I was amazed at the change from just a few millimeters difference.

I think the change in tone probably has to do with the percentage of in the distance from the endpoint.
In bridge position the difference between screw coil and slugs is a significant percentage of the original distance, maybe 30 percent.
But at the neck it's much smaller, only five or so percent in most cases and maybe even less in others.

Even so, there will be a slight difference between coils at the neck.
Not radical perhaps, but likely perceptible - depending on one's ears and tone preferences.

 

[rainsong86]

You can keep the present wiring and just physically rotate the neck pickup 180° (as long as there's enough slack in the wiring).
It'll still split to the slugs, but that will now be the coil nearest the fretboard. No phase issues this way, either.
Screws will then be the inner coil, but you can still adjust for string balance and overall character.

WOW! Why didn't I think of that lol.. genius! I'm aware that it isn't a phase issue because of the Adam Jones Standard LP but never thought to do it on my guitar. Plus unlike the bridge Custom Custom, the neck alnico II pro in it doesn't have the duncan logo. So it won't even look funny to my overly-picky-on-aesthetics self.

I'm having some Mojotone CTS push/pull's installed with a Custom bridge and 59 neck on another guitar but I decided to tell the luthier to split to the screw coils.. mostly because of the disparity in output between the two. If the Custom is too weak split I'll just flip that one 180. But will that change the tone much in the unsplit bridge position (assuming I don't have some special height to the screws)?

 

[Chistopher]

If your tech is telling you that switching which coil you split to will put the middle position out of phase, they shouldn't be your tech.

The biggest difference you'll hear in the neck position is that you can't adjust string to string volume with the slug coil.

 

[dystrust]

If your tech is telling you that switching which coil you split to will put the middle position out of phase, they shouldn't be your tech.

THIS.

Your tech is wrong. Unless your neck pickup is RW/RP, the screw coil in the neck pickup is the same wind direction and polarity as the screw coil in the bridge pickup. Combining with the bridge slug coil will cancel hum, but it's NOT out of phase. I've had several of my guitars wired this way for years with zero phase issues.

EDIT: In terms of tonal change, it really doesn't sound noticeably different (other than hum-canceling) from splitting both pickups to the slug coil. If you're looking for a fatter sound with both split, add a switch to allow combining both pickups in series.

 

[rainsong86]

THIS.

Your tech is wrong. Unless your neck pickup is RW/RP, the screw coil in the neck pickup is the same wind direction and polarity as the screw coil in the bridge pickup. Combining with the bridge slug coil will cancel hum, but it's NOT out of phase. I've had several of my guitars wired this way for years with zero phase issues.

EDIT: In terms of tonal change, it really doesn't sound noticeably different (other than hum-canceling) from splitting both pickups to the slug coil. If you're looking for a fatter sound with both split, add a switch to allow combining both pickups in series.

Yea I had the feeling it was possible to split the neck to screw and the bridge to slug and have no phase issues in middle position since they are both standard duncan buckers. I should mention that the split is being done by one miniswitch and not two individual push/pulls or miniswitches... could that be a factor?

Edit: I see you posted https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-fxd...8/5075/wd2hh3t10_01__91538.1470694347.jpg?c=2 which uses 1 switch. So I'll give that a try

 

[Mincer]

One switch can absolutely switch 2 pickups.

 

[rainsong86]

If your tech is telling you that switching which coil you split to will put the middle position out of phase, they shouldn't be your tech.

The biggest difference you'll hear in the neck position is that you can't adjust string to string volume with the slug coil.

So If I have this diagram, which I believe splits to slug coils


How do I switch the neck split to the screw coil? And with both pups split that'll be hum-cancelling in the middle position, with no out-of-phase issues?

Edit: to clarify this is a different guitar than the one where I just have 1 miniswitch doing the splitting

 

[Artie]

Is there any issue splitting to the screw coil of the neck bucker and slug coil of the bridge bucker in a les paul?

Everybody has already covered this, but this is the "normal" way I split my 'buckers. Works good, sounds good, and remains silent.

 

[Artie]

like this

 

[Artie]

P.S. As Mincer said, you can put those two wires on the "other" two terminals of the other push-pull, and do this with one switch.

 

[Artie]

like this:

 

[rainsong86]

like this:

Thanks so much. You've got me covered for that one guitar with the 2 push/pulls and master tone. As for the Les Paul style guitar with normal modern wiring and just a miniswitch for the splits I'd really like to have a diagram for the neck split-to-screw and bridge split-to-slug but I can't even find a split-to-slugs w/ miniswitch diagram to start with. I know it's a big ask but I'd really appreciate it since if I don't have a diagram I'll surely mess it up lol

 

[Artie]

There's a couple ways to do this. This is probably the most straight forward.