Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

[ErikH]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

Actually, what would be really cool is a humbucker that can be split AND both coils have a tap.

Take a JB for example. Split, it's got the flavor of an 8k or so single-coil. Now, if you were to add in a tap to each of the coils, you could get:

- lower output single-coil sounds from either coil
- connect the taps in series for a lower output humbucker
- use a tapped coil and a full output coil in series for a mismatched wind humbucker
- and of course the usual series and parallel options that a 4-conductor humbucker offers, only this one would be 6 (2 of them being taps to each of the coils)

 

[jeremy]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

all those things can be done but its a pita and may or may not be worth the expense. if some one wants to pay me an absorbadant sum, ill make one for ya. lots of wires, seven total.

youd need a on/on spdt switch for each coil to select the tap or full output, then a on/on/on dpdt for series/split/parallel then a on/on dpdt switch for phase to choose which coil is active

 

[ErikH]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

I figured the pita factor would be pretty high and considered the switching involved. Wasn't totally sure as to what switches would be necessary. It's just an idea. Not something I have the means to go after.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

- You can't "tap" a humbucker (well, normally).
- You can't "split" a single coil* (EVER).
(* a REAL SC i.e .NOT a stack/mini-bucker)

Is that pretty much it?

 

[MattPete]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

The funny thing is, coil 'splitting' implies one coil split in two. But in truth, you have two coils. In the case of a humbucker, they act as one virtual coil. So if you look at 'splitting', then that makes sense. But it also means that 'tapping' makes sense, as you are tapping that one virtual coil right smack dab in the middle.

 

[MattPete]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

I'm with ErikH: I always thought it would be cool to have a tap-able hot humbucker.

But, I wonder if something like a JB or a Custom might sound like ass, since they use thinner wire than, say, a PAF.

I suppose it might work with a hot PAF like a Brobucker, but even if you have the same DC resistance, the tapped magnetic field won't be the same as a 59.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

For me "splitting" has always been using only one coil of a humbucker and "tapping" is having a secondary lead (could be hot or ground) coming from somewhere in the wind between the start and finish.

Semantically, I don't think it's completely wrong to refer to a split as a tap... in theory you've got a secondary lead coming from somewhere in the wind of the humbucker, it just happens to be between the coils. It's easier to imagine a split humbucker as a tap if you think about it as a three conductor pickup, which would be all that is really required to split a humbucker. Split is still a better term, IMO, but in the simplest of wiring schemes, "tapped" can make sense.

It is always wrong to refer to a tap as a split.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

A tap is something that directs beer into your glass.

 

[Markk]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

The funny thing is, coil 'splitting' implies one coil split in two. But in truth, you have two coils. In the case of a humbucker, they act as one virtual coil. So if you look at 'splitting', then that makes sense. But it also means that 'tapping' makes sense, as you are tapping that one virtual coil right smack dab in the middle.

I see it more like the humbucker's coils are working together and you're splitting them apart. So using the word splitting is appropriate.

But however you look at it, splitting and tapping are just not the same thing.

I guess it's a similar situation (or never ending battle) between tremolo and vibrato. Aaargh

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

I see it more like the humbucker's coils are working together and you're splitting them apart. So using the word splitting is appropriate.

But however you look at it, splitting and tapping are just not the same thing.

I guess it's a similar situation (or never ending battle) between tremolo and vibrato. Aaargh

ketchup and catsup

 

[Markk]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

ketchup and catsup

Noooo
:arg:

 

[The Usual]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

Thanks for this thread. I now get it. I never really understood either of these fully. Well, I understood what people call a split, i.e. 1 full coil of a humbucker, but I never got tap thing i.e., tapping into the middle of a wind on a bobbin.

How the hell do you even do that? How do you know what the resistance is before you chop the wires? Do you just dig and clip until you get what you want? Or is the only way to do this at the time of the original wind?

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

You'd have to be nuts to to retrofit a tap onto a completed pickup. It really has to be installed during manufacturing. As to where to put it, that requires trail-and-error and/or some real pickup-designin' chops, such as those possessed by our hero, Seymour Duncan.

It is possible to split a humbucker. It involves removing the tape and some delicate soldering, but no coil-unwinding.

 

[The Usual]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

Cool thanks. That's what I thought. I was having a hard time imagining how the hell you'd dig into a coil.

 

[Got_tone?]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

A tap is something that directs beer into your glass.

:beerchug: hell yeah and it's a three day weekend for me! :headbang:

But seriously I going to out myself as :newbie: by saying at first I thought they were the same. Now I know better thanx to this forum........../thread

 

[Markk]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

Hey, I just noticed this thread was stickied! Extremely cool. My first stickied thread!
Maybe one day it'll be a legend in the vault as well?

Thank you mod(s)!!!

 

[Markk]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

So yeah...Coilsplitologist? Maybe?

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

I understand the technical difference but I have no idea about the practical application. Using a coil tap, might it be possible to coax a single coil type of sound while still retaining hum cancellation? If tapping a hot pickup might result in a more vintage sound, what would happen when a 59 gets tapped?

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

So yeah...Coilsplitologist? Maybe?

you remember the first and second rules right?:duh:

 

[Fritz6]

Re: Coil split vs coil tap, do you know what they mean?

Will a tapped bucker still be humbucking regardless of where the tap is placed?