Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

BowerR64

New member
When i was messing with my car stereo a few times i hooked up the bass cabnet speakers wrong and WOW the bass was great. Then i looked at the hook up and i found that one speaker was wired backwards. One was right + to + and - to - but the other speaker i had the wires backwards and this sounded the best. I asked a guy that worked at a car stereo place and he said that my speakers were out of phase thats why it sounded better.

As i read more about it, it says that the speakers work together in the same air space insted of fighting each other for the air. One moves out and the other moves in when bass notes hit, making them more efficient.

My question is, do pickups work like this? would i get a thicker tone if i run them out of phase? I notice that single coils sound thicker then humbuckers, it makes me wonder.
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

BowerR64 said:
When i was messing with my car stereo a few times i hooked up the bass cabnet speakers wrong and WOW the bass was great. Then i looked at the hook up and i found that one speaker was wired backwards. One was right + to + and - to - but the other speaker i had the wires backwards and this sounded the best. I asked a guy that worked at a car stereo place and he said that my speakers were out of phase thats why it sounded better.

As i read more about it, it says that the speakers work together in the same air space insted of fighting each other for the air. One moves out and the other moves in when bass notes hit, making them more efficient.

My question is, do pickups work like this? would i get a thicker tone if i run them out of phase? I notice that single coils sound thicker then humbuckers, it makes me wonder.

I'm sorry, but that guy didn't know what he was talking about. You must have had one speaker wrong twice. ;) You get more bass when speakers, (and pups), are wired in-phase. Otherwise, when one speaker goes out, the other goes in. They pass the air back and forth between them instead of sending it out into the space.

Same with pups. Wire one backwards and it will be weak and tinny.

Artie
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

The only thing I can add is that sometimes in car audio "out of phase" electronically is actaully in phase acoustically due to the complex transfer functions a car's interior can apply to the sound. Same goes for tweeters in a car audio system, due to closer proximity, sometimes it sounds better to have the tweeter wired out of phase with the driver it is linked with.

However when it comes to guitars, both pickups and speakers sound "better" (fuller) in-phase.
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

The speakers would sound really nasal and empty out of phase, I've done it before with full-range drivers.
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

ok well i have it backwards then, in-phase or out of phase wich ever sounds thicker is the best way right? most pickups are wired in phase so they sound the thickest?

I just want to make sure they are wired so they are as fat as they can be.
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

BowerR64 said:
My question is, do pickups work like this? would i get a thicker tone if i run them out of phase? I notice that single coils sound thicker then humbuckers, it makes me wonder.

Must have been some ultra-wimpy humbuckers you were comparing them to...
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

PFDarkside said:
The only thing I can add is that sometimes in car audio "out of phase" electronically is actaully in phase acoustically due to the complex transfer functions a car's interior can apply to the sound. Same goes for tweeters in a car audio system, due to closer proximity, sometimes it sounds better to have the tweeter wired out of phase with the driver it is linked with.

Yup. In fact, one of the Alpine car stereos has that function built in so that the driver can "focus" the highs and the imageing better.
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

lol Artie... I'm pretty sure I have that Alpine head. ;) Crazy features that not even I can delve all the way into! I only use the time adjustment and subwoofer phase controls.
 
Re: Do pickups work like speakers? in phase or out of phase?

My Alpine doesn't have that feature, but it does have menus, and sub-menus that I don't use. I wonder how many folks try to set those while they're driving! :)
 
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