Dummy single coil
- Thread starter jstich
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kramersteen
PowerMetalRaph
Re: Dummy single coil
Well unfortunately that's singles for you. Guess your options are either control the noise with pedals or shielding or replace it with a single sized hum.
Well unfortunately that's singles for you. Guess your options are either control the noise with pedals or shielding or replace it with a single sized hum.
L
Little Pigbacon
Guest
Re: Dummy single coil
A hum-cancelling pickup would be, I think, the most effective option. Specifically, a stacked single-coil will probably sound the most like what you're used to. This is a pickup that looks like a single-coil but has the dummy coil underneath. The coil and magnetic structure looks the same as any single-coil to the vibrating string, except for the extra coil. I use the old Yngwie DiMarzio pickups in one of my Strats, and I think they sound fantastic. His new pickups by Seymour Duncan are stacks as well (YJM Fury) and anything called a Stack (STK-XX) is based on the same principle. There's even a Parallel Axis stack.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/vintage-output/classic_stack_p/
A hum-cancelling pickup would be, I think, the most effective option. Specifically, a stacked single-coil will probably sound the most like what you're used to. This is a pickup that looks like a single-coil but has the dummy coil underneath. The coil and magnetic structure looks the same as any single-coil to the vibrating string, except for the extra coil. I use the old Yngwie DiMarzio pickups in one of my Strats, and I think they sound fantastic. His new pickups by Seymour Duncan are stacks as well (YJM Fury) and anything called a Stack (STK-XX) is based on the same principle. There's even a Parallel Axis stack.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/vintage-output/classic_stack_p/
LReese
Sausage Gravy
Re: Dummy single coil
I like the Vintage Rail, but in that app (not trying to get Strat quack) I'd be tempted to try one of the Stack plus pickups. Probably too much volume difference with the Vintage Rails, though you can wire it in series instead of the customary parallel and get a boost.
1st choice would be to keep the hum or use an Ilitch backplate (If I had the scratch). Shielding's an art to me and some of the methods I've tried yielded a tone dulling - and will not take care of the ordinary 60Hz hum.
I like the Vintage Rail, but in that app (not trying to get Strat quack) I'd be tempted to try one of the Stack plus pickups. Probably too much volume difference with the Vintage Rails, though you can wire it in series instead of the customary parallel and get a boost.
1st choice would be to keep the hum or use an Ilitch backplate (If I had the scratch). Shielding's an art to me and some of the methods I've tried yielded a tone dulling - and will not take care of the ordinary 60Hz hum.
Re: Dummy single coil
Thanks for all the replies. I know I can get a humbucker in the xingle coil slot. I thought I could wire up a little inductor or something myself to cancel the hum or get rid of some of it. I thought I'd be able to get an inductor from radio shack or something and use it as a dummy coil and get rid of the hum. Not that simple, I guess? Thanks for all the help. All ideas are welcome.
Thanks for all the replies. I know I can get a humbucker in the xingle coil slot. I thought I could wire up a little inductor or something myself to cancel the hum or get rid of some of it. I thought I'd be able to get an inductor from radio shack or something and use it as a dummy coil and get rid of the hum. Not that simple, I guess? Thanks for all the help. All ideas are welcome.
TheLivingDead
Dawn Of The Shred
Re: Dummy single coil
Check out DiMarzio's Virtual Vintage or Area line.
Some of the best noiseless singles out there that still retain that single flavor.
Check out DiMarzio's Virtual Vintage or Area line.
Some of the best noiseless singles out there that still retain that single flavor.
LReese
Sausage Gravy
Re: Dummy single coil
Another option is to scour ebay for a pickup that you can remove the magnets - Basically procuring a dummy coil. Again - likely to significantly change the sound. If you're serious about getting rid of the hum (for the most part), I'd focus on the new pickup or investigate a noise gate (Never worked for me - too un-natural).
On another note - You gigging or playing in a certain area? Reason I'm asking is you might have a problem in a certain area of the house, church, or whereever you play.
Another option is to scour ebay for a pickup that you can remove the magnets - Basically procuring a dummy coil. Again - likely to significantly change the sound. If you're serious about getting rid of the hum (for the most part), I'd focus on the new pickup or investigate a noise gate (Never worked for me - too un-natural).
On another note - You gigging or playing in a certain area? Reason I'm asking is you might have a problem in a certain area of the house, church, or whereever you play.
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idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: Dummy single coil
A dummy coil significantly complicates your wiring and isn't completely hum free. You can reduce the amount of hum quite a bit by creating a RFI shield around the coil, but it's not completely hum free either. To create a RFI shield all you need is ribbon, spray adhesive and aluminum or copper foil. A stacked single coil is the best alternative.
A dummy coil significantly complicates your wiring and isn't completely hum free. You can reduce the amount of hum quite a bit by creating a RFI shield around the coil, but it's not completely hum free either. To create a RFI shield all you need is ribbon, spray adhesive and aluminum or copper foil. A stacked single coil is the best alternative.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Dummy single coil
A dummy coil will usually do a complete job. It's how a stack works, too. You can screw it up, though, e.g. by moving the dummy coil under the pickguard and shielding the pickguard. You can't have one coil in a hum-canceling setup shielded and the other one not. Then the hum canceling is incomplete by the amount the shielding removed.
The problem is that adding a dummy coil to an existing single coil changes capacitance, resistance and inductance and hence all sound parameter wander off all over the place. The wiring isn't complicated, just in series or in parallel and done. There's no switching needed.
Any form of regular shielding (a grounded conductor) will only cut back on electrostatic interference. But it will do nothing about the 50/60 cycle hum which is electromagnetic and hence not impressed by the shield. To shield electromagnetic waves you would need M/U metal. I'm not aware of anyone doing that for a whole guitar.
A stack plus or a dimarzio area are usually the only options. I think Fralin might have a side-by side Strat shaped one by now?
So what kind of single coil is in that guitar?
A dummy coil will usually do a complete job. It's how a stack works, too. You can screw it up, though, e.g. by moving the dummy coil under the pickguard and shielding the pickguard. You can't have one coil in a hum-canceling setup shielded and the other one not. Then the hum canceling is incomplete by the amount the shielding removed.
The problem is that adding a dummy coil to an existing single coil changes capacitance, resistance and inductance and hence all sound parameter wander off all over the place. The wiring isn't complicated, just in series or in parallel and done. There's no switching needed.
Any form of regular shielding (a grounded conductor) will only cut back on electrostatic interference. But it will do nothing about the 50/60 cycle hum which is electromagnetic and hence not impressed by the shield. To shield electromagnetic waves you would need M/U metal. I'm not aware of anyone doing that for a whole guitar.
A stack plus or a dimarzio area are usually the only options. I think Fralin might have a side-by side Strat shaped one by now?
So what kind of single coil is in that guitar?
uOpt
Something Cool
F
Funkfingers
Guest
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Dummy single coil
MU metal is magnetically isolating metal.
It blocks magnetic fields (including oscillating ones like the 50/60 Hz cycle hum) much like a conductor blocks an electrostatic field, but much less completely.
It is rarely used in guitars, the most common use is to out it between the active coil and the blind coil in a humbucking stack setup (so that the magnets in one coil don't cause a field in the other coil which must stay "blind" (no field)).
MU metal is magnetically isolating metal.
It blocks magnetic fields (including oscillating ones like the 50/60 Hz cycle hum) much like a conductor blocks an electrostatic field, but much less completely.
It is rarely used in guitars, the most common use is to out it between the active coil and the blind coil in a humbucking stack setup (so that the magnets in one coil don't cause a field in the other coil which must stay "blind" (no field)).
Re: Dummy single coil
I had a Music Man Silhouette Special with three single coils in there and Music Man's "Silent Circuit" which had an inductor wired into the electronics to act as a dummy coil to cancel hum. It worked very well as long as all three pickups were the same polarity, but changing pickups in and out was a pain stuffing all that wiring in there, working around the battery (it was an active system) and making sure my replacement pickups were the correct polarity.
I wound up gutting the guitar are going with Duncan Stacks... I believe I went with two STKS6's in the neck/middle slots and STKS9b in the bridge. I was very happy with that set. No noise whatsoever and almost impossible to tell from a true single, especially live. Much simpler wiring, too.
I had a Music Man Silhouette Special with three single coils in there and Music Man's "Silent Circuit" which had an inductor wired into the electronics to act as a dummy coil to cancel hum. It worked very well as long as all three pickups were the same polarity, but changing pickups in and out was a pain stuffing all that wiring in there, working around the battery (it was an active system) and making sure my replacement pickups were the correct polarity.
I wound up gutting the guitar are going with Duncan Stacks... I believe I went with two STKS6's in the neck/middle slots and STKS9b in the bridge. I was very happy with that set. No noise whatsoever and almost impossible to tell from a true single, especially live. Much simpler wiring, too.
LReese
Sausage Gravy
Re: Dummy single coil
I'm going out on a limb here. The EB silent coil is a differential preamp system ala EMG and Livewire/Blackout. Nothing wrong with that type of setup unless you like Fuzzfaces. Maybe someone with more experience than I on that can confirm or call me an idiot.
You've got the same issue with the Suhr and Suhr/Ilitch systems but can be worked around if you're willing to sacrifice noise canceling on one of the positions.
I've got a livewire classic II set here - as I remember they were fine sounding pickups. Its a weak reason for removing them, but the magnet stagger bothered the crap out of me. It follows the radius rather than a traditional stagger.
Still the cheapest in the long run solution is buy a noise cancelling pickup.
I'm going out on a limb here. The EB silent coil is a differential preamp system ala EMG and Livewire/Blackout. Nothing wrong with that type of setup unless you like Fuzzfaces. Maybe someone with more experience than I on that can confirm or call me an idiot.
You've got the same issue with the Suhr and Suhr/Ilitch systems but can be worked around if you're willing to sacrifice noise canceling on one of the positions.
I've got a livewire classic II set here - as I remember they were fine sounding pickups. Its a weak reason for removing them, but the magnet stagger bothered the crap out of me. It follows the radius rather than a traditional stagger.
Still the cheapest in the long run solution is buy a noise cancelling pickup.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: Dummy single coil
Part of the problem with a system like that is the dummy coil is calibrated to work with the stock pickups. If you deviate too far from the original values you lose the effect. So if you add a dummy coil your pretty much stuck with whatever value of coil you use. He could go with something like the silent backplate system but the cost of that is much higher than a pickup replacement.
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