Gibson Les Paul coil tap

heave1

New member
Wired CTS coil tap pots to Gibson 490 and 498 Pickups and 3 way toggle. 3 way toggle works except when in treble position, both pickups activate.
I wired everything exactly like the Seymour Duncan color code chart showed for Gibson pickups. I am also putting in the same set up in a Gibson Studio with Seymour Duncan Hotrodded pickups.
What did I do wrong?
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

Wired CTS coil tap pots to Gibson 490 and 498 Pickups and 3 way toggle. 3 way toggle works except when in treble position, both pickups activate.
I wired everything exactly like the Seymour Duncan color code chart showed for Gibson pickups. I am also putting in the same set up in a Gibson Studio with Seymour Duncan Hotrodded pickups.
What did I do wrong?
Is that rhetorical or are you gonna load photos later?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

I don't have photos. Pickups work. It has to be the 3 way toggle. I've soldered the 3 way toggle leads both ways to both NV and BV and still doesn't work.
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

I don't have photos. Pickups work. It has to be the 3 way toggle. I've soldered the 3 way toggle leads both ways to both NV and BV and still doesn't work.

Take a look at your soldering on the switch. I had the same issue with my Tele a while ago, and it was caused by stray solder that had bridged the bridge pickup and hot leads on the switch. The result was that the bridge pickup position worked, but both the middle and neck positions on the switch activated both pickups.
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

OH! You mean split. I thought they were special pickups with a tap. While easy to confuse, they are different electrical processes, which is why it is important to differentiate on a pickup forum. Pics usually help diagnosing issues here.
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

Wired CTS coil tap pots to Gibson 490 and 498 Pickups and 3 way toggle. 3 way toggle works except when in treble position, both pickups activate.
I wired everything exactly like the Seymour Duncan color code chart showed for Gibson pickups. I am also putting in the same set up in a Gibson Studio with Seymour Duncan Hotrodded pickups.
What did I do wrong?

Yes, please tell us what you did wrong.

I have read your post several times trying to figure out what isn't working correctly and even just trying to decipher what you're saying.

I love it when people say they wired their guitar "exactly like" the diagram, but it doesn't work. In reality, you DIDN'T wire it exactly like the diagram or it WOULD work.

So give us some good, clear pics showing every connection (unobstructed by other wires) and we'll be glad to help you out. Don't just take the control cover off and snap a few pics. Get close ups...in focus. Move wires out of the way. Show where each wire is connected and where it is coming from.

I didn't know that Gibson made the 490 and 498 in a coil "tap" version. Are you sure you don't mean "coil SPLIT"? Like Mincer said, these are entirely different things.
 
Last edited:
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

The Standards had both tap and split as a dip switch option a short while back, though wasn't that a tuned split, or such?
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

The Standards had both tap and split as a dip switch option a short while back, though wasn't that a tuned split, or such?

You sure about that? You realize that a "tap" requires that the pup be wound with an additional wire coming off of one of the coils somewhere near the middle of the wind. It can't be created with switches like a split. However it does need a switch to activate the tap wiring.
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

You sure about that? You realize that a "tap" requires that the pup be wound with an additional wire coming off of one of the coils somewhere near the middle of the wind. It can't be created with switches like a split. However it does need a switch to activate the tap wiring.

From what I remember, yes. Inside the control cavity were dip switches that changed the function of the push-pulls, one of which was tap. Whether it really was a tap, or just the use of other components with splitting the coils for a different sound, I've no idea. I'm well aware of what tap is, I just wondered on whether someone could actually end up with more than the usual 4 conductor hookup as a result :)
 
Re: Gibson Les Paul coil tap

If it was actually a "tapped" humbucker, you could have 5 wires coming from the pup.
 
Back
Top