HSS Wiring problem - help!

[dg.riff]

Can anyone tell me where I've gone wrong?

In my Pacifica I've installed a SSL2 in the neck, a SSL6(RW/RP) in the middle and a coil-split TB11 in the bridge. The problem is that in the bridge/middle position (with the TB11 split) I'm not getting noise-cancelling. Middle/neck is fine though. I followed the wiring instructions for the TB11 to the best of my ability, but I'm thinking that I've got something backwards. I wondered if I'm splitting the humbucker to the 'wrong' pickup perhaps?

Any suggestions would be very gratefully received!

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

Yeah, you probably split to the "wrong" coil to have noise canceling. Try the other coil

 

[dg.riff]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

Well, I've tried swapping the green and black leads. It's still not noise-cancelling, but worse still the bridge/middle position has gone all quiet and weedy. This is more complicated than I thought! I guess I should swap the leads back?

 

[Artie]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

Yup . . . swap the leads back. That isn't the problem. If you split a Duncan humbucker to the "stud" coil, (normal), you need the middle pickup to be a "neck" version and the neck pup to be a "middle" version. Unfortunately, that means you need to swap your SSL-2 and 6.

On the other hand, you could split the bridge to the screw coil by taking the red/white pair to the black wire instead of ground. Swapping the neck and middle would sound better though.

 

[Artie]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

The master is back!:fest7:
Glad to see you again!
I am not a well of science but simple a well.:dunce:

Thanks, but you're doing fine.

I'm not exactly "back" yet. Still got a lot of house remodeling to do, but I like to check in when I can. Keep the light on for me.

 

[dg.riff]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

Yup . . . swap the leads back. That isn't the problem. If you split a Duncan humbucker to the "stud" coil, (normal), you need the middle pickup to be a "neck" version and the neck pup to be a "middle" version. Unfortunately, that means you need to swap your SSL-2 and 6.

On the other hand, you could split the bridge to the screw coil by taking the red/white pair to the black wire instead of ground. Swapping the neck and middle would sound better though.

Many thanks for this. Why do you think swapping the single coils would better - I'm reluctant to start taking everything apart again given my soldering skills. Could you also elaborate on how I split to the screw coil - where exactly does the red/white need to go and why?

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

It's that the middle pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity.

For two single coils to be hum canceling you need them to be reverse wound AND reversed polarity between them.
However the split humbucker already functions like a reverse wound/reverse polarity single coil so for it to be hum canceling with the single coil the single coil needs to be non-reverse wound/polarity.

Finally, in order to have the neck+middle combo be hum canceling you need the neck pickup to have the same polarity/wind as the split bridge, which is RW/RP

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: HSS Wiring problem - help!

Finally, if you want to split the humbucker to the other coil then you need to use the other pair of leads.

Normally, to split a humbucker to the "stud" coil you need the black wire which is the beginning of the stud coil to go to the "hot" terminal and the white wire which is the end of the stud coil to go to ground.

The white and the red wire are wired together because the red is the finish of the stud coil (and finally, the green which always goes to ground is the beginning of the stud coil).

So, to have it split to the screw coil you need to wire it so that when you "split", the red+white leads connect to "hot" (instead of ground) AND the black to disconnect from "hot"

I think the easiest way to do that is to use a switch that has the black on one end, the red+white at the other and depending on where to switch it it connects the one OR the other to the "hot" output...

When the black goes to hot it will work as a normal humbucker, when the red+white go to hot (and the black is disconnected from the circuit) only the screw coil will work...