I need the help of an electronics whiz

[Artie]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

Would that work?

I'll have to study that diagram a bit when I get the time.

From your diagram however it looks like you're using both the "upper" coils. What I tried to wire before was both inner coils, because I thought that would be hum-cancelling? Or is it the other way round? Always confuses me

Yes, its the other way 'round. Remember, one stud coil pairs with one screw coil for hum-cancelling. However, you can do both inside coils, and remain hum-cancelling if you flip the magnet, (on one pup), and reverse the wiring a certain way.

I can give more details and a pic if you're interested.

 

[omg81]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

The standard (parallel) coil split settings I've seen use either both inner or both outer coils, and I thought the reason for that would be that they're hum-cancelling that way. I have a Phat Cat-equipped Epiphone G-400 with a hum-cancelling middle position, and added an in-series mini-switch which is also hum-cancelling, so... well this is where my head hurts, figuring out which way round what is goes over my head, even more so with humbuckers.

 

[dukebox]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

To make things easier to visualize, I just orient the humbuckers the same way on paper, screw slug, screw slug.

 

[omg81]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

So a bridge and neck HB are pretty much the same if you put them side by side, one turned around 180 degrees?

edit: sorry, I think I should try to get more information on how bridge and neck humbuckers work before going on with questions and confusion.

 

[dukebox]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

Yeah, the magnets and winds are oriented the same way in the neck and bridge pickups, north to slug, south to screws, so you can combine the slug coil of one pickup with the screw coil of the other pickup, and they will humbuck. It doesn't matter that one of the pickups is turned 180 degree from the other.

 

[ItsaBass]

I need the help of an electronics whiz

I'd probably want to have the virtual middle humbucker use the bridge screw coil and the neck slug coil, knowing my preferences for brighter pickups...though I'd imagine the tonal difference between that and the way in the diagram isn't huge.

 

[Artie]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

...though I'd imagine the tonal difference between that and the way in the diagram isn't huge.

Exactly. But we, in this forum, tend to embrace subtlety.

I have more to say on this subject, but these 12-hour days are draining me. Film@11.

Artie

 

[omg81]

Re: I need the help of an electronics whiz

Yeah, the magnets and winds are oriented the same way in the neck and bridge pickups, north to slug, south to screws, so you can combine the slug coil of one pickup with the screw coil of the other pickup, and they will humbuck. It doesn't matter that one of the pickups is turned 180 degree from the other.

edit: did some research and think I understand better now, please correct me if I'm wrong: The important thing for hum-cancelling is that you use one north (slug) and one south (screws) coil. And since the neck hb is usually installed 180 degrees around, the inside coils are north and the outside ones are south. Hence, you need one inside and one outside coil to achieve hum-cancelling, no matter which HB provides which. You can choose to use both bridge-side coils if you want a somewhat treblier sound. But if you use both inside coils, you have two North's, and if you use both outer coils, you have two South's, so it's not hum-cancelling.

Except if you install the neck HB the "wrong" way round, that is north facing the neck, then it's the other way round: two inside or two outside coils: hum-cancelling, one inside and one outside: not hum-cancelling. Other than that, it makes little to no difference if the pickup is installed this or that way.

Now, two single coil pickups, like the Phat Cats in my SG. They look the same, but the neck version is RWRP. No matter which way round I install it, no matter if parallel or in series, both combined will always be hum-cancelling (except if I'm wiring them out of phase?). Had I installed two bridge Phat Cats, there'd be no way to get them hum-cancelling without taking them apart (except for an out-of-phase wiring?).

I checked my Framus' hum-cancelling two-split-coil position, and yes indeed, it uses both neck-side coils. What confused me is why most Ibanez and Jackson 5-way switches have a both inside coils position setting instead as that wouldn't be hum-cancelling. But I guess that's simply because it's easier to wire, and the switches they use may be too limited to allow the hum-cancelling version alongside the other positions.

Right?

Next I think I'll have to work on my electrics ABC.