is it possible to..

S

Stratovarious

New member
put two single coils together to get a humbucker

ive been looking at the micheal wilton sig ESP and I really like it, its got a floyd and looks super stratty, now if I could find a way to put a pickguard on there, that would also be awesome, but thats not the issue im addressing.


ok I like the look of it, but I like the sound of a single coil in the bridge as much as I like the sound of a humbucker, if not more. so I was wondering, is it possible to get two different single coils (say..Quarter Pounder and SSL-1) and make them both be on at the same time in the same position of a humbucker, and have a split switch for each pickup and then a normal 5 way?
and I know that a humbucker split, doesnt sound like a single coil like a normal single coil would. and I also know that 2 single coils wouldnt sound the same as a humbucker but im likely to use the single coil setting more, and it would be good to have that kind of choice in the bridge aswell as maintain the look (hah, what good are aesthetics!)

is that possible?
 
Re: is it possible to..

Stratovarious said:
put two single coils together to get a hum bucker I've been looking at the micheal wilton sig ESP and I really like it, its got a Floyd and looks super stratty, now if I could find a way to put a pick guard on there, that would also be awesome, but thats not the issue I'm addressing. ok I like the look of it, but I like the sound of a single coil in the bridge as much as I like the sound of a hum bucker, if not more. so I was wondering, is it possible to get two different single coils (say..Quarter Pounder and SSL-1) and make them both be on at the same time in the same position of a hum bucker, and have a split switch for each pickup and then a normal 5 way? and I know that a hum bucker split, doesn't sound like a single coil like a normal single coil would. and I also know that 2 single coils wouldn't sound the same as a hum bucker but I'm likely to use the single coil setting more, and it would be good to have that kind of choice in the bridge as well as maintain the look (hah, what good are aesthetics!) is that possible?
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Should be possible. Just wire them in series together. You can also just buy a Stag Mag. You can get different coils, yes, and it might sound a bit Pearly Gates, but I'm not sure. If you're that curious, just try it and tell us how it works out for you :D
 
Re: is it possible to..

It's not going to be the same, mainly because the construction is different. On a humbucker the coils share a magnet, whereas single coils have magnets for pole pieces.

Still, with the right wiring scheme you'll get hum-cancelling, just like the humbucker was designed for. It'll end up being a mid to high output pup, possibly, if the single coils are very strong. They would have to be pretty low output to keep you in the range of a Pearly Gates.

I think it's a cool idea, and don't see any problem with you going for it. It won't sound exactly the same as a normal humbucker, but it will do it's job.
 
Re: is it possible to..

A StagMag won't sound ANYTHING like a PG, and you can't specify which two coils to use in a production stag mag. :smack:

Look into Rio Grande's Muy Grande humbucker.
 
Re: is it possible to..

Its completely possible as far as i know. The Lace Sensor Dually series are precisely what you are describing. I dont know if they are tweaked or anything though, but they are some of my favorite pups
 
Re: is it possible to..

I've actually thought about doing this, too. Custom wiring on a Strat. Instead of parallel for quack (which lowers output more dramatically) you could wire series in those positions and get a high output humbucker, sort of, although it would still sound different, like everyone pointed out.

Still, it begs the question, why not just buy a Stag Mag? :D
 
Re: is it possible to..

TwinReverb said:
Still, it begs the question, why not just buy a Stag Mag? :D
Click to expand...

Because two coils sitting right next to each other aren't gonna sound anything like two coils 4 or so inches apart.

For series wiring on a single coil, let's say that you have black and white wires. Connect the blacks to the whites. I believe you would need a special 5-way switch to accomplish this, though.
 
Re: is it possible to..

I have made a humbucker from two single coils and it just doesn't sound right! There definitely is an art and science to making a humbucker.
 
Re: is it possible to..

I'm pretty sure that humbuckers have matched coils. If the coils are mis-matched, it could sound terrible, and almost for sure woudn't sound like a normal bucker. I dunno, I'd give it a go just for the hell of it, if you don't like it you can undo it.

If you do be sure to post how it goes.
 
Re: is it possible to..

Plenty of great sounding 'buckers have mismatched coils. Some examples are the Antiquity, PeArly Gates, Burstbuckers, and all of Dimarzio's dual resonance pickups.
 
Re: is it possible to..

Mismatched coils won't sound bad, per se, but the more mismatched they are, the noisier they'll be.
 
Re: is it possible to..

That's what I was after, noise. If they're really mis matched, you're going to get noise. Seymour duncan talked about mis-matched buckers in an interview once.
 
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