make single conductor 4 conductor
- Thread starter Mike24121
- Start date
Kam
Shaftologist
Re: make single conductor 4 conductor
I think the general consensus is that it's a very difficult job and really not a good idea. You'd probably be better off selling those and buying the four-con version. If the four-con version isn't commercially available then you should be able to get it as a shop floor custom or something.
I think the general consensus is that it's a very difficult job and really not a good idea. You'd probably be better off selling those and buying the four-con version. If the four-con version isn't commercially available then you should be able to get it as a shop floor custom or something.
Andrew Lamprecht
Minion of One
astrozombie
KatyPerryologist
Re: make single conductor 4 conductor
Sounds like a whole lot of trouble to go through when theres already a 4 con version.
Sounds like a whole lot of trouble to go through when theres already a 4 con version.
Kam
Shaftologist
Re: make single conductor 4 conductor
Really? I just thought I remembered seeing a post from Zhang or someone saying that it was pretty tricky and best left to someone with a good deal of experience.
EDIT: Did a quick search (which I should have probably done first) and found these threads:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/search.php?searchid=7651815
It seems people have done it before but it does take some 'finesse and skill' and can be a bit of a headache. It's up to you, Mr OP, whether you want to go through with it. If you do, then there's some good information in the threads in that link. If you don't, then someone mentioned being able to send it back to SD and they'd convert it for a small fee? I'm not sure if that's true but it may be worthy of investigation.
Really? I just thought I remembered seeing a post from Zhang or someone saying that it was pretty tricky and best left to someone with a good deal of experience.
EDIT: Did a quick search (which I should have probably done first) and found these threads:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/search.php?searchid=7651815
It seems people have done it before but it does take some 'finesse and skill' and can be a bit of a headache. It's up to you, Mr OP, whether you want to go through with it. If you do, then there's some good information in the threads in that link. If you don't, then someone mentioned being able to send it back to SD and they'd convert it for a small fee? I'm not sure if that's true but it may be worthy of investigation.
ericmeyer4
New member
Re: make single conductor 4 conductor
OP I would try trading the single conductor version for a 4 conductor version. Seems like the easiest thing to do. (If they make a 4 conductor version....)
OP I would try trading the single conductor version for a 4 conductor version. Seems like the easiest thing to do. (If they make a 4 conductor version....)
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: make single conductor 4 conductor
The work on an open pickup is not very difficult. The only complication is that you have to solder the awg42 pickup wire directly. If you have a too fat iron or too fat fingers you can mess that up. To make it pretty you will need new tape.
But the cover is a problem. It is not trivial to get it off and on without doing visible damage to it. Re-potting the cover isn't difficult but needs to be done and can be messed up.
I'd recommend a floor shop custom order.
The work on an open pickup is not very difficult. The only complication is that you have to solder the awg42 pickup wire directly. If you have a too fat iron or too fat fingers you can mess that up. To make it pretty you will need new tape.
But the cover is a problem. It is not trivial to get it off and on without doing visible damage to it. Re-potting the cover isn't difficult but needs to be done and can be messed up.
I'd recommend a floor shop custom order.
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: make single conductor 4 conductor
The cover isn't that much of a problem. Ideally use some desoldering braid to suck up the solder beads and just lift the cover off. If the wax is heavy, it can stick a little bit but it will come off.
But proper desoldering requires a pretty hot iron and most folks in here are using just a 25-watter so you're likely stuck with one of the other methods that require some force to break the solder joint -- and will likely bend the cover a little at the bottom as uopt says. But that doesn't show when the pu is installed in the guitar. Only issue maybe for re-sale.
If the pickup is potted post-cover, there should be enough wax on top of the coils or stuck to the inside of the cover that there's no need to re-pot. If not, you can always add a little wax, no big deal. You're just trying to keep the top from vibrating and a bit of wax, silicone, or thin foam or who knows what will do the job. Re-dunking is just not necessary.
You do NOT have to directly deal with the coil wire -- if you do, if you even SEE any coil wire (other than maybe some peaking out slightly at the edge of the coil tape), something has gone horribly wrong.
THE NITTY GRITTY
Each coil has a start lead and a finish lead. With most manufacturers (myself included), the start lead comes out of the bottom of the coil and the finish lead comes off the side. 2 coils with 2 leads means 4 total leads -- those are your 4 conductors and the conversion is just a matter of soldering these 4 leads to the 4 conductors in the 4-con wire. (The 5th bare wire is soldered to the baseplate of course.)
There are two tricky parts, one mental, and one physical:
1) Physical: Separating the coil junction leads. Many winders solder the two finish leads together. Some of us, like me, solder the two start leads together. Either way you need to desolder them very carefully, don't put any significant stress on the two leads. If you yank out a finish lead, it's a pain but fixable. If you yank out a start lead, the coil is DEAD and only a complete rewind will resurrect it. NOTE: The start lead does not have to come all the way out of the coil for you to have killed it!
The other two leads are pretty easy, one is soldered to the baseplate and the other is soldered to the center (hot) lead of the braid. You can just heat the baseplate lead solder joint and remove it easily. The other one can be just clipped off so you don't have to worry about yanking it loose from the coil.
2) Mental: You can solder each lead to whatever color of the 4 cons you want, as long as you know that you know that you know which coil lead each color represents. If you want to duplicate the Duncan code, it is:
Green = Screw coil start
Red = Screw coil finish
Black = Slug coil start
White = Slug coil finish
The final issue is keeping the whole wire nest neat. It's tricky to explain that part, you just have to have to get some experience with it, and besides there are other winders who are better at it than me.
On the whole, it requires some patience and some fine motor control. It's not for everyone to try, but if you're aware of the pitfalls, have steady hands, and get the concept of start vs. finish leads and have some solid basic knowledge of how a humbucker works and is constructed, it's very doable.
The cover isn't that much of a problem. Ideally use some desoldering braid to suck up the solder beads and just lift the cover off. If the wax is heavy, it can stick a little bit but it will come off.
But proper desoldering requires a pretty hot iron and most folks in here are using just a 25-watter so you're likely stuck with one of the other methods that require some force to break the solder joint -- and will likely bend the cover a little at the bottom as uopt says. But that doesn't show when the pu is installed in the guitar. Only issue maybe for re-sale.
If the pickup is potted post-cover, there should be enough wax on top of the coils or stuck to the inside of the cover that there's no need to re-pot. If not, you can always add a little wax, no big deal. You're just trying to keep the top from vibrating and a bit of wax, silicone, or thin foam or who knows what will do the job. Re-dunking is just not necessary.
You do NOT have to directly deal with the coil wire -- if you do, if you even SEE any coil wire (other than maybe some peaking out slightly at the edge of the coil tape), something has gone horribly wrong.
THE NITTY GRITTY
Each coil has a start lead and a finish lead. With most manufacturers (myself included), the start lead comes out of the bottom of the coil and the finish lead comes off the side. 2 coils with 2 leads means 4 total leads -- those are your 4 conductors and the conversion is just a matter of soldering these 4 leads to the 4 conductors in the 4-con wire. (The 5th bare wire is soldered to the baseplate of course.)
There are two tricky parts, one mental, and one physical:
1) Physical: Separating the coil junction leads. Many winders solder the two finish leads together. Some of us, like me, solder the two start leads together. Either way you need to desolder them very carefully, don't put any significant stress on the two leads. If you yank out a finish lead, it's a pain but fixable. If you yank out a start lead, the coil is DEAD and only a complete rewind will resurrect it. NOTE: The start lead does not have to come all the way out of the coil for you to have killed it!
The other two leads are pretty easy, one is soldered to the baseplate and the other is soldered to the center (hot) lead of the braid. You can just heat the baseplate lead solder joint and remove it easily. The other one can be just clipped off so you don't have to worry about yanking it loose from the coil.
2) Mental: You can solder each lead to whatever color of the 4 cons you want, as long as you know that you know that you know which coil lead each color represents. If you want to duplicate the Duncan code, it is:
Green = Screw coil start
Red = Screw coil finish
Black = Slug coil start
White = Slug coil finish
The final issue is keeping the whole wire nest neat. It's tricky to explain that part, you just have to have to get some experience with it, and besides there are other winders who are better at it than me.
On the whole, it requires some patience and some fine motor control. It's not for everyone to try, but if you're aware of the pitfalls, have steady hands, and get the concept of start vs. finish leads and have some solid basic knowledge of how a humbucker works and is constructed, it's very doable.
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