Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

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Kelsey

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I've been using SD pickups for a few years now, including Antiquity Strat and Tele pickups, Antiquity HBs (now gone), Jerry Donahue Tele lead, Hot Tele lead (now gone), SSL-1, Twangbanger, 5-2 Strat, 59 HBs, Seth Lovers, and Phat Cats. I recently installed a set of Phat Cats in my McCarty Standard, a combination of 5-2 standard and RWRP pickups with a Twangbanger in an American Series Strat, and a combination of Antiquity Texas Hot neck, standard SSL-1 middle, and Antiquity I Custom bridge in an American Deluxe V-neck Strat. I know that SD pickups are often wound with different polarity and direction than Fender pickups, and that SD Antiquity pickups are supposedly wound the way Fender wound 'em in the respective periods that the Antiquity's emulate. But I was very surprised to find that standard production SD Strat pickups are NOT wound in a consistent way.

Specifically, the standard SSL-1 and Twangbanger are made with "South up" magnet polarity and the white wire connected to the left of the black ground wire (when viewed from the top of the pickup with wire leads upward), whereas the standard 5-2 Strat pickup and the standard Antiquity I Texas Hot are made with "North up" magnet polarity and the white wire connected to the right of the black ground wire (again, when viewed from the top of the pickup with wire leads upward). Of course the RWRP SSL-1 and 5-2 pickups are the reverse of the respective standard schemes. The Phat Cat neck pickup is consistent with the 5-2/Texas Hot scheme, whereas the Phat Cat bridge is consistent with the SSL-1/Twangbanger scheme. By extension, I know that the JD Tele lead is consistent with the Phat Cat bridge scheme, and the SD Antiquity specs indicate the schemes for the other Antiquity Strat and Tele pickups. It seems clear to me that SD needs to publish the polarity and wiring specs for all of their pickups to ease installation of mixed sets. Here is a listing of the matches I've found so far:

North Up:

Antiquity Strat Texas Hot and Custom bridge
Antiquity Tele rhythm
5-2 Nashville Studio Strat
Phat Cat neck
SSL-1 RWRP
Fender CS Texas Special Strat neck and bridge

South Up:

Twangbanger
SSL-1
5-2 RWRP Nashville Studio Strat
Phat Cat bridge
Jerry Donahue Tele lead
Antiquity I Tele lead
Antiquity RWRP Texas Hot
Fender CS RWRP Texas Special Strat
Fender CS 50's and 60's Strat sets

I hope this helps future pickup swappers, and that others will add to the list based on their experiences.

-- Kelsey
 
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Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

It's no big deal. As long as you have the polarity right, all of these problems are easily solved by reversing the leads.

Except for braided lead pickups, which can also be done, but you have to know your way around pickup innards a little bit for that because you have to replace the braided lead with multi-conductor. But then again, you could always just flip the magnet(s).
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

I realize that, which I've done. However, I don't understand why there shouldn't be information available to save a step or two for the next guy. Moreover, it's pretty critical to get the right magnet polarity for different combinations, and having the information more readily available could save a trip to the store or return shipping hassles.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Good thread. That's one thing that drives me crazy about trying to install pickups....especially with different brands.

The fastest way to tell if pickups are the right polarity, is to hold them up to each other before installing them. If they attract, they'll be fine as a set. If they repell, one of the magnets needs to be flipped.......if they're single coils for a tele, I guess I'm SOL. If it's a strat, I put the rw/rp pickup in the neck, so the bridge will vibe with whatever's in the middle. Then, address the pos/neg leads so that everything is going the proper direction.....even if something has a reversed lead.

Even still, it's all a big pain. Too bad all the companies didn't just agree to do it ONE way. I wish Duncan would at least do ALL their pickups the same, but Seymour stays period correct in many ways. Even more aggravating is the possibility that regular production pickups can be opposite.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Kelsey said:
I realize that, which I've done. However, I don't understand why there shouldn't be information available to save a step or two for the next guy. Moreover, it's pretty critical to get the right magnet polarity for different combinations, and having the information more readily available could save a trip to the store or return shipping hassles.
Click to expand...

I think a better idea is to buy one of those $7 polarity testers from Stewmac and carry it with you to the store.

Another thing -- if worse comes to worse, if you have some neo disk mags from Stewmac or elsewhere and you put them in a vice opened to about 2.5" apart and put one disk on each jaw with opposite poles facing each other, you can reverse the polarity of the magnets on a rod magnet pickup. A5 is a little harder than A2 or A3 but it can be done.

Moral of the story: There are amazingly simple "home remedies" to these problems that beat the crap out of waiting for the manufacturers to make the info available -- or extra trips to the store and return shipping costs, packing, etc. The American pioneer spirit needs a rennaissance in here.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Those are good tips to know, but the average guitar player shouldn't have to go through all the additional time and expense when simple information could render it unnecessary or minimize the problem ahead of time. I'm all for the pioneering spirit, but there are better ways to spend my time and money since pickup installation isn't my main interest or a source of income. I'd rather get on with making music...
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Humbuckers and strat pickups can be manipulated to work, but what about tele pickups?

I'm afraid to buy tele pickups that don't come as a set, simply because I don't want to get stuck with a mismatch. If the polarity is wrong, there's nothing you can do, right?
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Tele pickup is the same basic design as the Strat pickup -- 6 rod magnets with forbon (or other material) flanges superglued to the top and bottom of the mags. The Tele usually has a metal baseplate on the bridge and a metal cover on the neck -- which is important to note because you want to make sure the plate and cover stay grounded if you reverse leads (so move that jumper wire to the "new" ground lead) -- but otherwise they're no different from Strat pu's for our purposes here.

You can flip the polarity on Tele pu's with the disk mag method mentioned before but just reversing the leads works fine too, unless you're dead set on hum-cancelling in the Tele middle position.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

I read a few posts on the different magnetic direction of the coils in Antiquity 1 and 2 pickups.
My idea is to have these pups installed in my Strat:
  • Antiquity 1 Custom Bridge
  • SSL1 in middle position
  • Antiquity 2 neck model.
In this case I must reverse the wires of the bridge pickup in order not to have phase cancellation when using both bridge and middle pups together.
What about if I want to install an Antiquity 2 RW RP in the middle? How must I wire everything? Consider that I'll have also a mini switch that selects all 3 pickups together if desired
 
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Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Zhangliqun said:
I think a better idea is to buy one of those $7 polarity testers from Stewmac and carry it with you to the store.

Another thing -- if worse comes to worse, if you have some neo disk mags from Stewmac or elsewhere and you put them in a vice opened to about 2.5" apart and put one disk on each jaw with opposite poles facing each other, you can reverse the polarity of the magnets on a rod magnet pickup. A5 is a little harder than A2 or A3 but it can be done.
Click to expand...

lol, that's one way to reverse the polarity, and it's probably a lot easier than changing out braided wire. Neo disk magnets are very cool (Zhang-aging FTW!).

The polarity testers are really useful too. It's just a colored magnet in a plastic tube, but it's helpful. The first time I swapped magnets in a humbucker, I somehow screwed up the polarity three times before I got it right. I guess I'm special like that.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

I've read this on Harmony Central, about the Surfers:
" As a follow-up, I did much field work with this set and could never achieve hum-cancelling in position #2 without severe loss of output.

To remedy this, I switched to Antiquity Texas Hot Custom Bridge which has opposite polarity (North) to the Antiquity ll Surf set (South).

I recommend this mixed set as opposed to a full set of either type.
It sounds fantastic and now works as intended for hum-cancelling."

Any other experienced such problems?
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Sorry to dig up this thread.

But as I am gathering a set of duncan single coils

Is it that a SSL1 Neck RWRP to a 5-2 Neck?

Thanks
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

I believe it's possible that it depends on the era of 5/2. I could be wrong here, but I think I remember at some point it was realizedthat the 5/2 was reverse polarity from the other standard Seymour Duncan single coils.

I think it had something to do with that pickup beginning life in the Custom Shop, and perhaps it was made for a specific artist maybe to match up with his Fenders or for whatever reason it was translated to production with the polarity backwards. Then, at some point it was flipped to match the SSL's. I will try to get a firm answer on this today for you.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Thank you very much frankfalbo~!

Looking forward to your confirmation~
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

I confirmed that about two years ago they fixed it so the 5-2's sold today are aligned with the polarity of SSL-1 through 7. Which also means they should be taken off (or asterisk) on the original post.
 
Re: Mix 'n' Match issues with SD single coil pickups: My recent experiences

Thank you very much~!
 
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