Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

D

DobieK

New member
I have a two humbucker guitar and the pickups are from different manufacturers. The pickups also have covers on them. I know the magnets are installed so the pickups will be out of phase because when checking with a compass North is toward the slug coil on one pickup and South is toward the slug coil on the other.

One of the pickups has three conductor, so I know the issue could be corrected by reversing which lead gets grounded.

Would there be an audible difference between just swapping wires OR flipping the magnet. I know the pickups will sound in phase using either method, but I am wondering if it is preferred to flip the magnet.

Any thoughts?
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

I don't think you can change the polarity of the magnet by swapping wires. If it's electronically out of phase that should help though.
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

Well I flipped the magnet on the neck pickup and ended up having to reverse the wiring on it too. I wonder if I had left it alone if it would have sounded in-phase. Seems I had this pickup configuration in another guitar and I had to do both to the neck pup then too. That was quite a while ago, so my memory os foggy. In any event, it is ans sounds in phase now.

Thanks for the reply Frankencat!
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

Depending on the circuitry, flipping the magnet may prove the easier option. Re-arranging the output conductors may alter which coils are in use for any given position of the selector switch.
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

If you are combining them with Fender Single coils, you have to do both, in order to..

1. Have them in phase and not have a thin tinny sound in the combination position
2. Have them be hum canceling in the combination position.

At least that is what I had to do to several of mine.
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

DobieK said:
Well I flipped the magnet on the neck pickup and ended up having to reverse the wiring on it too. I wonder if I had left it alone if it would have sounded in-phase. Seems I had this pickup configuration in another guitar and I had to do both to the neck pup then too. That was quite a while ago, so my memory os foggy. In any event, it is ans sounds in phase now.

Thanks for the reply Frankencat!
Click to expand...

Yes. Your problem is that you concluded they will be OOP just because of the magnetic polarity but you didn't check whether they are also wound the other way (reverse wind). If both applies they would not be OOP.
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

uOpt said:
Yes. Your problem is that you concluded they will be OOP just because of the magnetic polarity but you didn't check whether they are also wound the other way (reverse wind). If both applies they would not be OOP.
Click to expand...

You are right. I probably could have just installed it and it would have been fine. Part of me figures the mags and windings should probably all be the same direction and polarity, so I just made 'em match. A little too detail oriented, I guess but I didn't want to have to remove them and do all that futzing around when I should have changed it to begin with. At least I was able to sleep last night, knowing my pickups are completely in phase. :)
 
Re: Reversing Polarity, Swap Wires Or Flip Magnet?

Uopt is correct. As with anything else, actually try it as-is first instead of determining ahead of time that it won't work and engaging in pointless or even destructive tinkering. When I make a Splat set, the neck pu magnet is flipped the other way because the nature of the design is such that the current has to be reversed, so N faces screws on the neck pu but S faces the screws on the bridge. But they're very much in phase.

Moral lesson: That the mags are positioned opposite in two pickups according to the polarity tester does not necessarily mean the pickups will be out of phase. Strat middle pu's are usually opposite polarity but are in phase because the current flow is also opposite.
 
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