RW/RP for Single Coils with Magnetic Rods?

K

Kokopelli

New member
Just for my own understanding

Say you have 2 single coil pickups with magnetic rods (strats/tele)

1a) If both pups are wind in the SAME direction (not reversed wound), you will have the "out of phase" sound when they are both on? What does this sound like compare to the "correct" sound?

1b) You can change the winding direction by switching hot to ground and ground to hot in ONE of the pickup?

2a) When you don't have reversed magnetic polarity, you will not get hum canceling when you combine the two single-coil pickups?

2b) How do you know if the 2 single coils have reversed magnetic polarity? For example, if you put the two pups face-to-face and they attract to each other, then you have reversed magnetic polarity? Thus hum canceling?
 
Re: RW/RP for Single Coils with Magnetic Rods?

This is easier to understand if you break it down into two separate functions: noise-cancelling, and pup phase.

For noise-cancelling, you need either of two things: wind one pickup the opposite direction, or reverse its wires. Duncan uses the former, Fender the latter. (At least on some of their cheap imports.) That way, the noise thats picked up from the air will be out-of-phase, and cancel.

Now, to bring the signal back into phase, we reverse the magnets on one. That causes the signal from the string to be the opposite polarity. Since the pup was wound, or connected, reversed, the signal is back in phase.

You are correct that if the top of the two pups attract, the magnets are reverse-polarity. However, the test to see if the coils are wound reverse, or need to be connected reverse, is a little more tricky. This assumes that you don't know where the pups came from. You just need to connect them together, and then to an amp, and see if they are noisey or not. If you connect them in-phase, and they are noisey, then they aren't reverse-wound.

Make sense?
 
Re: RW/RP for Single Coils with Magnetic Rods?

Wonderful explanation. Non-reversed winding direction causes humming; non-reversed magnetic polarity causes phasing!!!
 
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