STK4m Classic Stack Plus Strat (RWRP) Polarity

[Ron Garrison]

You'll have to excuse me if this is a basic question, but I'm new to this. I thought I had done my research but the polarity on the STK4m is the opposite of what I expected, and I'm hoping I'm just missing something and it's unique to stacked pickups.

From what I understand, the Seymour Duncan standard for normal pickups (except for a few) is counter-clockwise south up. RWRP is clockwise north up. Using a compass, I verified that the screw coil of the bridge humbucker is south up, as expected, and the slug coil (RWRP) is north up. The neck pickup (normal - not RWRP) is south up as expected. But the STK4m, which is supposed to be RWRP, is also south up according to the compass. I was expecting it to be north up. Is this correct? Will the stk4m, when split, properly pair with the middle pickup for hum cancellation?

 

[dotsdad]

STK S4 neck and STK S4 middle cancel hum when used together split, if that's what you're asking.

 

[Artie]

For what it's worth, the STK's sound great even without splitting. Makes the wiring nice and simple.

 

[Mincer]

What are you pairing your STK-S4m with?

 

[PFDarkside]

I’d imagine it’s most important when combining with split bridge?

 

[Ron Garrison]

What are you pairing your STK-S4m with?

I'm planning to pair it with an SSL52n (using what I believe is your blog as a guide). Both the STK4m and the SSL52n have south up magnets. Is this normal or am I overthinking this?

 

[jeremy]

i just checked my stks4m and its south up, i checked the stks4n, stks4b, and stks9 and all were north up

 

[Mincer]

I'm planning to pair it with an SSL52n (using what I believe is your blog as a guide). Both the STK4m and the SSL52n have south up magnets. Is this normal or am I overthinking this?

Oh cool! Yeah, I paired the STK-S4m in the neck with a Five Two in the bridge, and they cancelled hum just fine.

 

[Teleplayer]

Yes. Its normal. Stack plus have opposite magnetic polarity relative to the other single coils. So middle pickup is south pole up magnetic. If you want a north pole up magnetisation, you need the neck version.

 

[PFDarkside]

Yes. Its normal. Stack plus have opposite magnetic polarity relative to the other single coils. So middle pickup is south pole up magnetic. If you want a north pole up magnetisation, you need the neck version.

Was this done to make it similar to a Humbucker?

 

[Teleplayer]

Was this done to make it similar to a Humbucker?

That would seem logical, but it would be much more helpful if the manufacturer specified the magnetic polarity as part of the product information.

 

[Ron Garrison]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. So it has been confirmed that the STK-S4m is indeed South-Up, opposite of most of SD's other RWRP pickups. That being said, Dave (Mincer) says the the STK-S4m (when split) pairs with the SSL-52n (which is also South-Up) to cancel hum. So if that's true, there must be something about the split coil on the STK-S4m that causes it to act like a North-Up pickup even though it has South-Up magnets. Frankly I don't understand. I guess I'll just have to try it and see. I'll post my findings once I get the pickups installed.

Ron

 

[Mincer]

Yes, that's what I did. So the top coil of the STK-4m (in the neck position) blends with the Five Two in the middle, and you get hum-cancelling. Using a Megaswitch, in position 3, it blends with one coil of the Hybrid, and you get hum-cancelling.

 

[Ron Garrison]

Yes, that's what I did. So the top coil of the STK-4m (in the neck position) blends with the Five Two in the middle, and you get hum-cancelling. Using a Megaswitch, in position 3, it blends with one coil of the Hybrid, and you get hum-cancelling.

To be clear, the "Five Two in the middle" is an SSL52-1n (standard wind/polarity) and not an SSL52-1m (RWRP) - correct?

 

[Mincer]

Yes, standard.

 

[Ron Garrison]

I got things wired up. I was worried at first as position 3 and 4 were really noisy. And Position 1 was a little noisy. So I walked away and turned off the lights. I went back later, without turning on the lights and it was quiet. I hadn't buttoned everything back up. So once I did (I lined the cavities with copper tape), all positions were dead quiet. I'm pleased. I think I was just getting interference from the lights. Will play with it more tomorrow.

Thanks Dave. I think I implemented what you had in your blog with one minor addition. I added a 470K resistor in parallel when in position 2 to knock down the resistance of the 500K pot. I used a Megaswitch E+ vs an E (I thought it was needed for the addition of the 470K resistor, but in hindsight it was not).

Ron

Edit: It was the soldering iron that was causing the interference. Even with the copper tape, ,when the guitar is right next to the soldering station, I get a little interference.

 

[Mincer]

Wow, very cool! I still use my setup often. I hope you enjoy yours!