Tappable Humbucker

[Chistopher]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Certainly some people like tapped coils, but the lack of dedicated tapped pickup products shows that it's not a big seller. They're even a little hard to buy, as not many retailers stock them. DiMarzio doesn't even offer any such pickups. If a tapped SSL-5 sounded legitimately like an SSL-1, or even similar, they'd probably be a hot seller for vintage output Strat players looking for a "boost" switch.

Not too many people use coil splits either believe it or not. Outside of guitar modders like us, I'd say half of guitar players think it's a gimmick. They complain that it doesn't make their guitar sound like a Fender. They have their expectations in the wrong place.

Another reason is that humbuckers are their new pickup of choice for newer genres, so quite a bit of single coil buyers either look for really hot singles hoping they can keep up in output while maintaining clarity, or vintage correctness. Tapping doesn't fall into either of those categories.

Personally, I think the best use for tapping is to go from P90 tone to stratty territory, like with the under appreciated Strabro-90.

The best coil tap I think would in theory be a P90 that tapped every single wind and then had a knob to control how many winds would be in the pickup, but in practice that is impossible.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

10000 taps eh?

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Not too many people use coil splits either believe it or not. Outside of guitar modders like us, I'd say half of guitar players think it's a gimmick. They complain that it doesn't make their guitar sound like a Fender. They have their expectations in the wrong place.

Another reason is that humbuckers are their new pickup of choice for newer genres, so quite a bit of single coil buyers either look for really hot singles hoping they can keep up in output while maintaining clarity, or vintage correctness. Tapping doesn't fall into either of those categories.

Personally, I think the best use for tapping is to go from P90 tone to stratty territory, like with the under appreciated Strabro-90.

The best coil tap I think would in theory be a P90 that tapped every single wind and then had a knob to control how many winds would be in the pickup, but in practice that is impossible.

Many HH guitar come with splitting push pulls stock, and the ubiquity of 4 conductor cable in the used pickup market says that aftermarket buyers are definitely interested in either splitting, or running series / parallel, which is a very similar sort of mod. So again, maybe you've had a few friends say they believe it's a gimmick, but it has a strong presence in the marketplace, and has for several decades.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Many HH guitar come with splitting push pulls stock, and the ubiquity of 4 conductor cable in the used pickup market says that aftermarket buyers are definitely interested in either splitting, or running series / parallel, which is a very similar sort of mod. So again, maybe you've had a few friends say they believe it's a gimmick, but it has a strong presence in the marketplace, and has for several decades.

Your speaking as someone who frequently mods guitars. There are "modders" and "not modders". After market pickups are built for conductor for the modders. It's better to have an options your customers use than to not have it. Selling a pickup without 4 conductors as an option is a stupid business move for a company that markets it's product to tinkerers.

Having had the chance to play with the oodles of guitarists that I have, I'd say 70% of the nonmodders thought all splitting did was turn a fat loud noise to a weak thin one. That being said about 30% of the modders thought the same thing.

Now back to tapping. Guitar players are most often traditionalist, that's why Gibson and Fender are the top guitar companies. Tapping was one of the many gimmicks that didn't quite catch on in the 70s, much like built in stands and varitones. The main reason was winders were building decent pickups and then making them weaker and way too thin. Through countless hours of research on the subject, I've found the best way to wind a tapped pickup up is get a decent sounding single coil and build the tap up from there. Maybe about 25-%35% more wire to get a bit of a boost and a fatter tone, while retaining the pickups character. What do y'all other winders think about this way of thinking translating to a humbucker?

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

It's a bit naive to think the only reason tappable pickups haven't taken the world by storm is that pickup makers didn't know where the idea tap point would be. The appeal of a pickup that can be both underwound and overwound with the flip of a switch is demonstrated by the new Fishman Fluence pickups, which do that very thing.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

It's a bit naive to think the only reason tappable pickups haven't taken the world by storm is that pickup makers didn't know where the idea tap point would be.

If you have a better reason I'd love to hear it, but as far as I can tell they didn't sell well because they essentially worked to turn an already bright pickup design into an underpowered ice pick.

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

If you have a better reason I'd love to hear it, but as far as I can tell they didn't sell well because they essentially worked to turn an already bright pickup design into an underpowered ice pick.

A reason that has been presented elsewhere is that tapping a coil causes a high capacitance spike. I order to compensate for the capacitance, they underwind the tapped coil even more than you would underwind, say, an SSL-1. The tapped coil therefore has a very low inductance, and so it might sound close to an SSL-1, but it produces even less voltage, so it both sounds wimpy, and causes an especially large volume drop relative to the "full" mode.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

A reason that has been presented elsewhere is that tapping a coil causes a high capacitance spike. I order to compensate for the capacitance, they underwind the tapped coil even more than you would underwind, say, an SSL-1. The tapped coil therefore has a very low inductance, and so it might sound close to an SSL-1, but it produces even less voltage, so it both sounds wimpy, and causes an especially large volume drop relative to the "full" mode.

Hence why I was looking into BachToRocks idea of using a "hybrid" wind as well as having a less dramatic tap. This would fix several problems of the traditional "just drop an extra hot wire somewhere in there".

But even when I do tap a single coil I always use a variable resistor so I can dial in the tone I want. I do the same with splits as well.

 

[justFred]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

I'm looking for this for a HH Tele and the 9v battery won't fit without any routing that I don't really want to do.

Battery will easily fit between the output jack and the control cavity by widening with a drill.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Battery will easily fit between the output jack and the control cavity by widening with a drill.

I never thought of that. But still, it'd be a neat thing to try. I might attempt to make my own in the coming months.

How do the Fluence work by the way? Is it just a switch between two preamps?

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

I think I can put this debate to rest... please ignore the hollering grandchildren in the background.

 

[Artie]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

I like 4-wire pups mainly for either parallel or slutbucker operation. (Virtual middle pup.) But I did do a spin-a-phase once with a tapped Quarter Pound single. It was fun for a day or two.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Personally, I think the best use for tapping is to go from P90 tone to stratty territory, like with the under appreciated Strabro-90.

The best coil tap I think would in theory be a P90 that tapped every single wind and then had a knob to control how many winds would be in the pickup, but in practice that is impossible.

You're actually halfway there with Spin-A-Split! Really all the way there because below half, the sound gets to thin/anemic to be usable.

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Hence why I was looking into BachToRocks idea of using a "hybrid" wind as well as having a less dramatic tap. This would fix several problems of the traditional "just drop an extra hot wire somewhere in there".

What you said, and are still saying, is that Seymour Duncan "just drop an extra hot wire somewhere in there" when they designed the various tapped variations of their single coils. That's very unlikely.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

all of duncans production tapped pups are tapped half way through the coil as far as i know.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

You're actually halfway there with Spin-A-Split! Really all the way there because below half, the sound gets to thin/anemic to be usable.

I actually use a hard wired resistor on my taps, which is very similar to a spin-a-split. I usually aim for a fat Tele bridge tone and something P90ish for the neck. Sometimes I also put 4k7 or something like that in the neck so that it sounds split, but doesn't get too thin. The split tones on one of my SGs can trick people into thinking I have a Tele.

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

all of duncans production tapped pups are tapped half way through the coil as far as i know.

It might seem arbitrary, but it's certainly optimal in their opinion. To suggest otherwise is to say that these tone connoisseurs all of the sudden don't care how their product sounds.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

^ Well, the jury is still out for the verdict, but all the indications are that we might well have reached the magical '100% guesswork in a post' mark

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Oh yeah, it's a big leap of faith to assume that Seymour Duncan takes care to make sure their product will produce a good sound.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Tappable Humbucker

Given your potted history in this area, guessing is all you do.