beaubrummels
Well-known member
Does using a spin-a-split slightly rolled off simulate the sound of unbalanced coil winds in a humbucker? Or is it a different sound altogether?
Unbalanced coils vs spin-a-split question
- Thread starter beaubrummels
- Start date
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Unbalanced coils vs spin-a-split question
Spin-a-split is unbalanced coils, and the great thing is that you can dial in how much, or how little, of an unbalance you want so it's very versatile. Much better than mere coil cut (which is all or nothing for the second coil). With almost all HB's, the coils are balanced, which cancels a lot of the 60 cycle noise, and the more windings on the coils, the more midrange is added, and the more treble is reduced. That's nice on bridge PU's (as that position is normally bright and sharp) but you don't need much of that in the neck slot. Unbalanced coils add some single coil sound to the HB sound, and open it up; that was part of the magic of the 1950's PAF's. But over the years that's been overlooked and most PU makers today use balanced coils. That's a shame.
All of my neck HB's have unbalanced coils, either thru spin-a-split, hybrid PU's, or Artie's Coil Swap Mod. That allows me to add high-end and thin out the mids when a neck HB is too warm, inarticulate, middy, or muddy. I don't see the need for a typical tone pot on a neck HB; they don't need less treble, bridge PU's do. So turning the neck tone pot into a second volume control for one coil (spin-a-split) gives you a very useful tone control for a slot that's dark by nature (due to string energy). I dial in my amp EQ to get the best bridge PU sound, and with spin-a-split, I have a lot of flexibility to dial in a nice neck sound too with the same amp setting.
There's wiring diagrams online for spin-a-split, maybe on this site too. Very quick and easy, no parts needed:
- Clip the capacitor off the tone pot, cut off the hot wire connection to the lug (from the volume pot), but leave the ground wire between them connected.
- Then wire it like a volume pot: Looking at the pot from the bottom, run a ground wire from the left lug to the pot casing (just like on the volume pot).
- Solder the two taped-off wires (red and white on Duncans) to the middle lug. Nothing is connected to the right lug.
- The tone pot's now become a volume pot for one coil only: spin-a-split.
Spin-a-split is unbalanced coils, and the great thing is that you can dial in how much, or how little, of an unbalance you want so it's very versatile. Much better than mere coil cut (which is all or nothing for the second coil). With almost all HB's, the coils are balanced, which cancels a lot of the 60 cycle noise, and the more windings on the coils, the more midrange is added, and the more treble is reduced. That's nice on bridge PU's (as that position is normally bright and sharp) but you don't need much of that in the neck slot. Unbalanced coils add some single coil sound to the HB sound, and open it up; that was part of the magic of the 1950's PAF's. But over the years that's been overlooked and most PU makers today use balanced coils. That's a shame.
All of my neck HB's have unbalanced coils, either thru spin-a-split, hybrid PU's, or Artie's Coil Swap Mod. That allows me to add high-end and thin out the mids when a neck HB is too warm, inarticulate, middy, or muddy. I don't see the need for a typical tone pot on a neck HB; they don't need less treble, bridge PU's do. So turning the neck tone pot into a second volume control for one coil (spin-a-split) gives you a very useful tone control for a slot that's dark by nature (due to string energy). I dial in my amp EQ to get the best bridge PU sound, and with spin-a-split, I have a lot of flexibility to dial in a nice neck sound too with the same amp setting.
There's wiring diagrams online for spin-a-split, maybe on this site too. Very quick and easy, no parts needed:
- Clip the capacitor off the tone pot, cut off the hot wire connection to the lug (from the volume pot), but leave the ground wire between them connected.
- Then wire it like a volume pot: Looking at the pot from the bottom, run a ground wire from the left lug to the pot casing (just like on the volume pot).
- Solder the two taped-off wires (red and white on Duncans) to the middle lug. Nothing is connected to the right lug.
- The tone pot's now become a volume pot for one coil only: spin-a-split.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Unbalanced coils vs spin-a-split question
That's what I thought, but because, just like you mentioned, the different coil count will alter the sound in other ways, that's why I thought perhaps it might be a different animal sound-wise.
That's what I thought, but because, just like you mentioned, the different coil count will alter the sound in other ways, that's why I thought perhaps it might be a different animal sound-wise.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Unbalanced coils vs spin-a-split question
I also make hybrid HB's, often with a coil from a neck model (like a '59N) paired with the coil of the bridge model of the same set ('59B) or a different set (SethB). That imbalance is enough to bring out some single coil qualities.
I also make hybrid HB's, often with a coil from a neck model (like a '59N) paired with the coil of the bridge model of the same set ('59B) or a different set (SethB). That imbalance is enough to bring out some single coil qualities.
