Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

[idsnowdog]

I just completed a Tele with two Ultrasonic single-coil sized humbuckers in the bridge wired to a 4-way switch. I like the current options it gives but adding a phase switch for one of the pickups would give new options in positions 2 & 4 on the switch. What would those options be and what would their resistance be? The current configuration is 18K bridge coil, 8k parallel out of phase, 11.5k neck coil, and 27k series superhumbucker.

 

[TVFV]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

You won't know until to you do it. I did a phase switch with the Jazz set but I didn't care for it.

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[Mincer]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

I'd say you'd get more mileage out of a series/parallel switch.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

I'd say you'd get more mileage out of a series/parallel switch.

I never even thought of that. I would need to convert the bridge coil to four conductor which is easy because the solder lugs on the exterior.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

To me, phase is best when combined with the PU's being linked in series. Then you don't have the volume drop.

To wire for phase, you only need a single lead wire. You can wire P-90's for series.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

Tried it, not for me at all.

 

[jimilee]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

It’s not really about doing it, it’s about being able to do it. Anytime I change pots, I wire up a phase switch. It kind of sound like a cocked wah with some pickups. It’s fun.


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[SAguitar]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

I have wired up several guitars with a phase switch and never left it on there for long. I do have one LP wired Jimmy Page style and one option on there is out of phase, but I don't choose it much. In my opinion, a series/parallel switch would be a better choice.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

If you want a cartoon-ey funk tone maybe. But I feel the same way about parallel humbuckers.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

I think that parallel humbuckers are much more useful than two humbuckers out of phase with each other. In fact, I would like a series/parallel switch to be used for the middle position of my two humbucker guitars before I would have a phase switch.

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[Securb]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

I have a phase on all of my gigging guitars. I was using it tonight with Cheap Sunglasses, sounded just right.

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

It's an acquired taste. I have guitar with two five position switches and ended up with series and parallel phase. Most of the time I think of them as the positions to avoid however it's strange that every once in awhile I will enjoy the nasal crunch of the series or the incredibly thin parallel dot. Especially for rhythm and useful on a studio guitar when and overdub just needs something different.

However as others have mentioned, there is a lot of other mods that I tend to use a lot more including humbuckers parallel to self and single coil blends.

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[orpheo]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

I've got a JB+jazz in a tele, with a 5 way. position 4 is both on in parallel (each individually in series), but out of phase. Sounds insanely good. Very little volume drop but it just works. It's like a cleaner, janglier tone, great if you work with just a single channel amp but don't wanna use, or can't use, pedals to boost (or cut) power/gains. I love it ,but only in this guitar.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Would a phase switch be worth the fuss?

OOP is not a "bad" tone nor do I think it is an "acquired taste". It's just different and comes in handy for an occasional change-of-pace tone. You don't use it all the time or on every song, just like you don't use wah all the time, but it's nice to have when you want it. I've got out-of-phase switches on a dozen of my guitars and, to be honest, I rarely touch the phase switch, but when I want a very unique tone, it's there.

It's not difficult to wire up. Just one of your pups needs to have four conductors. It doesn't change the resistance of your pups, it just changes the direction that the electrons flow through one of your pups. This oop will cancel out a lot of frequencies and make it sound like your output has been dramatically reduced due to the narrower tonal spectrum (like if you cut out 80% of the frequencies on your equalizer.