Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tim on November 3, 2009 at 5:57am

what you need to do is reverse the magnetic polarity. just putting them back to back wont work. you can actualy have them spaced out and still get the hum reduction. check out the lace dually.

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Permalink Reply by Mortimer Snerd on November 3, 2009 at 7:10am

That would sound rubbish. To reverse the magnetic polarity as Tim says, one of them needs to be reverse wound from the other, opposite from the other so they cancel each other out, thus, bucking the hum. Taking two identical coils, turning one around is not changing anything, as they are still wound the same.

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Permalink Reply by Fergus Morris on November 3, 2009 at 8:05am

Thank you both. I was just curious but now I know, the only reason I saw given for why this wouldn't work on a similar post I saw on another site was "No you can't because the coils have to be stuck together and require a whole crap load of work." This didn't seem quite satisfactory or accurate, thank you, now I understand a bit more about humbuckers.

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on November 3, 2009 at 8:33am

Flip one upside down (reverse polarity) and reverse the leads. Reversing the leads will produce the same effect as reversing the windings. Then you can have them side by side or possibly one on top of the other.

I don't see why it would sound bad (although it would look a little funny). Guitars often have their separate pickups wound this way so you get hum cancelling when two pickups are switched on. They don't even have to be right next to each other, just in proximity.

If you have the right kind of pickup (not a Strat pickup) you can actually just reverse the magnets. If you try to remove the magnets on a Strat pickup you will end up breaking the coil, because the coil is wound directly on the magnets.

Skeesix

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Permalink Reply by Jarmo Katajisto on November 3, 2009 at 8:41am

I know very very very little about pickups and so on ... but i say .. when somebody wondering or thinking sometimes probably even silly questions ... it is still right way to learn something.

Few times ago i start discoussion " Wind two winding wire same time ? "

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/class101/forum/topics/wind-two-...

I got very good answers (from Ted and others) and hope i learn something, but i might be still test it ... what happend, maybe pickup burn :)

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Permalink Reply by Tim on November 3, 2009 at 8:54am

the main augument i have hear form people agianst using single coils as a humbucker is the sound tends to get muddied up. they is just too much wire or something going on there. but lace is doing it with luck so why cant you

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Permalink Reply by Diydc on November 3, 2009 at 12:39pm

Ted Crocker said:

In many 3 pickup strat type guitars the middle pickup is actually reverse wind/reverse polarity so when the switch is in positions 2 and 4 (neck/middle or middle/bridge) the pickup combinations are humbucking. If you have pickups like this, the middle and one of the others can be installed normally and will be hum canceling. It's easy to check magnetic polarity with a compass.

Ted

Cheers ted, that`s a great tip, will try it on a strat set I have in the cellar....

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Permalink Reply by Fergus Morris on November 4, 2009 at 1:38am

Isn't that the normal strat pickup setup? Leo Fender was pretty smart.......

Diydc said:

Ted Crocker said:

In many 3 pickup strat type guitars the middle pickup is actually reverse wind/reverse polarity so when the switch is in positions 2 and 4 (neck/middle or middle/bridge) the pickup combinations are humbucking. If you have pickups like this, the middle and one of the others can be installed normally and will be hum canceling. It's easy to check magnetic polarity with a compass.

Ted

Cheers ted, that`s a great tip, will try it on a strat set I have in the cellar....

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Permalink Reply by Tim on November 4, 2009 at 5:02am

no that was a later development but a lot of modern strats and even teles are reverse wound. and a lot of guys will say they dont sound right. so if you buy a "vintage"set of strat pickups they arn't reverse wound

Fergus Morris said:

Isn't that the normal strat pickup setup? Leo Fender was pretty smart.......

Diydc said:

Ted Crocker said:

In many 3 pickup strat type guitars the middle pickup is actually reverse wind/reverse polarity so when the switch is in positions 2 and 4 (neck/middle or middle/bridge) the pickup combinations are humbucking. If you have pickups like this, the middle and one of the others can be installed normally and will be hum canceling. It's easy to check magnetic polarity with a compass.

Ted

Cheers ted, that`s a great tip, will try it on a strat set I have in the cellar....

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Permalink Reply by Fergus Morris on November 4, 2009 at 6:06am

Oh. Ooops. Just looked it up and they only started using 5-way switches in 1977. I did not know that!

Tim said:

no that was a later development but a lot of modern strats and even teles are reverse wound. and a lot of guys will say they dont sound right. so if you buy a "vintage"set of strat pickups they arn't reverse wound

Fergus Morris said:

Isn't that the normal strat pickup setup? Leo Fender was pretty smart.......

Diydc said:

Ted Crocker said:

In many 3 pickup strat type guitars the middle pickup is actually reverse wind/reverse polarity so when the switch is in positions 2 and 4 (neck/middle or middle/bridge) the pickup combinations are humbucking. If you have pickups like this, the middle and one of the others can be installed normally and will be hum canceling. It's easy to check magnetic polarity with a compass.

Ted

Cheers ted, that`s a great tip, will try it on a strat set I have in the cellar....

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Permalink Reply by Tim on November 4, 2009 at 6:23am

wow i knew early strats had three way switchs but didnt know they where there for so long.

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Permalink Reply by Fergus Morris on November 4, 2009 at 6:40am

Apparently you could jam the switch between the 2 of the positions and it worked! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Stratocaster)

Tim said:

wow i knew early strats had three way switchs but didnt know they where there for so long.

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