elynnia Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Hiyas, I'm currently fixing up an old Strat-style guitar with three single-coil pickups, and I was wondering - as I heard that a humbucker is two single-coils arranged next to each other in some way - is it possible to improvise and make a humbucker out of two of these single-coil pickups without too much effort (I'm cutting a new pickguard, so that's not a problem), and if so, how should they be arranged/wired? Thanks, elynnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 If you take two identical single coil pickups, reverse both the magnetic and physical polarity on one of them and wire the pair in series, you'll have a humbucking combination. That's why a lot of Strat middle pickups are reverse wound, reverse polarity - when combined with a standard pickup, they cancel the hum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elynnia Posted June 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 If you take two identical single coil pickups, reverse both the magnetic and physical polarity on one of them and wire the pair in series, you'll have a humbucking combination. That's why a lot of Strat middle pickups are reverse wound, reverse polarity - when combined with a standard pickup, they cancel the hum. ← ah, thanks. But...how would I do that? >_< elynnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Well, with a Strat-style pickup, it would involve removing the magnet and rotating it 180º before reinstalling it and swapping the hot and ground leads. Or you cold just buy a RWRP pickup to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elynnia Posted June 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Hiya, You mentioned removing the magnet...does that mean the six ciilindrical ones that go right under the strings, or is there another one? Also, would the up/down orientation of this modified pickup matter, and after somehow sticking the two pickups side-by-side, how would I need to wire them so it acts as one humbucker? thanks, elynnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 If you wire a standard single coil and a RWRP single coil placed next to each other in series, the result will be a standard humbucker (although not necessarily one tha sounds good). As for rebuilding your pickups, I don't fool with it - there are too many good cheap pickups out there for me to bother making or modding my own badly. Do a forum search for pickup winding for info on how to roll your own ifyou don't get any more info here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Be aware that the typical Strat PU has the coil wire wrapped right around the magnets. Thus if you press the magnet slugs out/in you can break the hair thick wire, resulting in a dead PU. It can be done successfully, just not a given that you won't break it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 So, a reverse wound center PU would cancel hum when it's in series with another pickup. How else does it affect the tone of the other pickup? If I just wanted to reduce the hum on my Tele's single coils, could I wire in a reverse wound PU, bury it under the pickguard, and get something that still sounds like a Tele? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 Adding another coil in series is going to lower the resonant frequency of the pickup somewhat ( that's why humbuckers are darker than single coils). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 And it's also why Strats "quack" in 2nd and 4th gear, as I like to call it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 (edited) No, standard Strat pickups are wired in parallel, not in series, making them brighter than either coil by itself. Unless that was what you were implying, in which case, forget I said anything. Edited June 26, 2005 by lovekraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester700 Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 That is, in fact, a popular strat mod. Add a switch to wire the bridge/middle combo in series. It gets you half way to a humbucker sound, and may be something you like. *I* like that sound - think King's X... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 *I* like that sound - think King's X... Or Brian May - the Red Special can run all three pickups in series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 If I just wanted to reduce the hum on my Tele's single coils Maybe, if it is just the hum you are trying to reduce, you should think about cavity sheilding. I don't know if you are dead set on a mod to the pickup or just wanting less "buzz" from the electronics. Adding sheilding foil to the pup cavities of my strat knock off made a huge difference in the amount of emi i heard when plugged in. Anyway that's all I've got to offer, Good Luck!! Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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