Positions 2 & 4 On A S/s/s Strat...

[Chad]

Hello.

On a S/S/S strat with a 5-way switch, I understand the positions to be as follows:

1. Bridge

2. Bridge + Middle

3. Middle

4. Middle + Neck

5. Neck

My question is about positions 2 & 4. Those appear to be humbucking, but are they in-phase or out-of-phase? And are they parallel or series?

Also, I was checking the magnetic polarity on one of my Strat guitars and the bridge and neck pickups are magnetically south....while the middle pickup is magnetically north. Is that normal? Please explain.

Thanks!

Edited April 6, 2006 by Chad

[lovekraft]

Those appear to be humbucking, but are they in-phase or out-of-phase? And are they parallel or series?

Parallel, in phase.

...the bridge and neck pickups are magnetically south....while the middle pickup is magnetically north....

Your middle pickup is RWRP (reverse wound, reverse polarity) - that's why positons 2 & 4 are humbucking. It's normal on most modern Strats.

[Chad]

According to Dan Erlewine's explanation of electronics in his "Guitar Player Repair Guide" book, he says that parallel and in-phase should be non-humbucking. I'm confused!

[Pr3Va1L]

Because the middle pickup is reverse wound, it's kinda like if it was out of phase, but magnetically, the same way a humbucker is...

[lovekraft]

To expand on what Pr3Va1L posted, the middle pickup is physically out of phase, since it's reverse wound, but since the magnet polarity is also reversed, it's electrically in phase. That's how a humbucker works - the noise picked up in the physically out of phase coils is cancelled, while the signal is not.

[Chad]

I'm thinking out loud...

So a humbucking pickup is physically out of phase, but the magnet being reversed makes it electrically in phase....

I think I've got it. I think I was mainly confused because Dan E. keeps referring to the Seth Lover style humbucking as "series out-of-phase". He is right because it is physically out of phase, but it is electrically in phase because of the magnet flip.

Am I correct on all of that?

Another question....it seems like this is mainly a communication/interpretation issue. If a humbucking pickup is electrically in-phase, why don't they just say it is in phase? Why does the physical status of the wiring have higher precedence over the electrical property in describing what the pickups are?

Thanks for all of your help!

[JoeAArthur]

I'm thinking out loud...

So a humbucking pickup is physically out of phase, but the magnet being reversed makes it electrically in phase....

I think I've got it. I think I was mainly confused because Dan E. keeps referring to the Seth Lover style humbucking as "series out-of-phase". He is right because it is physically out of phase, but it is electrically in phase because of the magnet flip.

Am I correct on all of that?

Another question....it seems like this is mainly a communication/interpretation issue. If a humbucking pickup is electrically in-phase, why don't they just say it is in phase? Why does the physical status of the wiring have higher precedence over the electrical property in describing what the pickups are?

Thanks for all of your help!

Well... to me, when someone says in or out of phase, I assume they are talking about electrically out of phase - after all, who cares if it is physical or not.