Logical Frank Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 I was just fiddling w/ the coil splitter on my strat-o-thing which lets me get either the north or south coil and finding was liking chording on the north (closest to neck) coil and leads more on the south (closest to bridge) coil. I was thinking it would be cool if there were a 'bucker w/ the coils configured sort of like this: O - Coil 1, X - Coil 2 OOOXXX XXXOOO That way, you could get just coil one and it would sort of simulate the angle of a strat/tele bridge pickup. Anyway, is there anything like that out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Interesting. I've seen it with an "S" shape (ie. where your XXX's are but without the OOO's) but not an X-shaped one. Could be cool! I bet someone on here knows someone who has tried it, but I can't think of one offhand. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 (edited) Fender made them for their electric XII and then for G&L...the split P-bass pickup is the same idea... the high and low string coils are RWRP so that the whole unit is humbucking yet "single coil" in nature...something you won't and can't get with coil splits. Seymour Duncan have some mini humbuckers that have pole pieces only in this configuration in a "rail" style. I have been exploring similar ideas just recently with a split-blade driver for the sustainer project (very similar to pickup technology). If you were overly keen, and I would not advise it...you could remove the poles the coils to avoid sensing those strings...could permanently scrap your pickup though and I have no idea how this would sound!!! When I was considering ideas for pickup designs I thought of using this kind of approach for a P-90 type pickup in a HB size without resorting to a stacked coil...it is an interesting and worthwhile approach and another reason why Mr Fender was a genius!! pete (The only way to make an X shape would be to have 4 coils by the way...there would not be room to have them overlap without being off centred) Edited October 7, 2006 by psw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Hmmm... W/ four coils it would be even better as you could still have hum-canceling even when in the "single coil" mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Fender was one step ahead of you. Look at the tele 72 reissues. Or my MuX guitar for that matter. They have humbuckers with that coil configuration (actual, mine has a pickup DESIGNED to sound like them, but doesn't ACTUALLY use that coil configuration (it's a GFS vintage split)) but the Fender ones are like that. They are called fender "Wide Range" humbuckers. This also explains (the 4 individual coils that is) why they don't fit in normal humbucker routes. Fetch quite the price on eBay, usually around $80 for reissue ones, $200 for originals. The GFS version, the high 3 strings really die out though (atleast on mine... could be a dud one? but it took SO long to get all the wiring in the way I built it so I don't really feel like replacing it lol). I don't know if the real fender ones do though, cause none come with a coil tape... I don't even know if they're 4 cable? That may be proof enough (this person has also upgrading the wiring to be four wire... like I thought they're usually not 4 wire, ie: not splitable... but obvious a mod can be done to make them 4 wire... cause this guy did it). As you can see in the picture, that black wire connects the upper left coil to the lower right coil, etc. Here's also a wikipedia article on them, but I don't know how much I believe them cause they say the reissues are just normal humbuckers in bigger cases and use the normal magnet on the bottom humbucker style build... which from the above picture you see is not true, but here's the article anyways: Wikipedia Article And here's a GREAT thread on the construction and what not at another forum: Forum Thread I did A LOT of research on these when building the MuX guitar Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted October 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 Good info. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Platko Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 I recently built a humbucking split- single coil. Here's what it looks like: humbucking single coil photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 That's cool, and I know a couple companies that make those. However, the cool thing about the Fender ones is they are that times two. They have four coils in there. And are matched just like that (diagonal coil matching), so there's actually two "coils" for humbucking made from the 4 coils. Oh, and there's always Wide Range Fender humbuckers for sale on eBay, sometimes gets a little pricey (especially for originals. A set of originals went for $344 for two yesterday, and another is already up to $200 with 6 days left). Search on eBay for Fender Humbucker, cause not everyone knows they're called wide ranges. Also, if you don't like waiting on eBay, and don't like the GFS option, yesterday I found an authorized dealer that actually sells the Wide-Ranges (only one I've EVER seen) so you can always do that for $72 a pickup. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Platko Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 Does anyone have a photo showing the Fender 4 coil construction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted October 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 Search on eBay for Fender Humbucker, cause not everyone knows they're called wide ranges. Also, if you don't like waiting on eBay, and don't like the GFS option, yesterday I found an authorized dealer that actually sells the Wide-Ranges (only one I've EVER seen) so you can always do that for $72 a pickup. Chris Any idea if the GFS option is actually constructed like the Wide Ranger? I've been happy w/ the two sets of buckers I've bought from there but their description of their Fender pickup clone doesn't mention anything about how they're built. It's not exactly what I'm looking for anyway; I'd want the humbucking mode to be pretty nasty and high-output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 I've talked to him about their "Vintage Split" and he said it's modelled to sound the same, but without the "troublesome magnet configuration". IE: it's not built the same, but it's made to sound the same. As for "anyone got a picture of the 4 coils".... that picture above fromt he back where you see the pole pieces sticking out kinda infers the 4 coils in the way the poles stick out, how there's that wire that connects the top left to the bottom right, etc. etc. HOWEVER I don't know where, and I have re-searched for it to no avail., but I have seen a pic of the 4 coils at some point. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted October 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 (edited) I figured as much. As I said, I've been happy w/ the pickups I've gotten from them but I've read several times that a lot of them aren't necessarily built in the same way as the pickups that they're meant to sound like. Edited October 9, 2006 by Logical Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 9, 2006 Report Share Posted October 9, 2006 So aparently I'm totally wrong... I could have SWORN I'd seen it without the cover and seen the 4 coils... but maybe I've been having a little too much fun at college, cause today I found this pic: of both an original and a Reissue WR-HB without their covers....and they're just 2 coils with offset poles... at This Site which is really cool cause it breaks downt he construction ways of a real '72 tele custom. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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