vpcnk Posted November 3, 2006 Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 what's the difference between 2 and 4 conductor wiring with humbuckers? apparently gibson factory installed humbuckers come with only 2 conductor wiring. so if you're replacing them then can't 4 conductor wired humbuckers be used? appreciate the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 3, 2006 Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 what's the difference between 2 and 4 conductor wiring with humbuckers? Construction-wise, there's no difference whatsoever - a 4-wire pickup simply has all four coil wires available, while a 2-wire has the coils jumpered internally. The extra two wires allow you to have switching options, like series parallel, and coil splits, or they can simply be tied together for standard humbucker functionality. so if you're replacing them then can't 4 conductor wired humbuckers be used?No, they're drop-in replacements - they'll just have to be wired up slightly differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpcnk Posted November 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 what's the difference between 2 and 4 conductor wiring with humbuckers? Construction-wise, there's no difference whatsoever - a 4-wire pickup simply has all four coil wires available, while a 2-wire has the coils jumpered internally. The extra two wires allow you to have switching options, like series parallel, and coil splits, or they can simply be tied together for standard humbucker functionality. so if you're replacing them then can't 4 conductor wired humbuckers be used?No, they're drop-in replacements - they'll just have to be wired up slightly differently. but is there a case where a guitar was originally configured for 4 conductor wiring and then a humbucker with 2 conductor wiring will not fit in? if the above is not true, then will 2 conductor wired humbuckers work as replacement in any humbucker guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 but is there a case where a guitar was originally configured for 4 conductor wiring and then a humbucker with 2 conductor wiring will not fit in? No, 2 and 4-conductor humbuckers are all interchangeable, only with the loss of functions that lovekraft advised above. (coil split, parallel/series...) if the above is not true, then will 2 conductor wired humbuckers work as replacement in any humbucker guitar? Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpcnk Posted November 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 any idea whether all gibson factory installed humbuckers are two conductor wired? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted November 4, 2006 Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 I would bet no, some will be coil-tappable. Why all the questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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