Flilpping Pickups 180 Deg

[ArchEtech]

I was cleaning SG standard gutar and the metal covers, and decided to flip the brige pickup 180 so the adjustment screws were in the same position as the neck. Has anyone tried this.

Its not drastic, but it seemed to take a little of the thiness out, and sound less muddy. Maybe I'm just hearing things.

What is this supposed to do?

[SwedishLuthier]

Not too surprising that you hear a difference. But on the other hand the difference you hear is surprising me a bit.

The slug poles (as opposite to the adjustable, visible poles) have a slightly higher magnetic flux. Higher flux means higher output and more treble response. Flipping them would normally mean a tad more treble and that might be what you hear. A bit more “bite” so to speak. But sound is so subjective. What you feel is a decrease in “thinness” might be a loss in warmth to someone else.

[Mike Sulzer]

Not too surprising that you hear a difference. But on the other hand the difference you hear is surprising me a bit.

The slug poles (as opposite to the adjustable, visible poles) have a slightly higher magnetic flux. Higher flux means higher output and more treble response. Flipping them would normally mean a tad more treble and that might be what you hear. A bit more “bite” so to speak. But sound is so subjective. What you feel is a decrease in “thinness” might be a loss in warmth to someone else.

Peter, I think whether the slugs or screws contribute the most signal depends on how the screws are adjusted. Adjusting a screw in general affects two things:

1. The strength of the magnetic field the string sees.

2. The sensitivity of that screw to picking up the fluctuating field caused by the vibrating string.

The two things together can make quite a difference.

[SwedishLuthier]

True. Adjusting the screw hight will increase the output and change the sound of the corresponding string through that particular coil. But there is a significan difference in flux between the screws and the slugs.

Try this:

The normal thing to do while splitting a HB (shorting out one of the coils) is to use the screw coil. This is mainly because it is closer to the bridge/neck in a traditional steup. Now try flipping the pickup 180 deg and use the slug coil for the SC sound. What is the difference in sound? I feel I get a much better approximation of a SC that way. I discovered that by mistake when I shorted out the wrong coil...

This litle experiment migh explain why the sound from a HB change when it is flipped 180 deg like the poster did.