Splitting The Coils
Following up on my previous post about humbucker wiring, here is a quick look at how humbuckers work, and how to split the coils and use parallel wiring.
A humbucker pickup is really just a a pair of single-coils, electrically out of phase and magnetically reversed from each other. The two coils are wired in series, and the end result is that electromagnetic hum/noise is phase-cancelled.
You may have heard this idea referred to as RWRP – Reverse Wound, Reverse Polarity. With a humbucker, one of the coils is RWRP relative to the other.
On many Stratocaster style guitars (three single coils), the middle single coil pickup is RWRP relative to the other two pickups. So when you blend the middle pickup with the neck or bridge pickup, you get the same kind of hum cancellation you get with a humbucker.
It is possible to wire up a humbucker with a switch to allow you to isolate (“tap”, or “split”) one of the coils, silencing the other coil. Listening to one of the coils in isolation will achieve more of a strat-type single coil sound.
You can also wire up the two humbucker coils in parallel instead of in series, which will sound more like a pair of single-coils on a strat, rather than a single humbucker. You’ll still get hum cancellation, but you’ll get less output power than the series wiring- a unique and useful voicing you might like.
You can go crazy making your guitar über-flexible with switches and push/pull pots to control series/parallel and splitting. Check out the the humbucker circuit diagrams at GuitarElectronics.com
And here’s an article by Kevin Smith for more in-depth information on coil splitting: The Magnificent humbucker coil tap-coil/split
January 3, 2013 @ 2:39 am
John, Here’s one for you. I’ve mentioned my H-S-H strat that I’m building for my grandson. One of the problems I have had, in finishing this up for him is the pickguard. The first was a mirrored and it cracked on the second screw (guess I used a little too much force). I’ve tried several others and think I can get it screwed in, without cracking it; but, one thing that annoys me is that the humbuckers and the single coil don’t seem very stable, in the pickguard. They just seem to be hanging there and are quite easy to move around. It just feels cheap, to me. I was wondering about putting some type of packing around the pickups to support them; or, a thicker guard to make them more rigid? I had thought about packing the cavity with foam rubber; but, wondered about heat buildup. Once again, your thoughts will be appreciated….Jim
January 4, 2013 @ 12:46 pm
Hmm. Pickguard-mounted pickups shouldn’t feel loose like that.
Are you not tightening them enough, in your effort to avoid breaking the pickguard? Is the screw the right length?
You shouldn’t really have to pack-fill the cavity to keep the pickups steady. No concern about heat really, but may cause microphonics with the feedback (not sure- I’ve never tried!)
-John
Coil Splitting and Coil Tapping - Planet Z
June 7, 2013 @ 12:08 pm
[…] In this article, Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Guitars gives an in-depth explanation of humbucker coil splitting and tapping. You may also find my earlier posts useful: Humbucker Wiring and Coil Splitting. […]
Pickup Wiring Options - Planet Z
June 7, 2013 @ 12:13 pm
[…] relative to each other. You may also find my earlier posts useful: Humbucker Wiring and Coil Splitting, and Pete’s previous article on Coil […]