Best way to coil-tap/split a humbucker?

    Possibly a question for the more technically inclined.


    A quick way to split/tap a humbucker would be to short-out one of the pairs of windings (to bypass it) and effectively deliver a single-coil output.
    However, i wonder if there is any side-effects, or possible damage, as a result?
    Usually shorting out devices that produce a voltage (batteries, dynamos, etc) is not a good idea but as the voltage output from a single-winding of a pickup is very low i wouldn't expect any adverse effects as a result.
    I cant imagine the coils overheating but maybe it will create some other load or tonal change?


    The other way is to switch the 'feed' from either mid-way (split) or after both coils in series (full humbuck) but this leaves the "unused" coil open (and not shorted out) which can produce some output from the unused coil as a result. Whether this is a good thing or not is subjective to the player.


    Be interested to hear some opinions here.
    thanks all

    Been a guitar tech for 40 yrs. You will get no damage from tapping between coils . If the pickup is not prewired with a coil tap wire, be very careful when you add a tap wire as the windings are very fragile

    Quote from burningyen

    The solution I've liked the most is Reverend's Bass Contour Control, which is a bass roll-off tone control. When you roll it all the way, you get a sound like a nice strong single-coil, without the hum or the anemic tone that you get with most split HBs.


    Yeah Reverend's bass contour is a pretty unique thing.
    I have a Jetstream with 3 P90's (which of course are not humbuckers).
    The control makes the sound change from fat and low mid heavy to lean. But in my experience it is still way more subtle than a classic coil tap.
    I will say I haven't experienced the bass contour circuit with classic HB's though.

    The voltages are not significant enough to damage the pickup. So it comes down to sound and how you prefer to wire it. Companies do it both ways and my guess is there decision is based on sound and ease of manufacturing. I see more of the grounding the tap than changing the "hot" point, but I think that's because it's easy to wire. My 2 cents.


    sean

    Thanks for all the helpful comments, appreciated.
    It makes sense that a split humbucker (mine already has 4 conductors) will not sound like a single coil due to its construction and the proximity of the nearby extra coil & magnets.


    Another question is how do stack coils differ to side by side coils?
    im looking to fit a noiseless p90 and the two options were a Seymour Duncan stacked coils, which can be split to give a pseudo single coil (losing the noise- cancelling properties) or the Dimarzio virtual p90 which looks like a regular humbucker (side by side coils/magnets) but in the same size as a p90.
    i don't expect a full p90 experience nor do I expect a strat single coil sound by splitting but accept that as a noise reduction trade off.

    Quote from paults

    Coil taps/split coils/etc. can make a guitar more versatile sounding, but there is another way to do it: Rather than swapping out pickups, why not use an EQ or two in the Kemper to make your pickup sound more like a single coil?


    You don't get the dynamics of a single coil that way :) Granted, I don't know how close the dynamics come with a coil tap either...

    One thing I haven't read in this discussion would be the associated values of the guitar pots.
    Typically single coils are 250K while hums tend to be 500K. (some variations/exceptions apply)


    I could be way off, but to me, much of the reason a split coil doesn't get that same single coil vibe is attributed to the value of the existing guitar pot.


    Compensation methods exist, but sadly it's a constraint which we can never truly get away from.

    Happy Kemper

    Gibson used 300k pots for quite along time in the 70s-early 80's , that would be in the middle. It effects the rolloff taper more then an effect on tone. And yes when doing a tap you are just grounding one coil with a switch
    Also you will get less volume and less twang then most regular single coils.

    @whippinpost - That's a great point! I forgot about those. A logical and appropriate compensation.


    My main point of mentioning the above was to raise awareness of these various values, since not doing so might lead to "funky" results to some without even knowing why. Various caps would also fall into that category as well.

    Happy Kemper

    And, no matter what you try, it will not make a humbucker equipped 24.75" scale mahogany guitar sound exactly like a stratocaster or telecaster. But, it CAN give you the sound of your guitar with P-90s/single coil pickups.


    The Duncan P-Rails are very versatile pickups, and their Triple Shot mounting rings include the switches, so the guitar body and potentiometers do not have to be modified (Triple Shot mounting rings could be used with ANY four-wire pickups):


    http://www.seymourduncan.com/p…ic/progressive/prails.pdf


    [Blocked Image: http://cdo.seymourduncan.com/images/products/electric/humbuckers/triple_shot_ring_blk_crm.jpg]

    You may also try the parallel wiring: when you pull your push-pull pot, both coils are wired in parallel. This gives an interesting sound, somewhere between SC and HB, along with hum cancelling.

    Quote from Ingolf


    I have a Jetstream with 3 P90's (which of course are not humbuckers).
    The control makes the sound change from fat and low mid heavy to lean. But in my experience it is still way more subtle than a classic coil tap.
    I will say I haven't experienced the bass contour circuit with classic HB's though.


    @Ingolf - I actually have my eye on a Reverend Jetstream.
    Gassing a little for a P90 sound I suppose.
    Not to hi-jack this thread, but can I ask what the neck profile would compare to? Thx much

    Happy Kemper