Question Axis coil tap

[woochul]

Hello.
This is one of my first posts here at this great forum, I would like to split my Axis(DOB 1996/07).
I've read some threads but they are not matched for my guitar.
My axis has only two wires Black and White.
How can I do install coil tap?

Thanks.

 

[kimonostereo]

I just did this to my EVH Frankenstein humbucker for a different guitar. I wanted the 4 conductor wire to keep the same switching system the guitar had so I needed to covert it from 2 wire to 4.

If you don't have a lot of experience with soldering or are wary of taking things apart, sniping wires and putting things back together, you should definitely send the pickup to a pro to do it for you. That said, if you've got experience with a soldering iron and are inclined to do so, it's not that hard if you take your time.


Basic steps:
- Remove the pickup from the guitar
- Remove the tape around the dual coils (save for later)
- Unscrew the baseplate from the bottom of the pickup
- If you are able to, pull the 2 coils away from the base plate. If you have a hard time, you might try using a hair dryer to soften the wax potting first, then slowly pull the coils from the base plate.
- Once you have the coils pulled from the base plate, you'll need to desolder the ground wire on the base plate and either cut or desolder the the lead wire from the coils. Be super careful when you are doing this as the wires are very very small.
- Between the two coils, you should find a wire that connects the two coils. It's probably taped. Remove the tape and desolder or cut the two wires.
- Splice all 4 leads coming out of each cable. Next, install your 4 conductor wire according to the manufacturers specs. Again, be super careful when doing this! I used a cheap USB cable and cut the ends off. These are usually perfect for 4 conductor pickup upgrades as they have a braided shield as well.
- Solder the ground wire to the base plate
- Place the coils back on the baseplate and use a hairdryer to melt the wax then screw the baseplate screws back in
- Install and you're done.

Watch this video to understand the process:

A really good picture to understand how the wiring is to be upgraded after cutting:
Guitar Wiring Site - Humbucker Construction

 

[woochul]

Thank you for yout input.