Axis SS 2 & 4 Position Question

[Mincer]

For those who have an Axis SS, do positions 2 & 4 on the switch hum? Even though they are 'humbucking', they are sensing vastly different parts of the string, so I can't imagine they get rid of the hum the same way a conventional humbucker does. There probably isn't as much hum as a single coil, but I'd imagine you can hear it, especially with distortion.

I'd like to wire my Silo Special like this, and was wondering if I should wire a Silent Circuit in there too (if the hum bothers me).

 

[sanderhermans]

No more hum than with a humbucker.... it really is no different than a humbucker wired in paralel. These 2 positions do have less output.

 

[beej]

Even though they are 'humbucking', they are sensing vastly different parts of the string, so I can't imagine they get rid of the hum the same way a conventional humbucker does. There probably isn't as much hum as a single coil, but I'd imagine you can hear it, especially with distortion.

Position along the string doesn't matter for sensing 60 cycle hum - both coils sense pretty much the same hum. The noise cancelling effect is excellent.

I'd like to wire my Silo Special like this, and was wondering if I should wire a Silent Circuit in there too (if the hum bothers me).

You mean, wiring the bridge HB in parallel rather than series? You can do that. Although another option is to split the humbucker and use the existing Silent Circuit to reduce the hum. Or did you mean something else?

 

[Mincer]

Well, what I meant was that if it *did* hum, I was thinking about ways to get rid of it. If it doesn't hum, then, cool! Do one of the pickups need to be rw/rp to do this wiring? I would think one would have to be (or at least a magnet flipped) for this to work.
My guess is that you certainly need a Super Switch too.

 

[beej]

In a HB, one coil is RWRP with respect to the other. The signals from the string are in phase, while the 60 cycle noise sensed by the coils are out of phase. Basically it doesn't matter if you wire them in series or in parallel, the noise from the two coils will subtract, giving you noise cancellation. So you're good to do it. I have a few guitars with a series/parallel switch, it's a nice approach to get more of a single coil sound out of a HB.

Another way to do it is to just split your bridge pickup, but wire the split to the Silent Circuit. Not quite as noise-free, but you'll get a relatively quiet split sound, which sounds more like a single coil than than the pickup in parallel.

 

[Mincer]

So in the Axis SS wiring, there is no need for one of the pickups to have the magnet flipped or anything? Since the 2 & 4 position are opposite coils from 2 different pickups, they should have no phase or hum issues, right? I guess I'd have to look at a wiring diagram to be sure- I like the sound of 2 HBs in my Silo Special and wired up a pickguard with those- I also have a Super Switch laying around.

 

[DrKev]

Since the 2 & 4 position are opposite coils from 2 different pickups, they should have no phase or hum issues, right?

Exactly. That's how they are wired in the factory. They are just as hum free as the full humbuckers.

 

[Mincer]

Gotcha...I will try to wire it converting the color codes to Duncan ones and post back if it works or not (I am using the Axis SS wiring diagram).

 

[Mincer]

One thing I found out- if 2 combined coils that are not matched perfectly, there will be hum. So when you combine 1 coil from a vintage-output humbucker with one of higher output, the noise isn't cancelled completely, like in a traditional humbucker. It is about 40% of a single coil, but you can hear it if you use gain. This isn't a deal-breaker, and it sounds good (stratty & tele-like) but it isn't dead quiet. I would certainly use this wiring again.

 

[beej]

That's right. Mixing different coils will lead to differing results. Same thing applies to using dummy coils, the Silent Circuit, etc. Heck, many humbuckers on their own will still product some hum. So it's all shades of what works for your application.

 

[ozzyrules]

None of mine humm................

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Neither do mine..

 

[Mincer]

If you have 2 normal pickups (I am using Duncans), you have to switch the ground and hot wires AND flip the magnet for this to work and be humcancelling. If you have a choice, just order one pickup rw/rp. This is kind of what PRS did for a few of their positions on their rotary selector.