Confused

[Urwordsbreakmed]

"With the switch in the 'closest to neck' position, the pickup's flow of voltage follows a snake like pattern around the poles, this is called the Series position, creating an out of phase slightly brighter humbucker tone." what are the poles and what do they mean by out of phase?

 

[dlloyd]

"With the switch in the 'closest to neck' position, the pickup's flow of voltage follows a snake like pattern around the poles, this is called the Series position, creating an out of phase slightly brighter humbucker tone." what are the poles and what do they mean by out of phase?

Read this...

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/pickups.php

 

[Urwordsbreakmed]

Read this...

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/pickups.php

You my friend are amazing. lol. So far there haven't been any question you couldnt answer lol

 

[Urwordsbreakmed]

However it didnt clear the part about out of phase

 

[Bluesbob]

Out of Phase...

Just means that the positive and negative alternations (or peaks) occur at the same point in time, thus cancelling each other.

 

[Urwordsbreakmed]

Just means that the positive and negative alternations (or peaks) occur at the same point in time, thus cancelling each other.

In other words there is no peaks?

 

[Samingo]

Thanks much so dlloyd. I wasn't too confused or curious about this personally, but that's still managed to expand my horizon and when it comes to how my bass works I always want to know more. So I appreciate your wealth of knowledge is what I'm saying.

 

[AnthonyD]

+1

 

[dlloyd]

In other words there is no peaks?

No. There is a lot of peak cancellation, but it's not complete. This will reduce volume, but I guess the preamp deals with that.

I'll draw some diagrams of what goes on inside your pickup and post them tonight if that will help.

 

[Urwordsbreakmed]

No. There is a lot of peak cancellation, but it's not complete. This will reduce volume, but I guess the preamp deals with that.

I'll draw some diagrams of what goes on inside your pickup and post them tonight if that will help.

that would be super.

 

[dlloyd]

Okay, if you need anything a bit more basic, just ask.

(Technically-minded people can feel welcome to point out errors, ridicule, etc.)

The basic humbucker is a bit like two single coils placed together, one coil being reverse-wound and having a reverse polarity magnet with respect to the other. This means that influence from external electrical fields is phase-cancelled, but the signal isn't.

There are two basic ways to wire up a humbucker.

1. In series...

2. In parallel...

Series is the "classic" way to wire a guitar humbucker. It has the hottest, "fattest" tone possible. You might say "muddy".

Parallel has slightly lower output, but has a slightly brighter tone. This is the way SR4s are wired and SR5s/Sterlings are when the switch is in the bridge position.

As I understand it, the reason humbuckers have a "fatter tone" is that some of the note's higher order harmonics are lost resulting in loss of treble, although the overall output is reinforced.

If you're after more versatility, you might want to have a single coil option. If the humbucker is wired in parallel, it's simple... just switch off one of the coils. This is what happens in an SR5/Sterling in the middle switch position (The coil left operational is the bridge side, I believe).

With a series wired humbucker, you short the circuit at the connection between coils...

Both of these options give a similar single coil tone.

It's possible to reverse the phase of one coil of the humbucker by simply reversing the way it's wired.

Parallel, out of phase...

Series, out of phase...

This creates phase cancellation of the signal, but as each coil is effected slightly differently by string vibration due to it's position, the cancellation is not complete. The output is significantly less than that of the in phase options and the tone can be described as thinner or hollow. Series, out of phase having a slightly higher output than parallel, out of phase.

Series, out of phase is the neck position of the sterling/SR5 switch.

Having only one coil operational in the "coil tap" mode leaves you with no cancellation of external electromagnetic influence, you get the hum back. This is where the phantom coil comes into operation. This is where I get sketchy. I believe this works in a similar way to the trick session guitarists used to use to get a s/c tone out of a gibson-style guitar. They'd remove the adjustable pole-pieces from their humbuckers meaning that only one coil could be influenced by string vibration, but as the "inoperational" coil was still influenced by external electromagnetic fields, it would still cancel hum. I guess it may alternatively work by having the phantom coil, magnetic or not, spatially removed from the vibrating string.

I assume that switching the coils to be out of phase also would render the 60-cycle hum "in phase". I guess there's some clever trickery going on with the phantom coil there too.

Differences in output are, I suppose, addressed at the preamp stage.

Ultimately, all plebs like you or I need to know is that the different switch positions give different noises.

edit: I assume that's what's meant by out of phase, series. It occurred to me that "out-of-phase" may be referring to hum cancellation?

 

[Urwordsbreakmed]

I think you said in single coil mode or the switch in the middle uses the pick up closest to the bridge. Thats not true it uses the one closes to the neck so i read on the EB FAQ page.

 

[dlloyd]

I think you said in single coil mode or the switch in the middle uses the pick up closest to the bridge. Thats not true it uses the one closes to the neck so i read on the EB FAQ page.

Not quite the response you expect.

You're going to find that people stop responding to your posts.

Try reading the faq again.

 

[Mobay45]

dlloyd: You showed a lot more diplomacy in response to that post than I would have.

 

[bovinehost]

*tapping forehead with knuckles*

Aiy yi yi yi yi.

 

[jongitarz]

dlloyd: You showed a lot more diplomacy in response to that post than I would have.

More than I would have shown as well.

 

[basspastor]

More than I would have shown as well.

having read most of your responses to the forum I am going over in my mind what your response would have been. - LOL

 

[SteveB]

dlloyd,

that was a really great post. I enjoyed the text and the illustrations. I've never been one to mess with my guitar's electronics (although I have taken courses in electronics.. I just never turned the soldering iron on my guitars!).
Anyway, it was a great explanatory post. Thanks.

 

[AnthonyD]

Amazing...



Then again, dlloyd did say that "technically-minded people can feel welcome to point out errors, ridicule, etc..."

 

[Urwordsbreakmed]

You're going to find that people stop responding to your posts.

Try reading the faq again.

oopys sorry mistake. again i was running on no sleep for 3 days. sorry again


Wow ok that was really horrible. this is the first time i can agree with you guys that i did something stupid. lol