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  • Sterling by MusicMan

cardking

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Hi,
1) What is the phantom pickup? Is it an active pickup that is underneath the pickguard (ie hidden?) does that mean the single coil and humbucker are passive?

2) I know the physical difference between a resistor being in series or parallel but what does it mean sound wise with respect to pickups?

3) Can someone please explain the different sound/style/use each configuration generates? see attachment
Coil 1- Humbucker coil closest to bridge
Coil 2- Humbucker coil farthest from bride
Coil 3- Single coil at the neck
+-series
&-parallel

Coil 3 + Phantom
Coil 2+3
Coil 1+3&2
Coil 1+Phantom
Coil 1+2
 

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keko

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Keko will help you very soon! Nice bass btw. I have one coming :)

Ugh, ...keko is very busy and tired, but I'll try... :rolleyes:

Thanks, also what is the best configuration for playing harmonics.

It would be the best to dig out some of my previous posts, I wrote whole book about HS Sterling! Please check my profile, than check my previous posts about HS Sterling subject!

For harmonics is great switch position 2 (bridge single coil with phantom coil in series), but also properly EQ-ed position 3 is great too for that! (all coils)

+ means series, & means parallel wiring

Phantom coil on HS Sterling is placed under the S pickup and it's hidden!
Phantom coil is just a coil without permanent magnets between and it's wired counter phase with regular magnetic pickup single coil, to cancel hum! (physical phenomena)

For other answers please feel free to PM me, or like I said dig out...

Btw., ...Welcome to the forum!
 
Last edited:

keko

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I just edited one tech correction, I was to tired last night, so everyone who has read my previous post could be confused, it's about switch position 2 ...bridge coil 1 + phantom coil, not position 1 like I wrote at the first place! :rolleyes:

Also I'm not sure is this term "counter phase" correct in English? I wanna say out of phase, or in other direction...etc. I hope guys You get it?

Thank's for understanding! :eek:
 
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RocketRalf

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1)The phantom coil is a third coil on the bottom of the humbucker. It is passive, like every other music man coil and pickup. Only the preamps are active.

2)Soundwise: Series=more pronounced midrage. Parallel=more highs and lows.

3)Can't say, I've only played a Sterling H.

For harmonics, typically the closer to the bridge and the less coils involved the more even the response is for harmonics across the fretboard (hence the suggestion to try position 2). But it depends on the particular instrument, the pickup specs and their position. Other positions may work too.
 

keko

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1)The phantom coil is a third coil on the bottom of the humbucker. It is passive, like every other music man coil and pickup. Only the preamps are active.

That' correct for a single H Sterling, but question was about HS model, so at HS Sterling phantom coil is placed under the S pickup, and it's kinda integrated in the S pickup somehow!

One more interesting thing, ...on the HS Stingray phantom coil is real pickup (well, almost real) hidden under the pick guard between H and S pickups! ;)

I think it's best for You guys to watch this YT video from TPB, simply explains everything:

YouTube - Music Man Pickup Technology - Product Review index=2]YouTube - Music Man Pickup Technology - Product Review
 

RocketRalf

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That' correct for a single H Sterling, but question was about HS model, so at HS Sterling phantom coil is placed under the S pickup, and it's kinda integrated in the S pickup somehow!

One more interesting thing, ...on the HS Stingray phantom coil is real pickup (well, almost real) hidden under the pick guard between H and S pickups! ;)

I think it's best for You guys to watch this YT video from TPB, simply explains everything:

YouTube - Music Man Pickup Technology - Product Review index=2]YouTube - Music Man Pickup Technology - Product Review

Oh, so the SterlingHS actually has TWO phantom coils, one underneath the H and one underneath the S. Interesting.

I assume the StingRay5 is exactly the same.
 

keko

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Oh, so the SterlingHS actually has TWO phantom coils, one underneath the H and one underneath the S. Interesting.

I assume the StingRay5 is exactly the same.

I don't think that Sterling HS got two phantom coils, just one integrated under the S pickup, other words bridge H on Sterling HS is different than on usual single H Sterling, so bridge coil 1 is using this phantom coil under the S pickup at switch position 2, but I'm not 100% sure about that even it's logical to me, maybe someone from the EBMM factory can confirm that? :rolleyes:

I don't know about StingRay 5 HS, but probably the same as on 4 banger! ;)
 

Martinb28

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So what’s the difference between (1) a humbucker and (2) a single coil run with a fantom coil cancelling out the hum? Isn’t the later also a humbucker? Just more of a misleading pretending to be a single coil humbucker? How is it still considered a single coil?
 

Rod Trussbroken

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.... How is it still considered a single coil?
.
From what I understand (but could be wrong) is that the phantom coil is not adding to the sound (itself) of a single coil pickup. The single coil would sound the same with or without it (although subject to hum). In that sense the phantom is bucking the hum. More generally. a humbucker pickup has two coils both adding to the sound of the pickup and wired to buck the hum.
 

Martinb28

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Thank you both for the responses. I am trying to understand how it works, and how a single coil configured with another single coil for purposes of eliminating the hum is different than a humbucker, and different sounding.
.
the phantom coil is not adding to the sound (itself) of a single coil pickup
How does the phantom coil not add sound but remove the hum? How can it do one and not the other?

There are many "Noiseless single coils" that used the stacked design.
How can the noise of the single coil be removed by an additional hum eliminating pickup while maintaining the sound of a single coil? How does the phantom coil remove the noise yet not turn the pickup into a humbucker? How does it maintain the sound of a single coil without the hum?

Ibanez has a "power tap" feature on their SR series that use their PowerSpan Dual Coil pickups that might be function similarly. The PowerTap removes the hum only from low frequencies, so the sound still has the single coil sparkle at high frequencies. Basically, these basses have a 3 way switch that determines how the pickup is configured: (1) humbucker - the tap wire is open, (2) single coil - the tap wire goes to ground, and (3) powertap - a high pass filter between tap and ground, so the pickup works as both a single coil (for frequencies above the filter) and a humbucker (for the low frequencies that can't go through the high pass filter and instead go through the second coil of the pickup, thereby functioning like a humbucker). The result is not less noise, but instead more like a combo - the highs of the single and the lows of a humbucker.

Is the fantom pickup like that? Is there a filter between the perceived pickup and the fantom pickup so that hum is eliminated at some frequencies but the single coil sound is maintained at others?

Appreciate your responses and feedback.
 

Golem

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So what’s the difference between (1) a humbucker and (2) a single coil run with a fantom coil cancelling out the hum? Isn’t the later also a humbucker? Just more of a misleading pretending to be a single coil humbucker? How is it still considered a single coil?
The misunderstanding is in imagining that coils produce tone ans sound. They do not. Pole pieces aka slugs produce sound and govern tone. Actually its the interaction of strings and slugs.

An H has 8 slugs in play, which gathers moe harmonics than an S which has 4 slugs in play. Therefore two different characteristic tones.

The coils in the phantom do not make any sound. Hum is silently canceled electrically.

A phantom CAN have slugs and make no sound if its too far from the strings to interact with them.

Thaz the whole story.
 
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