Phase or coil split?

[AcornHouse]

Ok, now that I have a pair of XR-7 pups headed my way to put into my S-275, how should I wore them, with a coil split, or phase switch? I have no first hand experience with either.
Which do you prefer, and why?

 

[matsickma]

Phase switch is an unusual tone many guitarist may not find useful. The guitar tone looses the bottom end of a humbucker and has a jangly tone that wobbles a little. I usually cut the volume a bit one one of the pickups to thicken the tone up.

The coil tap basically converts the humbucker into a single coil pickup. If you're lucky you may end up with one of the coil bobbins being counter-wound which results in the "quacky" Start sound when the two pickups are combined.

There are other possibilities like coil tapping the neck pickup while leaving the bridge humbucker alone to provide the "fat" Strat tone.

I would probably go with the coil tap configuration.

M

 

[matsickma]

As a side note I have been thinking of removing the gold hardware on my blond S275 and converting it to chrome along with a set of HB1's. Ti may consider adding a push/pull POT to do a coil tap on the bridge HB1.

M

 

[AcornHouse]

I also saw another option of a coil split AND parallel/series using an ON-ON-ON switch.

 

[GAD]

Split all the way. I owned an S300 for years and never used the phase switch. Great if you're chasing that Petere Greene thing, but it's of limited use IMO.

Now a coil split, wow! I put one on one of my Jacksons with boutique pickups and man, does it ever sound good! I also have a coil split on my Nightbird with HB1s and that thing makes some great single-coil tones. I can even get it to quack like a Strat on the middle position.

 

[hansmoust]

Ti may consider adding a push/pull POT to do a coil tap on the bridge HB1. M

A coil tap on the bridge HB-1 would be of very limited use; especially if you want to switch between pickups. I have done coil taps on hundreds of double humbucker equipped guitars, but in case they didn't opt for the single-coil possibility on both pickups, it was always preferred on the fingerboard HB-1.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[mavuser]

I have a tele deluxe plus from 1991, it has a coil tap for the bridge lace sensor humbucker. But I would never use that, it takes away all the heat! The late, great Mikey Houser from Widespread Panic had that guitar (and made it famous), he has said he only used the bridge pickup, and never the neck pickup. Not sure if he ever split the coils but it does not sound that way. Not often, if so. I do have a couple Gibson Melody Makers/LPJr with a hot P-90 single coil in the bridge and those sound great!

 

[Quantum Strummer]

I'd go with the coil split as those pickups have enough beef to still sound decent in the bridge position in single-coil mode. I'm assuming you'll be splitting both p'ups. If only one then I'd wire the splitter to the one you tend to use least. With HBs I tend to be a neck/both guy, with the neck volume often reduced a bit to give the "both" setting more bite or better clarity. In a guitar with a single volume pot the ability to split the bridge p'up gives me another version of that "more bite" thing.

With my Mustang the out-of-phase option is great for funky rhythm stuff. One of the '70s SGs I've recently acquired "for testing" is a 3-pickup Custom, with the middle & bridge p'ups wired OOP in the middle switch setting. It took some fiddling with the middle p'up height to smooth out the high end, but now I quite like its OOP sound. Reminds me of Steely Dan tunes like Green Earrings. But it's a niche thing.

-Dave-

 

[AcornHouse]

I got the pups and am waiting on an ON-ON-ON mini toggle so I can wire them with series/parallel/coil tap.
Now, the question is, which pup? With only one switch, it looks I have to choose bridge OR neck.
This video is the clearest example of the differences, without a lot of showing off. Interesting to hear that the more of a distortion pedal you use, the less it matters; it's all practically the same sound.


I'm leaning towards the bridge pup.

 

[DThomasC]

Personally, I use coil split on the neck pickup. With the guitars and pickup combos I have that offer it, coil split on the bridge didn't bring anything I could use.

Then again, the only thing I use bridge pickups for is gainy lead type stuff. I don't do the clean twangy bridge thing much.

 

[AcornHouse]

UPDATE:
I got the XR-7s wired up. I had to get new pickup rings, since they had flat, slightly undersized rings on the Burstbuckers. The bit that the double adjustment screws goes into had been removed, so I was able to use regular humbucker tapered rings. Not quite as big as the original Guild rings, but they do the job.

i went with a series/parallel/coil cut on the bridge pickup. It had more of a difference between the sounds than with the neck pup. One odd thing, when they were all wired up (according to the Dimarzio wire codes) I was getting an out of phase effect with the pickup selector in the middle. I double checked my wiring, and I did have it correct according to the spec. I reversed the neck pup's wiring, and it was back to full strength. Somehow they were reverse wound with each other.

Weird.