Members Grantus Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 I recently installed a BG Phatty single-coil neck pickup in my Fender Cyclone, and it sounds great. But one question for you electronics experts. The Cyclone is a two-pickup guitar, with a Fender Atomic Humbucker in the bridge. The Phatty replaced a Fender Tex Mex single coil. The Phatty sounds great on its own, and the Atomic humbucker sounds the same as it always did. But when I combine the two pickups, I get this weird lo-fi sound with less bass than either pickup played alone. It's not a bad sound, just not what I was expecting. Is it possible I wired the pickups out of phase from each other? I didn't know that was possible with a single coil and a humbucker. I wired the Phatty the same way that the Tex Mex pickup was wired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Fenders come in all kinds of polarities and whatever. I think most aftermarket pickups are meant to be compatible with Seymour Duncan pickups but Fenders are wired in reverse with respect to SD pickups. Just reverse the wires on the pup and you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Reverse phasing sounds super thin,. Try swapping the leads on the single coil and see if it improves. If it does you verified the problem. Hopefully the single has single wires to allow this. Otherwise if the HB has multiple wires, you have to swap the polarity on it. If the problem isnt recersed phasing, you likely have a big impedance mis-match. When matching singles and HB's, if the impedance and signal strength are way off it can sound awful. You may be able to use different pots like a 500K and 250K or one meg etc to try and match them up their outputs.It can make for some funkey pot sweeps though. You see what happens when you have one pickup thats stronger than the other, that signal doesnt just pass out through the guitar jack.its free to energize the second weaker coil. Pickups will act like microphones or speakers depending on whats going though the wires. Its not like the pickupmwill make audiable sound. We're dealing with less than a volt here and a pickup wont act like a sustainer. But the voltage does develop in the weaker coil and can cancel some of its output. Thus you get a crappy low fi sound. Try reversing one and see if it improves. Otherwise you need to select a compatible single pickup that will work with the Hb or vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 If the problem isnt recersed phasing, you likely have a big impedance mis-match. When matching singles and HB's, if the impedance and signal strength are way off it can sound awful. Actually, the impedance between the Phatty and the Atomic Humbucker are much closer than the Tex Mex and the Humbucker. I did replace the volume pot, which was flaky, with a 500K CTS pot. I'll try switching the single's wires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Actually, the impedance between the Phatty and the Atomic Humbucker are much closer than the Tex Mex and the Humbucker. I did replace the volume pot, which was flaky, with a 500K CTS pot. I'll try switching the single's wires. that should resolve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Thanks everyone for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Thanks everyone for the advice and? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 and? Haven't had time to take off the pickguard and resolder. I'll let you guys know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Haven't had time to take off the pickguard and resolder. I'll let you guys know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Sick kid at home this afternoon. No soldering for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 A little solder will make him feel all nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamdogg Posted February 3, 2012 Members Share Posted February 3, 2012 Sick kid at home this afternoon. No soldering for me. well wishes for the kid - 2 of mine have been sick lately, on the mend though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 well wishes for the kid - 2 of mine have been sick lately, on the mend though. He seems to be much better after a dose of kids ibuprofen and the Muppet Show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 By the way, Bryan was quick to answer my email. He thinks the pickups are out of phase as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sdgails Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 ok, I wired up my Cyclone this week with new pickups. Your not alone. I put A usa strat pup in the neck and a gibson 498t in the bridge. neck and bridge alone=ok. middle position is trebly, not what I expected. the original pups were neck 5k and bridge 16k. That's some mismatch, but the original middle position sounded...like a middle position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Yeah, this is exactly the tone I get on the Cobain Mustang with the neck pickup out of phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dabbler Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Good call guys. Here's some helpful info for when you are the installer: Pickups - What wire does what? If you've ever bought or been given a pickup and wanted to know how it should be connected, this tip should help. I will explain the process for a single coil but the SAME principle applies to HBs. If it is a 2 wire you will do it for the pickup as a whole, for a 4 wire HB you should do each coil separately. Tools needed: multimeter (MM) that can read DC, screwdriver (metal). 1. First, connect the MM across the leads in resistance mode to make sure that you have a complete coil (this might be especially important for 4 wire HBs). 2. Connect the MM across the coil leads in DC mode (if you have to set the sensitivity, some MMs do this automatically go for the most sensitive setting). 3. Tap the coil with the screwdriver. Actually, it is not really necessary to touch it, but you must bring the metal of the screwdriver within the coil's field. When you do this, the meter will jump either positively or negatively. When you remove the screwdriver from the field, the meter should jump in the opposite direction. 4. Record the color leads connected to the + side of the voltmeter and the - side. Call the lead connected to the + side of the meter when the voltmeter jumps + the positive side of the coil. Actually, I may have + and - reversed here, but it really doesn't matter ALL THAT MATTERS is that all the pickups you install get installed the SAME WAY. On 2 wire pups, however, if one of the leads is a shield, call that the - lead (shields should always go to ground). 5. Repeat for every other coil/pickup. If the next coil/pickup makes the needle jump negative when you touch it with the screwdriver, then whatever lead you have connected to the - side of the voltmeter is the + lead for that coil/pickup. When you are done you will know the + and - side of each coil/pickup. In order to make sure what you are installing is in phase with what is already in your guitar, check it too. I didn't invent this, I got it from a book. But it has made me NEVER have to guess how to wire a pickup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Ahh, good advice above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Cheers, dabbler, that's v.useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted February 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Yep, the pickups were out of phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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