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Am I correct that if I'm going to place a single coil between two humbuckers, like in an HSH configuration, whether or not the single is RW/RP is not quite so important?

Not quite...if you´re using Duncans, it HAS to be standard wind and polarity to be hum cancellingin pos 2 and 4

WTF? Why should it? On a normal HSS guitar you also use a RWRP middle... why should it be a difference?


Originally Posted by ZerberusNot quite...if you´re using Duncans, it HAS to be standard wind and polarity to be hum cancellingin pos 2 and 4

Yes, it'll be between a Lil 59 and a Cool Rails. Although, kommerz point is a good one too.

yes, artie, i think your assertion is correct ... if you mix a singel coil with a humbucker, you will get hum no matter what the wind / polarity for the single coil are

if you are going to split the humbuckers when you combine with the single coil, it is conceivable that you could find a way to make both 2 amp; 4 hum cancelling .. it might require a mag flip or reverse wiring of one of the hums, it would depend ...

i got around this by using a duck in the middle ... all quiet all the time

good luck
t4d


Originally Posted by tone4daysi got around this by using a duck in the middle ... all quiet all the time

How quot;single-coil-ishquot; do you find the Duck?

well, to my ears, it is a very nice 'old' sound if you can get over the quiet ... it isnt quite as 'toppy', but it does exactly what i want it to do ... and it is not at all strong or gutsy (no 'punch' to speak of) ... really very useful for clean or slightly gritty - but no crunch ... i like to get a snappy quot;faux-chicken' pickin' quot; vibe from it ... gets me a cool knopfler-esque vibe when i solo with it (combined with the split 59n) ...

as you've probably seen me write before, i'd go with the vintage rails if i had to do it all over again because of the string bending issue ...

hope this helps
t4d

In my experience, mixing a HB with a SC results in a hum-reduced sound when they are combined -- not as much as a RWRP pair of SCs, but the hum is less than you'd get when combining 2 standard SCs or when using the SC alone. I think the issue of whether you need standard or RWRP to get hum-canceling when combined with a split HB would depend on which coil of the HB was active when split. I've read info on this issue somewhere on this site, so you might run a search for it.


Originally Posted by KommerzbassistWTF? Why should it? On a normal HSS guitar you also use a RWRP middle... why should it be a difference?

No you don´t: You switch the middle and neck pickups around, so the neck one is RW/RP, because otherwise the middle isn´t hum canceling with the split humbucker

Ok, to summarize, (if I have this right):

If I'm not going to split either humbucker, its not really an issue.

If I do a conventional split, (stud coil active by grounding the red/white wire), I should not use a RW/RP in the middle.

Am I close?

Artie

hmm... lets see... I would say that you'd have to reverse the mag of the neck bucker because it would be logical if they were made to be Hum cancelling when split in an HH config, so the neck will be RW/RP... So you'd either need to reverse the neck and buy a RW/RP mid or reverse the bridge and go with a normal mid pup. I think.

If you're like me, you would never use the middle pu in high gain/overdrive applications, so unless you're going to do a lot of recording with this guitar, hum-cancelling really isn't an issue, so it really doesn't matter if it's RWRP or not.

But even if it is an issue, you would probably get as much hum with the RWRP and one humbucker coil. This is because the middle pu is probably 6k and the humbucker coil will be only 4k if it's vintage wound, meaning they are not evenly matched, off by at least 50%, so you'll have a third or more of the hum of just one coil by itself. On the other hand, an 8k humbucker with a 6k single would be the dominant part of the signal, not only because it's 8k vs. 6k but because the humbucker senses a wider sample of the string and has a much stronger signal.

I say go with a stack.


Originally Posted by ZhangliqunIf you're like me, you would never use the middle pu in high gain/overdrive applications, so unless you're going to do a lot of recording with this guitar, hum-cancelling really isn't an issue, so it really doesn't matter if it's RWRP or not.

Thats sorta what I was thinking. This guitar is used purely in a home studio for recording. Almost exclusively clean/lo-gain.Originally Posted by ZhangliqunI say go with a stack.

Funny you should say that . . . I've got one on the way.

Although, the SSL-6 (tapped) really blends well with both the Lil59 in the neck and the Cool Rails in the bridge. Still, I want to see how the Stack sounds.


Originally Posted by ZhangliqunIf you're like me, you would never use the middle pu in high gain/overdrive applications, so unless you're going to do a lot of recording with this guitar, hum-cancelling really isn't an issue, so it really doesn't matter if it's RWRP or not.

But even if it is an issue, you would probably get as much hum with the RWRP and one humbucker coil. This is because the middle pu is probably 6k and the humbucker coil will be only 4k if it's vintage wound, meaning they are not evenly matched, off by at least 50%, so you'll have a third or more of the hum of just one coil by itself. On the other hand, an 8k humbucker with a 6k single would be the dominant part of the signal, not only because it's 8k vs. 6k but because the humbucker senses a wider sample of the string and has a much stronger signal.

I say go with a stack.

I use a middle with a split bridge wired in series for a very cool heavy Ty Tabor tone. IME the resistance mismatch does affect hum cancelling, but not as much as you'd think, or as much as your math suggests.

But yeah - a stack is a great choice, if you're not splitting the buckers.