Guitar-Chris
March 14th, 2009, 05:40 AM
Hello!
After having done a small mod to the 5-way-switch of my Yamaha Pacifica (2 SC, 1 HC) I thought of adding a switch for the different humbucker modes.
So, now I can switch the humbucker in three ways:
Position 1: Both Coils parallel (hum canceling)
Position 2: Single coil (coil splitting)
Position 3: Seriel coils (standard humbucking mode)
Position 1 and two just differ slightly. In position 1 there is almost a single coil sound but adding a little more punch and it is hum cancelling.
What do you have to do for this mod? At first you have to find out, if your humbucker has 4 wires that are required for this mod. The function of the four wires are:
1: Beginning of coil 1
2: Ending of coil 1
3: Beginning of coil 2
4: Ending of coil 2
In normal serial humbucking mode wire 1 is the hot wire, 2 and 3 are connected and 4 is to ground. So the signal rans through both coils. If you put wire 3 and 2 to the ground, coil 2 ist shortcut and Coil 1 is acting as a single coil. If you connect wire 1 and 3, and put 2 and 4 to the ground, both coils work parallel.
The wires are of different colours, but there is no standard. So look at the home page of the manufacturer to get the description. If ther is no, get a multimeter, set it to measure impedance (Ohm). If you find a pair of wire that belongs to one coil, there is typically an impedance of 5 to 10. If they do not belong together, you don't get a value.
The easiest way is to use a small On/On/On switch like this (http://www.thomann.de/gb/goeldo_el013_minischalter.htm). You can see the wiring diagramm at Rockinger (http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?page=ROC_Workshop_Humbucker). It's the fourth diagramm. Or you look at GuitarNuts (http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/sw3.php). It's the last diagramm.
http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/2949bba5cd6f5d1.jpg
After having done a small mod to the 5-way-switch of my Yamaha Pacifica (2 SC, 1 HC) I thought of adding a switch for the different humbucker modes.
So, now I can switch the humbucker in three ways:
Position 1: Both Coils parallel (hum canceling)
Position 2: Single coil (coil splitting)
Position 3: Seriel coils (standard humbucking mode)
Position 1 and two just differ slightly. In position 1 there is almost a single coil sound but adding a little more punch and it is hum cancelling.
What do you have to do for this mod? At first you have to find out, if your humbucker has 4 wires that are required for this mod. The function of the four wires are:
1: Beginning of coil 1
2: Ending of coil 1
3: Beginning of coil 2
4: Ending of coil 2
In normal serial humbucking mode wire 1 is the hot wire, 2 and 3 are connected and 4 is to ground. So the signal rans through both coils. If you put wire 3 and 2 to the ground, coil 2 ist shortcut and Coil 1 is acting as a single coil. If you connect wire 1 and 3, and put 2 and 4 to the ground, both coils work parallel.
The wires are of different colours, but there is no standard. So look at the home page of the manufacturer to get the description. If ther is no, get a multimeter, set it to measure impedance (Ohm). If you find a pair of wire that belongs to one coil, there is typically an impedance of 5 to 10. If they do not belong together, you don't get a value.
The easiest way is to use a small On/On/On switch like this (http://www.thomann.de/gb/goeldo_el013_minischalter.htm). You can see the wiring diagramm at Rockinger (http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?page=ROC_Workshop_Humbucker). It's the fourth diagramm. Or you look at GuitarNuts (http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/sw3.php). It's the last diagramm.
http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/2949bba5cd6f5d1.jpg