Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Twinfan on February 21, 2012, 03:57:08 PM

Title: Humbucker tone difference when wired hot-ground or ground-hot?
Post by: Twinfan on February 21, 2012, 03:57:08 PM

I'm guessing the answer is "no difference" but I thought I'd ask anyway.

The usual BKP wiring for a 4-conductor humbucker is:

* Black/earth to ground
* Green/white together and taped off
* Red to hot

Would it make any tonal difference to flip them to:

* Red to ground
* Green/white together and taped off
* Black/earth to hot

???

I know if you want to use the splits then this would give you the screw coil instead of the slug, but without splits I'm guessing there's no tone difference?

Title: Re: Humbucker tone difference when wired hot-ground or ground-hot?
Post by: WhiteRam on February 21, 2012, 05:28:06 PM

I was on the phone with Ben at BKP about 4 weeks ago concerning some things and I asked him that question for knowledge reference (I put the question to him as would there be any "sonic" difference with the humbucker in series) his reply... no difference. 8)

I should add that I have never personally tried it. Rock on :)

Title: Re: Humbucker tone difference when wired hot-ground or ground-hot?
Post by: Philly Q on February 21, 2012, 06:16:08 PM

I suppose another question might be whether it makes any difference to wire this way:

* Green (or White) to ground
* Red/Black together and taped off
* White (or Green) to hot

That way you're sort of "inverting" the wiring and using the inner ends of the coils rather than the outer ones (although I'm not sure which is which).

I suspect the answer's the same - no difference, or not enough to notice.

Title: Re: Humbucker tone difference when wired hot-ground or ground-hot?
Post by: Twinfan on February 21, 2012, 07:02:49 PM

Didn't think so!  Just thought I'd ask...

Title: Re: Humbucker tone difference when wired hot-ground or ground-hot?
Post by: darkbluemurder on February 22, 2012, 10:10:40 AM

Whenever I had an out-of-phase switch in a guitar the switch did not change the tone with only a single pickup selected. Of course there was a lot of change when both pickups were selected.

Cheers Stephan