Converting humbuckers....

[Stankfut]

Anybody convert a 2 conductor humbucker to 4 conductor? I have done some research, the internet says you can do it if you are careful, basically slicing two new leads where the pickups join, but I'm slightly nervous about ruining a perfectly good pickup. My trusty old SG has a pair of 490's in it, I'm just looking to get some new tones from it.....on a budget!


 

[HotBluePlates]

I'd think it would be hard to determine where the crossover is.


My understanding is the first coil is wound in one direction, the second coil is wound in the opposite direction. When you look at the enamel winding, you will see it's about as thick as a hair. That hair from one coil to the other might not be on the outside of a given coil, so it may be hard to figure out where to cut without killing the pickup. And the coils are most often wax impregnated, so the whole thing looks like a relatively solid mass... I wouldn't want to have to spot where the wire transitions from one coil to another (unless I'm missing something, like the coil wires are brought out to obvious spots for connection after each is individually wound).


Once you've cut, you've got an enameled wire: there's a thin layer of insulation over the wire. You'd probably have to scrape it off carefully with a razor blade. Soldering to new conductors will probably be a pain.


I repaired a small transformer whee the enamel wire parted from the point where it was soldered to the larger leads that you see exit a transformer. That was relatively easy to fix, as the point to solder the coil wire was a fixed spot. I'm thinking you'll have new wires with no great mounting place for them, so soldering the two may be a challenge. And without a good supported spot for that connection to live, it could easily break with handling.


I had nothing to lose when I attempted my transformer repair, as it was already "dead". You might have nothing to lose if you resign yourself to buying a new set of pickups. Or, you could guarantee that you'll be buying pickups, whichever way you look at it.


Just make sure you have a deft touch with soldering, and consider pre-tinning both wires to help the process. Plan on buying pickups, so you have nothing to lose. Hopefully, you have some excellent instructions out there to guide you on how to separate the coils.

[Willabe]

I did it years ago on a pair of Gibson HB. And no they weren't vintage. They were a set from the late 80's(?) burst buckers(?).

I unsoldered the covers, then gently took off the masking tape from around the coils and the coil wire solder joints were right there. It went pretty easy and I had no problems soldering up the new 4 wire(?) + shielded cable, it's been so long ago I don't really remember.

Anyway I wired them each as normal with a 2 coils in parallel (same PUP) hum canceling switch for each PUP and I wired up an out of phase switch.

I never used either switch after I heard what they sounded like.     

You might like it but for me it wasn't worth it, I got lucky and it worked from the get go. And since I don't like push/pull pots I still have 3 small holes in my Heritage Les Paul now with switches that I don't use.   

I think I might be more interested in the Peter Green "flip the bar magnet" out of phase thing now. With both volumes up full with both PUP's on your out of phase. But dial back either volume and the fullness starts to come back. Since you loose a lot of volume when the PUP's are out of phase dialing either of the volumes back brings the volume and fullness back pretty quick.

I knew a guy years ago that played blues and he had his guitar set up that way for a few years and he liked it a lot. All the tone changes and dynamic changes were in just a small change of the volume controls.

I don't want to discourage you but it's very easy to make a bad mistake with that fine of wire.   


          Brad           

[HotBluePlates]

Thanks Willabe! Good to know the solde joints are easily accessible, so that removes a barrier.


I had a Les Paul Custom for a number of years with push-pull pots to run the humbucker coils in series or parallel. I used the parallel option a LOT, but I kept trying to make my Les Paul into a Strat. Eventually, I just got a Strat, then a Tele, and sold the Les Paul (that particular guitar was an anchor from 1974).


If you're really trying to do the Hubert Sumlin thing, out-of-phase is the only way to get there. I think the safety of switching back with push-pull pots is the only thing that makes sense, unless you're married to that one tone.

[G._Hoffman]

Why bother?


There are plenty of very nice pickups on the market, and they aren't terribly expensive. 


Gabriel

[Willabe]

Good to know the solde joints are easily accessible, so that removes a barrier.

It might be different on different HB's?


             Brad     

[Willabe]

Why bother?
There are plenty of very nice pickups on the market, and they aren't terribly expensive.

There ya go, when I did mine it was early 80's? Weren't a lot of after market PUP's at that time, at least that I was aware of anyway.


           Brad     

[Ed_Chambley]

Here is video.  Looks fairly strait forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i7hBO59SR4


If you like the pups as they are, it may be worth it.  Good luck.

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
       I see this thread is a little old, however a humbucker can be split without a lot of problems. Take the cover off if it has one, look on each end. It
will have both coils joined with about a 22ga wire. That is where you clip it and add two additional wires. It is not rocket science but it requires a steady hand and (very good) soldering skills. If you can try it on some import pickups first it would be a good idea.
       After you finish you want to secure the additional wires, preferably using the same openings the original wires were routed through. Shrink wrap
a section where the wires exit the base plate.
       Guitar Electronics sells 4 pole 5 position rotory or strat style switches giving you 5 different sounds.

[Heinz]

Not exactly what you were asking for...but if you want to convert a humbucker into a single coil permanently, you can simply remove the pole screws on one coil. This renders one coil inactive for picking up the string but still provides hum cancelling. You can easily try that without damaging anything. It may give you a clue whether the modification with the switch is worth the risk.

I have done this on a yamaha pacifica's humbucker and it sounds quite convincing.

[Stankfut]

Wow, Heinz, that's a great idea! I would have absolutely never thought of that!   At least I would know if I like the SC sound of those pickups. I'm still considering the operation, but life has happened lately so I just haven't got to it yet!

[darkbluemurder]

Anybody convert a 2 conductor humbucker to 4 conductor?

Yes, I have done this to two DiMarzio Super Distortions, to a Bare Knuckle and to a couple Gibson humbuckers as well. It's easiest if the pickup is uncovered, it's slightly more hassle if the pickup is covered and the cover is spot soldered to the pickup base plate, it is a bad hassle if the pickup is covered and the cover is more than just spot soldered to the base plate (e.g. like the PRS humbuckers) and impossible on covered humbuckers which are potted in epoxy (like some Gibson humbuckers or the Gordon Smith humbuckers).