How To Determine Your Single Coil Pickups
Winding Direction and Pole Piece Polarity Orientation
January 23, 2016 @
18:28 |
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To correctly install a new single coil
pickup in your Strat along with pickups you
already have, you need to understand
the winding direction and pole piece polarity
orientation of each of your pickups before
installing them together to avoid the
possibility of phasing issues.
For all 3 single coil pickups in a Strat to be
in phase with one another when two pickups are
selected together all 3 of your pickups must be
wound the same direction and have the same pole
piece polarity orientation and
for Strat's that have hum cancelling
capabilities in selector
switch positions 2 and 4, the middle pickup needs to be
the complete opposite (winding and polarity) of the bridge and neck
pickups which means the middle pickup needs to
be wound in the opposite direction and
have the pole pieces polarity orientated the opposite
direction, this is what is known as Reverse Wound /
Reverse Polarity (Rw/Rp). A Reverse Wound /
Reverse Polarity pickup is
only in
reference to the other two pickups in an
installation this is because one pickup manufacturer's Rw/Rp
pickup can be another manufacturer's normal wind / normal polarity.
There is no standard for how single coil pickups
are wound and their pole pieces polarity
orientation.
So if you are planning on upgrading your Strat
with a new pickup, you need to
know the winding direction and pole piece
polarity orientation of the new pickup as
well as your other two existing pickups to
avoid phasing issues. |
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Below Are Some Examples Of How
Current Production
Fender And Seymour Duncan
True Single Coil
Pickups Are Wound
| Seymour
Duncan Normal Wind: |
Counter
Clock-Wise, South Up |
| Seymour
Duncan Rw/Rp Wind: |
Clock-Wise,
North Up |
| Seymour
Duncan Antiquity II Surfer Normal Wind: |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
| Seymour
Duncan Antiquity II Surfer Rw/Rp Wind: |
Counter
Clock-Wise, North Up |
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The following two pickups are
custom wound for us by Seymour Duncan's
Custom Shop |
| Seymour
Duncan Custom Shop SSL-1C DG: |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
| Seymour
Duncan Custom Shop SSL-1C DG Rw/Rp: |
Counter
Clock-Wise, North Up |
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| Fender
Custom Shop (Bridge and Neck): |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
| Fender
Custom Shop Rw/Rp (Middle): |
Counter
Clock-Wise, North Up |
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| Fender
Pure Vintage '54: |
Clock-Wise,
North Up |
| Fender
Pure Vintage '56: |
Clock-Wise,
North Up |
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Fender Pure Vintage '59: |
Clock-Wise, North Up |
| Fender
Pure Vintage '65: |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
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| Fender
Original '57/'62: |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
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Eric Johnson (Bridge and Neck): |
Clock-Wise, South Up |
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Eric Johnson Rw/Rp (Middle): |
Counter Clock-Wise, North Up |
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| Fender
Tex-Mex (Bridge and Neck): |
Clock-Wise,
North Up |
| Fender
Tex-Mex (Middle): |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
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With the Tex-Mex
pickups Fender just reversed the black
and white hookup leads on this pickup,
it is not actually Reverse Wound. Fender
simply connected the black wire to the
finish end of the coil wrap and the
white wire to the start end of the coil
wrap. The pole pieces were flipped end
for end for reverse polarity. This accomplishes a Rw/Rp, but is
not physically reverse wound in
reference to the Bridge and Neck
pickups.
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| Fender
DeluxeDrive (Bridge and Neck): |
Clock-Wise,
South Up |
| Fender
DeluxeDrive (Middle): |
Clock-Wise,
North Up |
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With the
DeluxeDrive pickups Fender just reversed
the black and white hookup leads on this
pickup, it is not actually Reverse
Wound. Fender simply connected the black
wire to the finish end of the coil wrap
and the white wire to the start end of
the coil wrap. The pole pieces were
flipped end for end for reverse
polarity. This accomplishes a
Rw/Rp, but is not physically reverse
wound in reference to the Bridge and
Neck pickups.
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How A Pickups
Winding Direction Can Be Determined
Below is a single coil pickup
that is wound
Counter Clock-Wise which can
easily be identified by a simple visual
inspection. Shown
below with the
Red Arrow is the finish wrap
of the pickups winding wire as it comes off the
coil. This is what is will show you
the winding direction. In looking at the photograph you can
see how the small copper wire that connects to
the white hook-up lead is coming off of the
bottom left side which is from the outer-most or
final wrap of the pickups coil. This indicates
that the winding direction was counter clock-wise. You will also notice the small copper
coil winding wire
that connects the the black hook-up lead tucks
well underneath the windings of the coil on the
right side, this indicates that it was the very
beginning of the coil winding and subsequent
winding wraps built up over it leaving it tucked
well underneath.
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How A Pickups
Pole Pieces Polarity Orientation Can Be Determined
Below is a single coil pickup
that has is pole pieces polarity orientated
North Up. This
pickup construction characteristic can easily be
determined by placing a magnetic compass over the pole pieces as
shown below. The magnetic pole pieces of the
pickup will attract the opposite magnetic
polarity end of the
compass needle which in the example below is South
(white). You can look at it like this;
the pole piece polarity of the pickup is the end of the
needle that is pointing away from the pickup,
and in
this case it is the red end of the needle which is North.
This pickup is North up for its pole pieces.
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