Changing single coil mode from screw to stud on humbucker bridge tele

Hi

This is my first post for a while. I have asked over at Seymour Duncan, but because it's tele related I thought I'd ask the good folks here, so here goes...

I have a 95 US Tele that I have fitted a TB5 Custom to the bridge, enabling me to get series/split/parallel sounds with the aid of a mini toggle inbetween the volume and tone controls.

I had it wired by a tech, as these were the days before I dared to pick up a soldering iron. However, I'm pretty confident now doing wiring jobs. I don't want to effect the parallel and series settings, so what I'd like to know is can I change just the split single coil setting (middle on toggle) to use the inner (stud) coils instead of the outer (scew) ones? I prefer the sound much more having played a guitar like this. I think the outer coil sound is a bit ice picky. Is this just a simple wire swap? If so which ones am I swapping around?

Hope someone can help quickly?

Cheers!

with a duncan humbucker, swap the black and green wires.

Cheers for that!

So it's really that simple, just swap the black and green wires around on the toggle?

I take it parallel and series won't be affected at all?

Thanks

Cheers for that!

So it's really that simple, just swap the black and green wires around on the toggle?

I take it parallel and series won't be affected at all?

Thanks

correct. the wire swap only affects which coil gets shorted out when the pup is split (which simply grounds out one coil).

Brilliant stuff. If only the idiot on the Seymour Duncan site was as helpful as you.

Thanks my friend.

Keep in mind that swapping the black and green will also swap the phase of your humbucker. You'll have to swap the phase of your bridge pickup to match, if that's a concern to you.

If this isn't a viable solution, you can change which coil is the start and end of the humbucker by rearranging the wires.

To do that:

Red is + and goes to the pickup switch
White is - and goes to ground
Solder Black to Green, and connect these to your ground switch.

Hi

Do you mean change the phase of the 'neck' pickup? You said bridge. My humbucker is in the bridge position. I have a normal single coil hot tele pu there.

Cheers

I said what I meant and I meant what I said :-)

If you simply swap the leads as Rob suggested, you'll be swapping the phase of the humbucker, which will put it out of phase with the bridge pickup.

Solution A is to swap the phase of the bridge pickup (which will likely mean moving the baseplate ground as well).

Solution B is to rearrange the wires of the humbucker as I described above.

Solution C is to play with a kind of quacky sound when both pickups are on since they'll be out of phase.

I said what I meant and I meant what I said :-) .

That doesn't reflect well on your comprehension ability..:sad:

The OP has told you in posts #1 and #7 that the humbucker IS the bridge pickup.

or just flip the leads on the single coil to cure phasing. it's all good. do whatever is easiest. :cool:

That doesn't reflect well on your comprehension ability..:sad:

The OP has told you in posts #1 and #7 that the humbucker IS the bridge pickup.

D'oh! Sometimes I get stuck in a rut... My apologies!

In that case, if your neck pickup (single coil, like you said and I just read and it finally got through) has a metal cover, you'll need to move the ground to the cover. Most pickups ground the cover by extending the ground lead through the solder lug to a tab on the cover. You'll have to do that with the other lead.

do the wire swap, and then on the neck pickup but the ground extension from the cover (if it has it) and add a separate ground wire for that (if it has it) and then swap the two neck pickup leads.

this:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/jwells393/New%20Album/Neckpickup.jpg

to this:http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/tele2.jpg
(the two cloth covered wires go through a hole and connect to the leads in the front)

Cheers everyone.

OK just to clear everything up. In order for me to get the stud poles on the bridge pickup in single coil mode I need to:

1. Swap the green and black wires from the bridge humbucker around wherever they are connected to on the mini toggle?

2. Cut the jumper lead on the tele single coil neck pickup and then place a new ground to the solder point of the cover. i.e. the solder point on the middle to the back of a pot?


Hopefully that's all correct and give me what I need without any out of phase issues?

Cheers

You've got 1 and 2 right, but you need to add step 3: swap the neck pickup leads.

The green wire on the humbucker is probably connected to ground, and the black to the pickup selector switch. Swap those. The red and white wires are connected to your minitoggle. Leave those.