GFS 4 wire humbucker color codes

[TelZilla]

I sent an email to Jay at GFS, but he's not replied, so I thought I'd try here.

Anybody know the color codes on GFS 4 wire humbuckers. I would like to know polarity for each coil (Adjustable and Slug) as well as start and finish color for each.

I've heard they use the same color code as Duncan, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

[SnoMan97]

I have heard the same thing as you have about the Seymor Duncan codes. Try this thread from the HC forum. About half way down the page there is a GFS schematic. Hope this helps.
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/...ght=gfs+wiring

[defaultoprime]

I asked Jay a couple months ago... he said to use the Duncan schematics...

[mistermullens]

Got this from Jay many months ago

Hi,

All GFS Humbuckers wire the same way-

Green = + This is the Hot wire, usually soldered directly to the toggle switch or leftmost tab of that volume control.

Red/White pair solder to each other. No Contact (Tape them off) is for Humbucker sound, Connect to ground for Single Coil sound.

Black and SIlver solder to ground. We like the back of the volume pot.


Dream 90's and Shielded single coils all wire the same way-

White = +

Red or Black solders to ground

Silver Shield solders to ground


Single coils are always wired the same- White or colored wire is always +, Black always -

Blowout Single Coils- Red= Bridge, Yellow= Mid, White=Neck

Blowout Humbuckers can use either GFS or Seymour Duncan wiring codes.

Hope this helps,

Jay

[TelZilla]

I goit the same email (not sure why he doesn't just put that on his site), but that's not specific enough (or maybe it is, but I don't understand how)

I need to know the colors for the following

Slug coil start
Slug coil finish
Adustable coil start
Adjustable coil finish
North/south orientation of the 2 coils

All signs point to color codes like Duncan. So that's what I'll go with and I'll just see how it works.

[Boolywho]

Originally Posted by TelZilla

I goit the same email (not sure why he doesn't just put that on his site), but that's not specific enough (or maybe it is, but I don't understand how)

I need to know the colors for the following

Slug coil start
Slug coil finish
Adustable coil start
Adjustable coil finish
North/south orientation of the 2 coils

All signs point to color codes like Duncan. So that's what I'll go with and I'll just see how it works.

I just installed a series/parallel switch in a little Xaviere JTT Travel Guitar that has the GFS Crunchy Pat Humbucker in it.

I was wondering the same thing that the OP was about GFS's exact wiring color scheme, so I just went ahead and found out myself with my multimeter. I verified which leads belonged to which coil by hooking them up to an amp and tapping on the magnets with a screwdriver... Pretty straightforward stuff. And I figured out the polarity of each lead (i.e. hot or ground) by simply using GFS's original wiring of the humbucker as a reference (I knew that it was already wired in-series by default).

Anyway, here is the empirically derived answer (at least for my GFS pickup, but it's probably the same for all of them):

Slug Coil Hot = Green
Slug Coil Ground = Red

Screw Coil Hot = White
Screw Coil Ground = Black

I know this answer is coming many years after the OP posed the question, but I hope it might at least help anyone else in the future who is pulling their hair out trying to get accurate information on GFS's exact wiring scheme for humbuckers (it's frustrating, I know...).

[sjtalon]

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...odeChart-1.jpg

[Boolywho]

Originally Posted by sjtalon

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/r...odeChart-1.jpg

Sjtalon,
I found a few charts online like the one in the link you posted, but they all ended up being wrong for my pickup. I'm not sure if you've had luck with that chart in your own experience or not, but in my GFS humbucker, Green and Red paired and White and Black paired.

In your chart it's Green and White paired in one coil, and Red and Black in the other. Have you had a GFS pickup that has matched up with this color code?

I have no idea if they are all the different or not (they very well could be).

[sjtalon]

I'm not understanding what you are saying about the "pairing" in the diagram.

That one shows GFS WHITE AND RED shunted or series linked as SD calls it. The finish (wrapped end) coil wire of EACH coil is linked.

What is happening is the two coils are getting connected in series. After that, it really doesn't matter what you do with the green or black as far as which you run to the switch as the positive. Now when you have that HB with another pup, you will have to be concerned with which you run as the positive so that it is in phase with it's mate. Or you could have a switch that those would go to to change phase if desired.

Now going back to your other post I see by paired you mean wire respective to each coil.


If you naturally had the factory shunted wires separated when you did your continuity checks, that would mean the diagram has the red and white labeled backwards.


Never had a GFS, just posted the diagram.

[Deaf Eddie]

Late to the party, but...

This appears to official and definitive: GFS color code

The (above) linked multi-brand humbucker color code chart appears to be wrong for GFS, as indicated.

North and south magnetic polarity are not indicated in the GFS info sheet, but the colors for the slug and screw coils clearly are. As long as you don't mix and match brands, magnetic polartity is not really a concern.

Their advice to use Seymour Duncan wiring diagrams is MOSTLY OK.

The difference between S-D and GFS appears only to be that S-D uses the green and red pair for the screw coil, where GFS uses that pair for the slug coil. IF you follow the GFS instructions (using green as HOT) and wire a coil-shunt on a GFS pickup that goes to ground, it shunts the SCREW coil (same as with an S-D pup using S-D instructions); but following S-D's instructions on a GFS pickup (using black as HOT), when shunting to ground the SLUG coil is shunted, leaving the screw coil playing.