Humbucker… hums?

[whoanelly15]

I’ve got one for you, fine folks of this TDPRI. Recently switched out the bridge humbucker on a guitar for another, lower output one. Everything else was left alone. The guitar is an HSS configuration, 5-way switch. Quickly realized that the humbucker was out of phase with the middle pickup, which appears to be RW/RP relative to the neck pickup, as position 4 is hum-cancelling. So, I switched the hot/ground leads of the bridge pickup to reverse phase. Everything sounds great now!

Except… the humbucker has what sounds like a 60-cycle hum. I’ve read up on some similar issues people have experienced, but without anything that makes a ton of sense in this setup.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[whoanelly15]

Also, it does not go away when touching strings, bridge, etc. Amp is clean. Position 4 is dead quiet at same settings. Neck and middle strat pickups hum a little, as expected.

 

[badscrew_projects]

Does it have a metal cover?

 

[brookdalebill]

Different manufacturers use different color codes for their 4 conductor wires.
Perhaps you have made a soldering error?

 

[whoanelly15]

Does it have a metal cover?

No, but the one that that was in there originally did.

Different manufacturers use different color codes for their 4 conductor wires.
Perhaps you have made a soldering error?

They do have different colors. It’s a bootstrap humbucker that went in. Their color coding is available on the website. Other than having had to reverse the hot and ground after the first attempt, I wired it correctly.

 

[badscrew_projects]

What's a bootstrap humbucker?

 

[Telenator]

Sounds like it might be wired in parallel instead of series.

 

[whoanelly15]

What's a bootstrap humbucker?

It is the Vintage Clean Humbucker, made by Bootstrap pickups. A2, I believe, though the handwriting on the back looked more like A5.

Sounds like it might be wired in parallel instead of series.

Can I check that with a multimeter?

 

[39martind18]

.... Teach it the lyrics? (Sorry, low hanging fruit!)

 

[whoanelly15]

On the lead, Bridge Humbucker measures 8.47k (they are spec’d at 8.4, so spot on) and in position 2, output is 3.36k (middle pickup on its own is 5.50). So, all appears to be well there.

Just for the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the pickup. I had it in another guitar before this one. Difficult to compare, because in that setup, I was trying it as the only pickup in a Van Halen tribute build. I don’t recall any noise, other than the gain in the amp, which while fumbling through a Van Halen song, would be more than I usually play with. If anything, I doubted my ground/shielding.

Forgive me, but for that reason, I’m starting to think that what I’m hearing in position 1 is just the volume/output jump from the amp. Could that be? Amp is set cleanish but crunchy, slightly overdriven, choose your edge of breakup descriptor and insert here… And I generally play pretty quiet at home. Seems that this makes it feel like more noise is added than should be, but it’s no louder than the single-cool 60-cycle hum of the other pickups set up like this and that never bothers me.

The other pickups are pretty low output. That’s actually why I made the change - the original bridge pickup in this guitar was pretty hot (13.42k) and too muddy. The Bootstrap is not muddy at all. It’s balanced but has enough clarity and definition to it to cut. I dig it.

I’m going to keep playing around with this and I’ll update if I find anything fishy.

 

[Jasonpatrick]

My low output PaF style are not dead quiet. Still has A little hum present. sometimes depending on room noise.

 

[badscrew_projects]

Can you verify the magnetic polarity of the bobbins? Should be reversed from one to another.
If they are the same polarity then it’s not a humbucker but just two singles side by side

 

[hamerfan]

If there was a bare wire connected to the ground of the humbucker, this bare wire should stay on the ground, while the colored wire become hot.

 

[Telenator]

Can I check that with a multimeter?

Yes.

What readings do you get if a humbucking pickup is in series humbucking, split, out of phase with itself and parallel? - Guitar Pickups, Bass Pickups, Pedals

Pickup in series is: DC resistance is 8 k ohms. Each coil is 4 k ohms. Pickup split: The DC resistance is 4 k ohms. Using only one 4 k ohm coil. Pickup out of phase with itself: The DC resistance still reads 8 k ohms when the coils are connected in series. Pickup in...

www.seymourduncan.com

 

[hopdybob]

a humbucker in its two coils parallel will not hum, you have humbucker mode.
split coil can hum.

try the humbucker direct out, so pickup straight to the amp.
it's not about the tone, but if it hums.
no hum, than the problem is not the humbucker itself

 

[schmee]

I've had standard 2 wire HB's hum so bad I had to stand on stage rotated a certain direction or the hum was loud and unbearable.
It wasn't the guitar or pickups, it was the wiring in the old bar I was in.
So yes, they can hum badly.