Wiring Guru Help please…

[DinoMikeSr]

…so I switched a bridge pickup in a strat. In the middle and bridge position it clearly sounds out of phase. Different brand of pickup but the wire color is the same.
Came from a set with a noise canceling middle winding. If I did wire in the new pickup in reverse at the switch shouldn’t it also buzz/hum when I put in the middle and bridges position?

 

[baimun]

the color code is company specific not industry standard. You would need the polarity tool to be sure. You might need to flip the polarity of the neck pickup to match.

Aligator clips or quick disconnects for the win.

 

[Knox in Box]

A compass will help to find out the polarity. Just hold it above the face of the pickup and see if it's North or South. And then check the others.

Also another magnet, you won't tell North or South ,but if it gets pulled to or pushed away.

 

[DinoMikeSr]

A compass will help to find out the polarity. Just hold it above the face of the pickup and see if it's North or South. And then check the others.

Also another magnet, you won't tell North or South ,but if it gets pulled to or pushed away.

Lol, I actually have a compass and knew where to find. You have to be here to find that funny.

By the video, the windings/polarity are installed correct. Pulled the pickguard and checked the manufacturer diagram and I have it wired correct. Checking connections at each point and I’m stumped. Do you think they crossed up the wire colors on the pickup when it was made? After checking everything again that’s where I’m at. It’s apart already so going switch wires.

 

[DinoMikeSr]

Well, now it is still out of phase, but not as bad and actually has some pleasant qualities. Just a little shop of horrors today. Lol.

 

[DinoMikeSr]

Tore it down, replace the cap. Returned to the simple stock wiring diagram. All pickups test to spec. Middle and bridge together still sound out of phase.

Have wired up a dozen pickguards and I’ve never chased a ghost like this

 

[jrockbridge]

I had a similar thing happen with a Gretsch guitar that came with a P90 in the neck and a Broad’Tron humbucker in the bridge. The bridge humbucker was a bit muddy and did not have that classic Gretsch sound. So, I swapped the bridge for a Gretsch Blacktop Filtertron pup. When I soldered it together, I could tell the bridge was out of phase with the neck pickup.

Since, I am completely ignorant of the way electronics work in a guitar, I simply reversed the leads of the Filtertron bridge pickup. It worked and sounded good (in-phase). The only problem was that the neck pickup had way more output than the bridge.

I added a potentiometer and a Suhr-style treble bleed to neck pickup part of the circuit. Then, I broke one of the soldered wires shoving it down into the small cavity behind the 3 way switch. I got it right on 2nd try, dialed it in perfect.

I have no idea if the guitar is wired correctly, but it sounds great. There’s no buzz or noise, other than the typical 60 cycle hum via the single coil P90.

I figured Gretsch would keep their pickup wire colors consistent, but it did not work out in this case. Maybe, that Filtertron is counterfeit.

 

[BuzzBaloo]

You just needs to swap the wires on the bridge PU. If doesn't matter if the instructions say the wiring is correct, instructions always assume all pickups are from the same manufacturer.

You have four possible outcomes with two single coils.

1. Same wind/same polarity= in phase, hum (this was stock in Fenders for 40 years)
2. Same wind/reverse polarity = out of phase, hum
3. Reverse wind/same polarity = out of phase, hum-cancelling
4. Reverse wind/reverse polarity = in phase, hum-cancelling (RWRP, very common in modern wiring)

If both pickups have the same polarity (both are north up or both are south up), then you getting #3.

There is no industry standard for wind direction on single coils pickups. Some companies wind clockwise as stock and some wind counter-clockwise as stock. For instance, SD and Fender both wind in opposite directions, both mark the end with black wire, and the beginning with white/yellow wire. If each is wired according to their manufacturers, they'll end up out of phase with each other, you have to flip with the wires on one of the pickups to to put them in phase.

Some examples...

Brand/Model	Polarity (Top)	Wind Direction
Seymour Duncan	South Up	Counter-Clockwise
Seymour Duncan (RWRP)	North Up	Clockwise
SD SSL-1C DG	South Up	Clockwise
SD SSL-1C DG (RWRP)	North Up	Counter-Clockwise
SD Antiquity II Surfer	South Up	Clockwise
SD Antiquity II Surfer (RWRP)	North Up	Counter-Clockwise
Fender (Modern)	South Up	Clockwise
Fender (Modern RWRP)	North Up	Counter-Clockwise
Fender Pure Vint '54, '56, 59	North Up	Clockwise
Fender Pure Vint '57, '61, '65	South Up	Clockwise
Fender Tex-Mex	North Up	Clockwise
DiMarzio	North Up	Counter-Clockwise
DiMarzio (RWRP)	South Up	Clockwise
Fralin	South Up	varies

... so even if you mix some models by the same company (for example: Fender PV '54 and '65; or SD and SD Antiquity IIs), connecting white wires to switch and black wires to ground, they'll end up out of phase.

 

[DinoMikeSr]

Literally is what it is going to be for a while.

 

[DinoMikeSr]

Thank you for all the input.

 

[baimun]

Handy chart for anyone just getting going on pickup swaps...