2 singlecoils into humbucker

[Campy]

Hi,

I'm going to build a 5-string fretless bass and thought why not build my own pickups too. My local dealer sells everything needed in the building process and I'll be using 42AWG wire, Musicman-style bobbins, 9,5mm cromeplated steel poles and ceramic magnets. So my question is what would be requiered if I wanted to build a humbucker from those two singlecoils?

Thanks,
Timi

[David Schwab]

Well if you are using Musicman-style bobbins, those are each half of a humbucker. Humbuckers are just two coils next to each other, with opposite magnet polarity and wired up out of phase. You can also wind one in the opposite direction (so one is clockwise and the other counter clockwise) and wire them up in phase, but the results are exactly the same.

You just wind both of them the same amount of turns, and wire one of them in reverse (out of phase). Each coil needs to have the opposite magnet polarity, so assuming the ceramic magnet contacts the bottoms of the poles, you would have one pole of the magnet touching each set of poles on the bobbin. That way one bobbin is North up, and the other is South up.

I make similar humbuckers for bass.

How much wire you wind will effect the tone and volume of the pickup.

[Campy]

Thanks David! I was thinking something like 10 000 turns on the singles, so if I make a humbucker I wind 5000 turns per coil, right?

[David Schwab]

Thanks David! I was thinking something like 10 000 turns on the singles, so if I make a humbucker I wind 5000 turns per coil, right?

That would work fine.

[Campy]

Just to make things clear for myself... So the wiring goes like in this pic? Is this the in phase connection? What would be the out of phase connection? And is the ceramic magnet located in the middle of those two coils?

[David Schwab]

Yes, that is correct.

Because each coil has the opposite magnet polarity, the string's signal is summed in phase, but the noise is not, and cancels itself out.

[Ruel]

Just to make things clear for myself... So the wiring goes like in this pic? Is this the in phase connection? What would be the out of phase connection? And is the ceramic magnet located in the middle of those two coils?

Depends on the type of ceramic magnet you have. Some ceramic magnets are polarized accross their widths. In this case, you can stick one bar magnet between the pole pieces. One side will be north while the other side will be south. But if what you have are the types that are polarized through thickness, you will have to use two bars. One with the north side stuck under one set of pole pieces and the other with the south side stuck under the other set of pole pieces. I have both of these types that came from cheap HBs made in Korea and China.

[Campy]

Thanks Ruel!

If I wanted a singlecoil to go with the humbucker, should the polarity of the sc be same as the closer coil of the hb?