Coil arithmetic

[Meowy]

Aside from hum canceling, would a coil the size of 2 humbucker bobbins (think of 2 bobbins glued together, side-by-side) be similar in tone, output, etc to a "standard" 2 coil humbucker, assuming the same materials, total DC resistance, etc?

Or to put it another way, what would one big coil the size of 2 HB coils sound like?

[David Schwab]

The two coils create an emphasized low end and subdued top end due to phase differences. One fat coil will sound fuller than one thing coil. Think of a Jazz Master compared to a Strat.

[J S Moore]

Aside from hum canceling, would a coil the size of 2 humbucker bobbins (think of 2 bobbins glued together, side-by-side) be similar in tone, output, etc to a "standard" 2 coil humbucker, assuming the same materials, total DC resistance, etc?

Or to put it another way, what would one big coil the size of 2 HB coils sound like?

A P-90.

[Meowy]

A P-90.

Well yes, but it would be taller and wider (bridge side to neck side) than a P90. Also, it would have 2 sets of pole pieces. I think one of the challenges with that is to orient the magnet(s) so that both sets of poles were similarly oriented.

If one set of poles were N and the other S on the same coil, wouldn't the coil in effect be out of phase with itself?

[madialex]

Well yes, but it would be taller and wider (bridge side to neck side) than a P90. Also, it would have 2 sets of pole pieces. I think one of the challenges with that is to orient the magnet(s) so that both sets of poles were similarly oriented.

If one set of poles were N and the other S on the same coil, wouldn't the coil in effect be out of phase with itself?

Hi, been there and done that exact thing you are thinking about. Beside not getting any usable tone, the dam thing was about 10 times noisier than a regular P90. I had a good discussion about it, I think Possum and a few others rang in and gave me the lowdown on that beast. I tried every trick in the book but the hum was so bad it actually was louder then the pickup itself. I found that POS the other day, pulled the magnets and shit canned the thing , I had 2 of the small thin ones so that they were both pointing to the screw and slug poles with North polarity, the south sides were actually facing the outside edge of the base plate. Save yourself some time and aggravation and file 13 the idea.

[J S Moore]

Probably the only way to get anything useful out of it is to use either bar or rod magnets through the bobbins, both with the same orientation. Although I think you would end up with two separate magnetic fields which might be a problem. Thinking about that I don't think you would get any signal at all.