Humbucker winding with different AWG wires on bobbins

[Lyrebird Steve]

Hi Guys,

newbie question sorry ....

I'm very new to Humbucker (PAF) type pickup winding, but I've had a request to replace a single humbucker in a Traveller guitar with something that has ability to coil split and sound more Strat like.

If I wind one of the bobbins with 42 Formvar (for Strat tone ...if possible) and the other with something like a 43 Poly (or even 44 dual coat poly) , what do I need to consider to ensure that they reduce Hum as much as possible.

Do the DC resistances need to be alike (thinking that output from the two coils need to be similar) ??

Anything else I should consider ?

Thanks

[David Schwab]

Hi Guys,

newbie question sorry ....

I'm very new to Humbucker (PAF) type pickup winding, but I've had a request to replace a single humbucker in a Traveller guitar with something that has ability to coil split and sound more Strat like.

If I wind one of the bobbins with 42 Formvar (for Strat tone ...if possible) and the other with something like a 43 Poly (or even 44 dual coat poly) , what do I need to consider to ensure that they reduce Hum as much as possible.

Do the DC resistances need to be alike (thinking that output from the two coils need to be similar) ??

Anything else I should consider ?

Thanks

There's no reason to use formvar, unless you are using heavy formvar, and that might not fit on a humbucker bobbin. Unless you make the bobbin taller, you wont fit the amount of wire that they have on a Strat, so splitting a humbucker to single coil never sounds like a Strat. Plus the Strat has rod magnets.

Now a cool trick would be to make the Strat coil taller, and with rod magnets. Then wind it to match the humbucker coil, and then run out a tap. Now continue winding until it's closer to a Strat pickup. So when you want the humbucker sound, run the first tap from the Strat coil in series with the humbucker coil. When you want a single coil tone, switch out the humbucker coil and use the full winding from the single coil.

Another way to do it is how Barden does the Two/Tone. Wind both coils with about 3500 turns and run a tap out. Then continue winding them to regular humbucker specs, or hotter. When you select the inside taps it sounds bright and clean like a single coil, and with no hum.

If you ant with two different gauges, just wind both with the same number of turns and it will hum cancel. DC resistance has nothing to do with it. It's the number of turns that counts.

[Lyrebird Steve]

Now a cool trick would be to make the Strat coil taller, and with rod magnets. Then wind it to match the humbucker coil, and then run out a tap. Now continue winding until it's closer to a Strat pickup. So when you want the humbucker sound, run the first tap from the Strat coil in series with the humbucker coil. When you want a single coil tone, switch out the humbucker coil and use the full winding from the single coil.

Thanks David ... think I can make a coil using 2 flatwork tops (using 42 Hv Formvar) and place it where the slug coil would go. So this coil I will tap out at 5,000 (winding it to a full 7800) and make a 43 Hv Formvar adjustable height ("standard ") coil.

So I have 5 wires ... 2 starts, 2 ends and a tap ... and I need to end up with 4

"Strat Coil" start and end will be one set ... how would I wire the Humbucking part then ??

[Lyrebird Steve]

Finished the Franken-bucker as David suggested. Strat coil tapped at 5k turns of 42 heavy formvar scatter winding, finished it is wound to 7.5k. Adjustable wound to 5k of 43 (layered)

View of slug bobbin. Standard strat height made from two top peices with AlNiCo V mags and 3 eyelets arranged at one end.


Mag caused too great a discrepency in height between bobbins, so moved to bottom of the pickup


Side and top views of completed pickup.



Now just need to work out wiring ??
Start and end for Adjustable slug
Start, tap and end for Strat.

Would like to be able to isolate strat coil with push-pull pot.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

[Lyrebird Steve]

Wiring ??

Will this wiring work ?



for Humbucker, coils wired in series Adjustable Coil -> Start of Strat Coil : then from the Strat Tap to +

Strat wiring from Start of Strat to - , Finish of Strat to +.

Push-pull to select from Black/Green ... or .... Red/White

Should work (possibly, maybe)