The coil-tap thread.

[Baltar]

Anyone else tap their humbuckers?

[Instant Dan]

I had both p'ups tapped in my old Orville LP. Sounded like an LP with P90's but nothing like a strat or tele, which people advertise it as.

[Baltar]

I agree, it's more like a P90 in mine.

[The Bandit]

Nothing wrong with a P90 tone.

[dunwichamps]

You can also run the coils in parallel for a different sound rather than coil tapping. Bonus is that you still get hum cancelling

[Jake]

I figure that this is as good of a place as any for this -- what's the difference between a coil tap and a coil split?

[The Bandit]

All I know is some forums get uppity if you don't know the difference.

[Pissy]

Those forums are crap though. This one is awesome.


My take on it is this: 


Tapping a coil is pulling out a lead before the wrap is done. transformers have taps for 4, 8 and 16 ohms for example. Essentially, in that scenario you are utilizing 1/4th, 1/2 or the full wrap around the transformer. (Perhaps that relationship is not linear, but you get the idea). If the full wire length goes from NYC to LA, think of a tap as being an exit somewhere around St. Louis. A pickup is the same thing, with no off board power running through it. String vibration generates the tiny voltage potential that makes the signal.

Splitting takes each coil and separates them. The reason for four leads out of a humbucker. The idea being that you can switch between a single coil sound and a humbucker sound. I honestly thought in normal configurations the coils were in series, wound in deferent directions. Perhaps I'm mistaken.

Have I got it?

[dunwichamps]

pissy is correct.

Tap is some % of the coil, split is removing 1 coil in a HB

[Jake]

Now that makes sense. I always wondered how I had a guitar with P90s that were coil tapped.

[The Bandit]

Now that makes sense. I always wondered how I had a guitar with P90s that were coil tapped.

Dumb question, but why would you coil tap a P90?

[Pissy]

To change (lower) the impedance of the coil.

[Jake]

Yeah. Just to broaden the spectrum of tonal possibilities, I suppose. It worked pretty good.

[taylo)))r]

Now that makes sense. I always wondered how I had a guitar with P90s that were coil tapped.

It is weird...I never use it, the coil taps that is. I use the guitar all the time.

[dunwichamps]

coil tap for lower output. Its nicer say if u have a hot pup with lots of windings so u can go from maybe 9k to 14k and get some different tonez

[jibberish]

my humbucker tele may be a candidate for this idea.

mybe if I change stuff in a tele, it may sound like a tele, moreso than tapping the coil in an LP and expecting it to sound like a tele

[Baltar]

My GFS 59 is rated at 8.5-8.8K, I run my Fuzz Face and MK II wide open usually.