I also wanted to thank you because I have learned allot from your videos, such as the pick up’s, woods, scale lengths, tremolos, coil taps vs. coli split, Guitars, too much to mention. You have provided me with a wealth of excellent information, and I want to thank you. You are the most knowledgeable guitarist I have ever met. Thank you brother!
I just don't get tired of looking at your vids. There's lots and lots of info and experience (and you know, PATIENCE with some douches out there) on each one of them. Thanks a lot, Scott, hope you get better on that illness situation. Cheers!
TY Scott. I just happened to stumble across your videos doing this search about PHASE & OUT OF PHASE. I am a new guitarist and trying to find my own sound as I have found this is what most guitarist are trying to create for themselves to stand apart from one another. I truly appreciate your insight, as you are honest and very, very informative about all things guitars. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and many years of experience with new learning guitarists and experienced guitarist as well.
I appreciate the faith in my reports. You are right, so many kids just playing around with their distortion wide open and jamming along to some obscure song you've never heard of before and they don't tell you a thing about the guitar that makes you think that you should trust their views on the guitar. SOOOO much of that out there. lol I do really appreciate you checking out what I have to say about things. Some folks really like the things that I don't, and that's okay too. Cheers.
Thank you my friend. You are so very welcome. I'm glad that it straightened a few things out for you. Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate that. Scott
Thank you Scott for explaining these tone options. Here, where i live , 90% of the guitarists and even the guys selling guitars in large stores don't know anything about this! A few months ago i went to the store to buy a Seymour Duncan Sh4 for my Stratocaster, and the guys there told me is a great pickup because i can coil tap and coil split it. I laughed my lungs out when i first heard it! Anyway, your video is very informative and useful, thank's!
Great explanation of what the all the knobs, switches and coils are capable of doing. The information gives me a start on rejuvenating an unloved vintage Magnum Custom with 2 switches that are snapped off and one coil that is missing completely. Thanks.
They are typical magnetic pickups that are heavily wax potted. It's hard to tell EXACTLY what's going on inside of there, but it's heavily magnetic for sure, so you have to still find that sweet spot that kills the string drag, yet keeps just the right amount of drive to the input of your amp (if you're into overdriving the input of a tube amp), otherwise, drop them a ways, fire up the amp and it's SQUEAKY CLEAN sounding. Crystal clear. They did a great job at the Fujigen factory on them.
Very cool. Yeah, some people really LOVE that sound and it TOTALLY depends on which pickup is wired that way and it can give some cool tones if the right combination is used. I'm glad you like it!
There are a ton of companies that don't get this right, not just gibson. That being said, It wasn't until i bought my les paul that i truly appreciated my single coils on my fender. You're 100% spot on when it comes to the differences and the whole "Warm" thing.
Yeah, they have a lot of those. That particular one would be the P-90 version of the Les Paul Traditional Pro. They did the original run of the Pro in 2009-2012 (all of which had coil splits on them), then in 2012 when the released the 2013 models, some continued with the dual humbuckers with increased output SPLITS, then a switch that took the pickups straight to the output jack (These electronics have been failing right & left on the new ones), then the P-90's with the coil TAP,which are cool!
LOL, they should be. They've been getting it so wrong for so many years. I was watching a video from a Gibson representative today and he was doing a review on one of the 2012 non reverse Firebirds with the 3 P90's in them. They all DO have the coil taps on each pickup via a push / pull volume control on each. The PRICELESS part was when he said that GIBSON invented coil tapping and better yet, that they just invented coil tapping this year. AMAZING. They just keep getting brighter. lol
Hi Jon, the 408 is superb! PRS has their stuff together more than anybody. The guy demonstrating it is another one of "THOSE GUYS" who doesn't know the difference between splitting and tapping and he keeps interchanging the terms. Not a good thing for the demo! But yes, they do TRUE splitting on the 408..no tapping available. The NEW version of the SE 24 is really nice. I love the SE versions more than the USA models. This is a great PLAYER's axe and everybody should get one at that price.
I heard from you recently and was surprised how quickly you responded to my question, thank you for that by the way ...I forget already what I asked You about But the Important thing I wanted to Say ( so that readers will understand ) Is why I asked you when there are so many people on here I could have gone to ...Well Simply Put it was because with all my years of playing guitar and playing with my guitars...It is very easy for me to spot an expert... If You go to court a witness is one thing but an expert witness is much more " Respected " by the Judge When they are discussing the Field that they have full knowledge in ...I want To thank you for sharing the knowledge that I respect from You...Thanks Again.
Thank you so very much. I'm glad that you appreciate the info. I post it to try to help and you see it as it is simply meant to be. Not as some sort of bragging like the little kids think. lol Many thanks again and I'm more than happy to post any answers that I actually know the answers to. All my best! Scott
I was building my dream guitar for the last year, and now I see it would probably also be among your favorites also! It has 3 P90s, custom wound by myself. They are TRIPLE tapped (very underwound-strat output, normal p90, and overwound) It has the S1 switching series/parallel, plus it has Graphtech piezo saddles for acoustic sound, which could be send to acoustic amp via stereo cable or blend it with magnets to get extra bottom end. It is THE most awesome/versatile guitar known to mankind!
Love that Ibanez strat copy. I played a simmilar one for years while in a band, and it was the most comfortable I've ever played, and best sounding clean playing guitar I've ever played. I didn't own that guitar and was really pissed when it was sold without informing me, after the group had disbanded. 10 to 20 years latter, when I'd moved onto humbuckers and Gibson style guitars, i couldn't figure out why I couldn't get that chimney bell like sound for clean work. I knew I didn't like the ice pickiness of single coils, especially dirty, and since i was playing humbuckers, which i loved dirty, I thought i should be able to duplicate the noise cancelling sound from position 2 and 4 on a strat. Boy was I wrong. It took me 30 years to figure out it was the parallel configuration I loved from that Ibanez strat. Humbuckers were never going to give me that perfect clean sound, because they're wired in series, while position 2 and 4 on Strats are parallel. I love the ergonomic comfort of the Strat body, just think the controls are cramped, and in the wrong position. I also love the resonance of an archtop and possibly a set neck, but hate feeling locked into series configuration, unless I want to spend an outrageous prices. I rather just use single coils and mod for series/parallel config, but with a tunomatic archtop, with a strat body. Too bad my dream guitar isn't made. The closest is maybe a jaguar, but those dont have the proper PU setup. Guess, I'll have to build it myself.
Yeah, the EMG's still do the major string pull thing that screws with your tuning. They are MUCH higher output pickups, so....they are going to generally sound distorted, even if you don't want them to. The single coils are generally dialed back to give you the same standard output as most single coils to give you a cleaner and quieter single coil sound, but they will still be out of tune sounding if you get them too close to the strings. So, just more tonal control available is the ONLY plus.
It can do that for sure. It's all about just how funky they get with the Phase thing. They got REALLY funky with it on that guitar. They did nearly the same thing with the Ovation Breadwinners I have. They are quite controllable via the tone knob though. It's just some funky thing that they always did back then, but now they are bringing them back. So, hold on to your seat. lol
Thanks Scott. Some very good information in here. Even for a rocker who likes humbuckers ;-) I now completely understand the difference between coil splitting and tapping!!
I've watched a few of your videos and your wealth of knowledge is truly amazing. You must be a serious collector. Anyhow thank you for sharing some of it with us.
I'm going to have to guess that you have the lower line "Tribute" series, in which case, it's a pickup selector. It allows for you to get the Neck and bridge pickups on together or all 3 pickups on together. These should be VERY noticable. Simply tap a screwdriver on to the pole pieces on the pickups in every position and you'll find out what is on in what position. If it doesn't make a lot pop through your amp, that pickup isn't on. Nice and easy to figure out.
Me too! People are finally wising up and making it easy for everybody to make all of the nifty little mods for more options if we want them. It took them long enough to revert back to the 70's and make things right again. lol
This was Awesome! Last year i got an Epi es335 .... and yes, the still to the lables "Coil Tapping". lol, i guess they had some leftover decals to use up.
Yeah, they are great sounding axes that are so amazing. I had to get them again, just for the same reason as you. I had the same old feeling that needed to be answered and it didn't let me down at all. Easily as happy with the sound of it over any Strat I have laying around. Everybody should pick up one of these before they blow too much on something too high priced or some off brand that they will never get their money back on. Gotta love remembering these old Ibanez axes for sure!
Great video Scott!! Thanks so much for sharing all this info with us, it's fantastic! I always love to see the different guitars in you vids. Cheers, Kirk
Sure thing. I love only have humbuckers in the bridge positions of my Strats if they have the coil splits. It's a must and so very hand. It's even cooler if they are slanted in order to keep the true tone of the Strat. If you humbucker has the 4 wires, you can also add the in and out of phase. Most humbuckers these days are finally made that way so that you can do the split AND the phase switch. The easiest way of thinking of out of phase is reversing the hot and ground on a pickup.
Here's an idea I once had: Imagine a genuinely coil-tapped humbucker. The windings for each coils would be individually tapped, and the switch to control this would engage the taps on both coils at a time. The result would be a humbucker that can go right from a clean and bright Gretsch FilterTron type sound to a thicker Gibson PAF, or from a PAF all the way up to a DiMarzio Super Distortion. Come to think of it, would it be physically possible to tap the coils at multiple levels, to get all three of those options with a three-way switch? And yeah, I imagine something like this would be pretty expensive to order from a custom shop somewhere.
Yeah, I like them to stay looking 100% stock too. The S-1 can do ANYTHING of course, just another switch. You can't see the mod in the top of the knobs from a foot away, or with vision like mine, from 2" away. lol Love the BLEND controls! That's where it's at. I love them on my Gibson Marauders.
If you're looking for a boost my friend, you can install a simply, active preamp. It will simply boost the exact sound you have without changing the tone at all. I personally just use a Morley Volume pedal and double the volume on my amp so that I will have all of the boost I'll ever need. It's a beautiful thing.
Scott, that Jim Burton Tele not only sounds fantastic but the finish looks amazing! God I love Telecasters. Great video, thanks for all the info, keep making them!
Thanks again Scott, my next pick ups will be the lace sensors, can't wait to try them out! All the best to you bro. Look forward to the next Video. I like playing classic rock type sound so I will get the hotter ones witch I believe to be the red.
I had an Ibanez that was stolen from me that I had in '87, and bought it used for $100.00. I think it was this model, because I remember the phase switch. I don't remember the splitter switch. It was messed up because it had a washburn tremolo and the bridge installed because it had no bridge, but it was too wide for the neck, so sometimes the high e string would slip off the neck when playing, but it was fun with that tremolo, and locking nut. Fortunately I had insurance and I got a '91 Arctic White Strat Japanese new, and it was ok, but I almost bought a '91 American Tele and was about to buy it, but the knob was bent. I also was looking at Steinberger Spirit that I liked but wasn't sure how to play with no headstock so I passed. Funny how I was such and impulse buyer, I think I wanted a drum machine with the extra money.
I think I got it, the out of phase simply reversing the pickup and the in phase is where the pick up should be, correct me if I'm wrong. I think I cannot do the in and out of phase on my strat because its only have the "pull up pot" and its pretty old strat too.
I hear you. They are amazing. They are one of those guitars that you can take to a gig and the other guitarists still don't believe that it exists even though it's right in front of them. lol.
4:20 you could have a coil tap on humbuckers if two # of windings on a coil or both are available via a wire that being said i never saw one up for sale (even tapped single coils are not so common), it has to be a diy pickup or special/rare custom ordered. If you know what i mean i mean a humbucker could have a couple hundred more windings on one of the coils, and the output of which is accessible from a 4th or 5th wire.
For sure. Since they are usually never found in a "production" model guitar, there was no real reason for me to bring it up for people that are looking for these basic descriptions. Some of the 70's and early 80's Ibanez, B.C. Rich, Alembic, often tossed everything but the kitchen sink on most of their axes during those years. I enjoy a varitone style switch to change impedance when splitting pickups etc. I get a lot more fun with resistors than anything. I'm all about more is more and less is less. lol So, tossing me a stock Tele or a Jr. and plugging it straight into some goofy little tube amp and that's it.....that would drive me nuts to no end. lol
thanks for the reply, and i get that someone that doesn't understand electricity can't figure out what i meant XD anyways yeah i was wondering either series/parralel or coil split on my flying V since i just got my push pull pots!
Thanks Scott. S-1 could be cool too. For now, my thought is to make the neck volume the master volume, the bridge volume becomes a pickup blend control, and the stock tone becomes a TBX tone. I love the Jazz bass myself, just looking to add a bit more versatility while keeping the stock look. When I can, I'll maybe throw in some punchier pickups too.
I happen to be hooked on the classic Fender shapes myself, that's just me. But I have to say Scott's your guy if you want to be hooked up with something killer in a good price range.
Great info, as always Scott. I knew a lot of this myself, already, but do you know how long it took me to track it down through all the BS and mis-labeling out there? This is really great for people who are just learning, to have it all in one place, without the BS. Just like the tremolo vs vibrato mix-up.
Bradley Spurgeon GREAT VIDEO \ I've come to discover that almost EVERYONE Screws this up on coil tap / split. Chapman guitars, Fender. Schecter.... ton of people. @ Bradley Spurgeon: I hear you. Yeah, nobody knows anything about guitars. lol Not even the builders. Gibson ALWAYS posts coil taps when that are simply splits from humbuckers to single coils. They are laughable (not nearly as pitiful as Chapman is though). In one of his videos, he just tried to solder the 2 wires on to the one and only pot on his green B.C. Rich (The volume) and he screwed it up. lol It didn't do anything. He said that he would be taking it into Anderton's to get it wired up correctly. Then he goes and starts up a guitar company, goes to South Korea to see them being made, freaks out the first time he has EVER seen a truss rod in person. lol Yeah......I want to trust him to do ANYTHING. lol Really sad.
There are SOOOOO many great ones. I don't blame you for not wanting one. They are SOOOO Tired looking. What kind of looks would you be into? I know of pretty much every 3 single coil guitar to have been made and would be more than happy to give you some suggestions if you let me know a body style that trips your trigger and what your basic price range is. There are some AMAZING cheaper guitars out there that kill the expensive ones.
The Rickenbacker 330 taps the neck pickup and runs it through a 5th pot so you can blend it better with the (same windings thus weaker sounding) bridge pickup. It's fun to experiment with that mix.
I like the Lace sensor Burton Tele, but of all the instruments you've demonstrated in your videos, including your custom-made guitars, the one that I'd like to own is your ASAT III. Although its twang is a bit stronger than I'd like, it has a robust, full-range, harmonically rich and balanced sound that I've never heard from ANY Fender. It has a sonic integrity that comes only from conscientious selection and assembly of quality components and that typical mass-market guitars can't produce.
Thanks my friend. I generally just reach for one of the James Burton Telecaster. Sometimes I'll bring along something "FUN" just to let it get out and have it's day in the sun. lol Those Burton Tele's are just so full sounding and have just the right sounds that I personally need for the gigs and music that I do. Just an amazingly well thought out instrument. I would like a shorter scale length on it, but...it's close enough. lol
14:50 i think i read that on strats, the middle mic's magnet was in the opposite way in regard with the 2 others which made intermediate switch positions out of phase
humbuckers are just two single coils with opposite polarity connected out of phase, thus adding together the two audio signals from each individual single coil but effectively cancelling (or mostly cancelling) the noise or hum, hence the name "humbucker". if you truly hate the sound of humbuckers, you can (in theory) have a humbucker pickup where each single coil in the humbucker has a relatively small winding count (e.g. 5000 winds) and connect them in series which will give you the advantage to cancelling the hum while still sounding like a single coil. Again this is just in theory... haven't actually tried this out. Also you could in theory coil tap a humbucker, if each individual single coil in the humbucker was set up for coil tapping (although I don't think I've ever seen this). Makes me wonder now what that would sound like.
I know, you would think they would offer a hardtail version of it. You can simply tighten the spring claw all the way so that it doesn't have a chance of moving and then toss a couple of sheets of toilet paper or material etc. over the springs so they don't produce all of that SPROINGGGG sound. lol I do it to all of my Strats and it cures them in a hurry. I bet they come out with a hardtail version of it. They are usually on the ball about that sort of thing.
Great video thanks for the info. The only thing i can say about the Les paul is they are really meaty sounding guitars to begin with. They have a lot of punch so You can really hear the tone of the wood coming thru unlike a tele or strat per say even more with a bolt on neck they sound more thin than a Les paul. I think Gibson got as close as they could in splitting the humbucker into one single coil for the time and surely they get better at it as time goes on. Never the less thanks for the info. I was always confused about coil tapping until now.
I had one of those Ibanez Blazers back then except mine was the model with just an out-of-phase switch but no coil tap. Thinking back it was a really nice guitar but I don't think I fully appreciated that back then. It had its own character very clean and clear and a great neck and was very different in tone and feel to a Fender Strat. I seem to remember that the vibrato bridge was not the best though. Damn, I wish I still had it -memories.
Sure enough my friend. I'll gladly do that. I've got a bunch of different active guitars here to demonstrate DIFFERENT reasons that you would or wouldn't want to go there. Some are amazing and some are just goofy. Buy, I'll do that for sure!
You could, the the bad thing is that you would never hear it since the other coil on the humbucker would overpower the coil that you tapped. When you try to tap BOTH coils of the humbucker in the same basic spot in the winding, it gets so amazingly funky because of one pickup being wound one way and the other going the other way (to make it humbucking) that the sound is simply unusable. But, it CAN be done. Kind of like jumping off of the Empire State Building...it CAN be done, bad results.
Sure my friend. I'll be more than happy to do that video for you. It will get a lot of arguments, but that's fine with me. lol Everybody likes something different, but I'll be glad to put out MY PERSONAL OPINIONS on what I think is great and what sucks from top to bottom on a guitar in general.
Hi my friend! Good to hear from you again. I always see you putting up the good fight for me over there at MLP and I totally appreciate it! I can't thank you enough. Yeah, they would string me up if I were to set foot in there. lol I can, it's easy enough to set up an account with my I.P. blocker etc. I just know that as soon as I opened my mouth up, they would know that I was there. lol I'm checking out the Wood Tele on YT now. Looks and sounds great. 6 SADDLES! WOOHOO! Gotta love it.
True, it doesn matter to the SOUND of the guitar. But the weight or the denseness makes for a better looking painting surface or if you want a light weight guitar. The Basswood guitar that I'm holding there (the Telecaster) weighs almost 10 pounds. My favorite custom made guitar is Basswood and the ENTIRE guitar weighs 5 pounds. So, just a different piece of Basswood. Do they SOUND different? Not at all, that piece simply weighs less.
Yeah, you can ALWAYS do the in and out of phase thing with any guitar of any age. Super easy to do. Lots of correct videos on YT on how to do it. Most folks got it right. Yeah, it surprised me too. lol
I also wanted to thank you because I have learned allot from your videos, such as the pick up’s, woods, scale lengths, tremolos, coil taps vs. coli split, Guitars, too much to mention. You have provided me with a wealth of excellent information, and I want to thank you. You are the most knowledgeable guitarist I have ever met. Thank you brother!
I just don't get tired of looking at your vids. There's lots and lots of info and experience (and you know, PATIENCE with some douches out there) on each one of them. Thanks a lot, Scott, hope you get better on that illness situation. Cheers!
This is a very clear explanation of everything. Clears out the main confusion about coil tap and coil splitting. Thanks Scott!
TY Scott. I just happened to stumble across your videos doing this search about PHASE & OUT OF PHASE. I am a new guitarist and trying to find my own sound as I have found this is what most guitarist are trying to create for themselves to stand apart from one another. I truly appreciate your insight, as you are honest and very, very informative about all things guitars. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and many years of experience with new learning guitarists and experienced guitarist as well.
I appreciate the faith in my reports. You are right, so many kids just playing around with their distortion wide open and jamming along to some obscure song you've never heard of before and they don't tell you a thing about the guitar that makes you think that you should trust their views on the guitar. SOOOO much of that out there. lol I do really appreciate you checking out what I have to say about things. Some folks really like the things that I don't, and that's okay too. Cheers.
Thank you my friend. You are so very welcome. I'm glad that it straightened a few things out for you. Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate that.
Scott
Thank you Scott for explaining these tone options. Here, where i live , 90% of the guitarists and even the guys selling guitars in large stores don't know anything about this! A few months ago i went to the store to buy a Seymour Duncan Sh4 for my Stratocaster, and the guys there told me is a great pickup because i can coil tap and coil split it. I laughed my lungs out when i first heard it! Anyway, your video is very informative and useful, thank's!
Great explanation of what the all the knobs, switches and coils are capable of doing. The information gives me a start on rejuvenating an unloved vintage Magnum Custom with 2 switches that are snapped off and one coil that is missing completely. Thanks.
They are typical magnetic pickups that are heavily wax potted. It's hard to tell EXACTLY what's going on inside of there, but it's heavily magnetic for sure, so you have to still find that sweet spot that kills the string drag, yet keeps just the right amount of drive to the input of your amp (if you're into overdriving the input of a tube amp), otherwise, drop them a ways, fire up the amp and it's SQUEAKY CLEAN sounding. Crystal clear. They did a great job at the Fujigen factory on them.
Very cool. Yeah, some people really LOVE that sound and it TOTALLY depends on which pickup is wired that way and it can give some cool tones if the right combination is used. I'm glad you like it!
There are a ton of companies that don't get this right, not just gibson. That being said, It wasn't until i bought my les paul that i truly appreciated my single coils on my fender. You're 100% spot on when it comes to the differences and the whole "Warm" thing.
I there IRELAND! Great to have you on board! I hope you have a good time poking around the channel!
Scott
Yeah, they have a lot of those. That particular one would be the P-90 version of the Les Paul Traditional Pro. They did the original run of the Pro in 2009-2012 (all of which had coil splits on them), then in 2012 when the released the 2013 models, some continued with the dual humbuckers with increased output SPLITS, then a switch that took the pickups straight to the output jack (These electronics have been failing right & left on the new ones), then the P-90's with the coil TAP,which are cool!
LOL, they should be. They've been getting it so wrong for so many years. I was watching a video from a Gibson representative today and he was doing a review on one of the 2012 non reverse Firebirds with the 3 P90's in them. They all DO have the coil taps on each pickup via a push / pull volume control on each. The PRICELESS part was when he said that GIBSON invented coil tapping and better yet, that they just invented coil tapping this year. AMAZING. They just keep getting brighter. lol
Thanks again Scott, excellent information
Hi Jon, the 408 is superb! PRS has their stuff together more than anybody. The guy demonstrating it is another one of "THOSE GUYS" who doesn't know the difference between splitting and tapping and he keeps interchanging the terms. Not a good thing for the demo! But yes, they do TRUE splitting on the 408..no tapping available. The NEW version of the SE 24 is really nice. I love the SE versions more than the USA models. This is a great PLAYER's axe and everybody should get one at that price.
Hi my friend. If I did, I was wrong. The tap switch is 100% for sure the first switch and the phase switch is the furthest switch back.
I heard from you recently and was surprised how quickly you responded to my question, thank you for that by the way ...I forget already what I asked You about But the Important thing I wanted to Say ( so that readers will understand ) Is why I asked you when there are so many people on here I could have gone to ...Well Simply Put it was because with all my years of playing guitar and playing with my guitars...It is very easy for me to spot an expert... If You go to court a witness is one thing but an expert witness is much more " Respected " by the Judge When they are discussing the Field that they have full knowledge in ...I want To thank you for sharing the knowledge that I respect from You...Thanks Again.
Thank you so very much. I'm glad that you appreciate the info. I post it to try to help and you see it as it is simply meant to be. Not as some sort of bragging like the little kids think. lol Many thanks again and I'm more than happy to post any answers that I actually know the answers to. All my best!
Scott
I was building my dream guitar for the last year, and now I see it would probably also be among your favorites also!
It has 3 P90s, custom wound by myself. They are TRIPLE tapped (very underwound-strat output, normal p90, and overwound)
It has the S1 switching series/parallel, plus it has Graphtech piezo saddles for acoustic sound, which could be send to acoustic amp via stereo cable or blend it with magnets to get extra bottom end.
It is THE most awesome/versatile guitar known to mankind!
Love that Ibanez strat copy. I played a simmilar one for years while in a band, and it was the most comfortable I've ever played, and best sounding clean playing guitar I've ever played. I didn't own that guitar and was really pissed when it was sold without informing me, after the group had disbanded.
10 to 20 years latter, when I'd moved onto humbuckers and Gibson style guitars, i couldn't figure out why I couldn't get that chimney bell like sound for clean work. I knew I didn't like the ice pickiness of single coils, especially dirty, and since i was playing humbuckers, which i loved dirty, I thought i should be able to duplicate the noise cancelling sound from position 2 and 4 on a strat. Boy was I wrong.
It took me 30 years to figure out it was the parallel configuration I loved from that Ibanez strat. Humbuckers were never going to give me that perfect clean sound, because they're wired in series, while position 2 and 4 on Strats are parallel.
I love the ergonomic comfort of the Strat body, just think the controls are cramped, and in the wrong position. I also love the resonance of an archtop and possibly a set neck, but hate feeling locked into series configuration, unless I want to spend an outrageous prices. I rather just use single coils and mod for series/parallel config, but with a tunomatic archtop, with a strat body. Too bad my dream guitar isn't made. The closest is maybe a jaguar, but those dont have the proper PU setup. Guess, I'll have to build it myself.
Yeah, the EMG's still do the major string pull thing that screws with your tuning. They are MUCH higher output pickups, so....they are going to generally sound distorted, even if you don't want them to. The single coils are generally dialed back to give you the same standard output as most single coils to give you a cleaner and quieter single coil sound, but they will still be out of tune sounding if you get them too close to the strings. So, just more tonal control available is the ONLY plus.
Thank you for this video, Scott! Cheers from Brazil
It can do that for sure. It's all about just how funky they get with the Phase thing. They got REALLY funky with it on that guitar. They did nearly the same thing with the Ovation Breadwinners I have. They are quite controllable via the tone knob though. It's just some funky thing that they always did back then, but now they are bringing them back. So, hold on to your seat. lol
Thanks Scott. Some very good information in here. Even for a rocker who likes humbuckers ;-)
I now completely understand the difference between coil splitting and tapping!!
I've watched a few of your videos and your wealth of knowledge is truly amazing. You must be a serious collector. Anyhow thank you for sharing some of it with us.
I'm going to have to guess that you have the lower line "Tribute" series, in which case, it's a pickup selector. It allows for you to get the Neck and bridge pickups on together or all 3 pickups on together. These should be VERY noticable. Simply tap a screwdriver on to the pole pieces on the pickups in every position and you'll find out what is on in what position. If it doesn't make a lot pop through your amp, that pickup isn't on. Nice and easy to figure out.
Hi Scott, great video once again...it certainly is an education watching you...cheers mate...
Me too! People are finally wising up and making it easy for everybody to make all of the nifty little mods for more options if we want them. It took them long enough to revert back to the 70's and make things right again. lol
This was Awesome!
Last year i got an Epi es335 .... and yes, the still to the lables "Coil Tapping". lol, i guess they had some leftover decals to use up.
Great information here! A whole school of knowledge
Glad it was helpful!
My total pleasure! Thank you.
Yeah, they are great sounding axes that are so amazing. I had to get them again, just for the same reason as you. I had the same old feeling that needed to be answered and it didn't let me down at all. Easily as happy with the sound of it over any Strat I have laying around. Everybody should pick up one of these before they blow too much on something too high priced or some off brand that they will never get their money back on. Gotta love remembering these old Ibanez axes for sure!
Great video Scott!! Thanks so much for sharing all this info with us, it's fantastic! I always love to see the different guitars in you vids. Cheers, Kirk
Nice to see you are back.
great video, just finished it, you taught me some cool licks too!
Finally, some sense, Thanks, Scott.
Sure thing. I love only have humbuckers in the bridge positions of my Strats if they have the coil splits. It's a must and so very hand. It's even cooler if they are slanted in order to keep the true tone of the Strat. If you humbucker has the 4 wires, you can also add the in and out of phase. Most humbuckers these days are finally made that way so that you can do the split AND the phase switch. The easiest way of thinking of out of phase is reversing the hot and ground on a pickup.
Here's an idea I once had: Imagine a genuinely coil-tapped humbucker. The windings for each coils would be individually tapped, and the switch to control this would engage the taps on both coils at a time. The result would be a humbucker that can go right from a clean and bright Gretsch FilterTron type sound to a thicker Gibson PAF, or from a PAF all the way up to a DiMarzio Super Distortion.
Come to think of it, would it be physically possible to tap the coils at multiple levels, to get all three of those options with a three-way switch? And yeah, I imagine something like this would be pretty expensive to order from a custom shop somewhere.
Yeah, I like them to stay looking 100% stock too. The S-1 can do ANYTHING of course, just another switch. You can't see the mod in the top of the knobs from a foot away, or with vision like mine, from 2" away. lol Love the BLEND controls! That's where it's at. I love them on my Gibson Marauders.
If you're looking for a boost my friend, you can install a simply, active preamp. It will simply boost the exact sound you have without changing the tone at all. I personally just use a Morley Volume pedal and double the volume on my amp so that I will have all of the boost I'll ever need. It's a beautiful thing.
Scott, that Jim Burton Tele not only sounds fantastic but the finish looks amazing! God I love Telecasters. Great video, thanks for all the info, keep making them!
Thanks again Scott, my next pick ups will be the lace sensors, can't wait to try them out! All the best to you bro. Look forward to the next Video. I like playing classic rock type sound so I will get the hotter ones witch I believe to be the red.
Great video though very informative. I now understand 'out of phase' because I did wonder. So big thanks for that.
Thanks, they pop up fairly often on eBay. Grab one there. You can snag them for next to nothing. Gotta love 'em!
I had an Ibanez that was stolen from me that I had in '87, and bought it used for $100.00. I think it was this model, because I remember the phase switch. I don't remember the splitter switch. It was messed up because it had a washburn tremolo and the bridge installed because it had no bridge, but it was too wide for the neck, so sometimes the high e string would slip off the neck when playing, but it was fun with that tremolo, and locking nut. Fortunately I had insurance and I got a '91 Arctic White Strat Japanese new, and it was ok, but I almost bought a '91 American Tele and was about to buy it, but the knob was bent. I also was looking at Steinberger Spirit that I liked but wasn't sure how to play with no headstock so I passed. Funny how I was such and impulse buyer, I think I wanted a drum machine with the extra money.
Love the james burton.. Looks very handy.. Cool controls
Cherry from Canada. Great explanations.... thank you.
The most beautiful looking and sounding Fender ever waooo what a beauty
Very well put together.
The TBX stuff is at 26:45 , Super great thing to stick on all guitars. More options are more options. Many thanks my friend!
I think I got it, the out of phase simply reversing the pickup and the in phase is where the pick up should be, correct me if I'm wrong. I think I cannot do the in and out of phase on my strat because its only have the "pull up pot" and its pretty old strat too.
Thanks for clearing everything up man. That's a fine sounding guitar.
I hear you. They are amazing. They are one of those guitars that you can take to a gig and the other guitarists still don't believe that it exists even though it's right in front of them. lol.
Many, many thanks my friend.
4:20 you could have a coil tap on humbuckers if two # of windings on a coil or both are available via a wire that being said i never saw one up for sale (even tapped single coils are not so common), it has to be a diy pickup or special/rare custom ordered. If you know what i mean i mean a humbucker could have a couple hundred more windings on one of the coils, and the output of which is accessible from a 4th or 5th wire.
For sure. Since they are usually never found in a "production" model guitar, there was no real reason for me to bring it up for people that are looking for these basic descriptions. Some of the 70's and early 80's Ibanez, B.C. Rich, Alembic, often tossed everything but the kitchen sink on most of their axes during those years. I enjoy a varitone style switch to change impedance when splitting pickups etc. I get a lot more fun with resistors than anything. I'm all about more is more and less is less. lol So, tossing me a stock Tele or a Jr. and plugging it straight into some goofy little tube amp and that's it.....that would drive me nuts to no end. lol
thanks for the reply, and i get that someone that doesn't understand electricity can't figure out what i meant XD anyways yeah i was wondering either series/parralel or coil split on my flying V since i just got my push pull pots!
Yeah, it's a well thought out machine for sure!
Thanks Scott. S-1 could be cool too. For now, my thought is to make the neck volume the master volume, the bridge volume becomes a pickup blend control, and the stock tone becomes a TBX tone. I love the Jazz bass myself, just looking to add a bit more versatility while keeping the stock look. When I can, I'll maybe throw in some punchier pickups too.
I happen to be hooked on the classic Fender shapes myself, that's just me. But I have to say Scott's your guy if you want to be hooked up with something killer in a good price range.
excellent video. It covers everything I wanted to know
Cool. I'm glad that it helped out. Be GROOVY!
Great lecture, dude! Very important stuff.
Thanks mate exactly what i was looking for
Wow an old Fender Performer too! I already commented about the Gibson Boomerang pickup Flying V on the wall behind you. Awesome collection!
Great info, as always Scott. I knew a lot of this myself, already, but do you know how long it took me to track it down through all the BS and mis-labeling out there? This is really great for people who are just learning, to have it all in one place, without the BS. Just like the tremolo vs vibrato mix-up.
Bradley Spurgeon
GREAT VIDEO \ I've come to discover that almost EVERYONE Screws this up on coil tap / split. Chapman guitars, Fender. Schecter.... ton of people.
@ Bradley Spurgeon: I hear you.
Yeah, nobody knows anything about guitars. lol Not even the builders. Gibson ALWAYS posts coil taps when that are simply splits from humbuckers to single coils. They are laughable (not nearly as pitiful as Chapman is though). In one of his videos, he just tried to solder the 2 wires on to the one and only pot on his green B.C. Rich (The volume) and he screwed it up. lol It didn't do anything. He said that he would be taking it into Anderton's to get it wired up correctly. Then he goes and starts up a guitar company, goes to South Korea to see them being made, freaks out the first time he has EVER seen a truss rod in person. lol Yeah......I want to trust him to do ANYTHING. lol Really sad.
There are SOOOOO many great ones. I don't blame you for not wanting one. They are SOOOO Tired looking. What kind of looks would you be into? I know of pretty much every 3 single coil guitar to have been made and would be more than happy to give you some suggestions if you let me know a body style that trips your trigger and what your basic price range is. There are some AMAZING cheaper guitars out there that kill the expensive ones.
Awesome video! Very helpful.
The Rickenbacker 330 taps the neck pickup and runs it through a 5th pot so you can blend it better with the (same windings thus weaker sounding) bridge pickup. It's fun to experiment with that mix.
Many thanks my friend!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge man!
I like the Lace sensor Burton Tele, but of all the instruments you've demonstrated in your videos, including your custom-made guitars, the one that I'd like to own is your ASAT III. Although its twang is a bit stronger than I'd like, it has a robust, full-range, harmonically rich and balanced sound that I've never heard from ANY Fender. It has a sonic integrity that comes only from conscientious selection and assembly of quality components and that typical mass-market guitars can't produce.
Every guitar should come with this video
Thanks my friend. I generally just reach for one of the James Burton Telecaster. Sometimes I'll bring along something "FUN" just to let it get out and have it's day in the sun. lol Those Burton Tele's are just so full sounding and have just the right sounds that I personally need for the gigs and music that I do. Just an amazingly well thought out instrument. I would like a shorter scale length on it, but...it's close enough. lol
My total pleasure.
Keep on truckin' Scott look forward to your info videos
Thanks buddy!
14:50 i think i read that on strats, the middle mic's magnet was in the opposite way in regard with the 2 others which made intermediate switch positions out of phase
Great explanation Scott!
Glad it was helpful!
Scott man god bless you are very smart and I learn a lot from you that's if I have all day to listen !!! please please speed it up guy but keep it up
Thanks, but.....I've only got one speed.
I really don't mean any disrespect man you are a really good teacher sorry I'm that guy that has no patients in a hurry all the time
Anyway, thanks scott i really appreciate it.. Ur videos have helped me out alot
Great input!
humbuckers are just two single coils with opposite polarity connected out of phase, thus adding together the two audio signals from each individual single coil but effectively cancelling (or mostly cancelling) the noise or hum, hence the name "humbucker". if you truly hate the sound of humbuckers, you can (in theory) have a humbucker pickup where each single coil in the humbucker has a relatively small winding count (e.g. 5000 winds) and connect them in series which will give you the advantage to cancelling the hum while still sounding like a single coil. Again this is just in theory... haven't actually tried this out. Also you could in theory coil tap a humbucker, if each individual single coil in the humbucker was set up for coil tapping (although I don't think I've ever seen this). Makes me wonder now what that would sound like.
I know, you would think they would offer a hardtail version of it. You can simply tighten the spring claw all the way so that it doesn't have a chance of moving and then toss a couple of sheets of toilet paper or material etc. over the springs so they don't produce all of that SPROINGGGG sound. lol I do it to all of my Strats and it cures them in a hurry. I bet they come out with a hardtail version of it. They are usually on the ball about that sort of thing.
hi scott. great video, massively imformative. many thanks for that :)
how does this guy have no likes? It's a really informative video
Great video thanks for the info. The only thing i can say about the Les paul is they are really meaty sounding guitars to begin with. They have a lot of punch so You can really hear the tone of the wood coming thru unlike a tele or strat per say even more with a bolt on neck they sound more thin than a Les paul. I think Gibson got as close as they could in splitting the humbucker into one single coil for the time and surely they get better at it as time goes on. Never the less thanks for the info. I was always confused about coil tapping until now.
I had one of those Ibanez Blazers back then except mine was the model with just an out-of-phase switch but no coil tap. Thinking back it was a really nice guitar but I don't think I fully appreciated that back then. It had its own character very clean and clear and a great neck and was very different in tone and feel to a Fender Strat. I seem to remember that the vibrato bridge was not the best though. Damn, I wish I still had it -memories.
Sure enough my friend. I'll gladly do that. I've got a bunch of different active guitars here to demonstrate DIFFERENT reasons that you would or wouldn't want to go there. Some are amazing and some are just goofy. Buy, I'll do that for sure!
about time some one cleared this up
You could, the the bad thing is that you would never hear it since the other coil on the humbucker would overpower the coil that you tapped. When you try to tap BOTH coils of the humbucker in the same basic spot in the winding, it gets so amazingly funky because of one pickup being wound one way and the other going the other way (to make it humbucking) that the sound is simply unusable. But, it CAN be done. Kind of like jumping off of the Empire State Building...it CAN be done, bad results.
Sure my friend. I'll be more than happy to do that video for you. It will get a lot of arguments, but that's fine with me. lol Everybody likes something different, but I'll be glad to put out MY PERSONAL OPINIONS on what I think is great and what sucks from top to bottom on a guitar in general.
Hi my friend! Good to hear from you again. I always see you putting up the good fight for me over there at MLP and I totally appreciate it! I can't thank you enough. Yeah, they would string me up if I were to set foot in there. lol I can, it's easy enough to set up an account with my I.P. blocker etc. I just know that as soon as I opened my mouth up, they would know that I was there. lol I'm checking out the Wood Tele on YT now. Looks and sounds great. 6 SADDLES! WOOHOO! Gotta love it.
Very informative. Thanks for posting.
True, it doesn matter to the SOUND of the guitar. But the weight or the denseness makes for a better looking painting surface or if you want a light weight guitar. The Basswood guitar that I'm holding there (the Telecaster) weighs almost 10 pounds. My favorite custom made guitar is Basswood and the ENTIRE guitar weighs 5 pounds. So, just a different piece of Basswood. Do they SOUND different? Not at all, that piece simply weighs less.
Great video brother! I learned a lot!
Hey Scott! If you were getting a humbucker made, wouldn't it be possible to have a tap wire added in?
Right, you actually have to physically turn the magnet upside down and reglue it to the pickup.
Great video, i really enjoy it, thank you.
Thank you so very much!
Yeah, you can ALWAYS do the in and out of phase thing with any guitar of any age. Super easy to do. Lots of correct videos on YT on how to do it. Most folks got it right. Yeah, it surprised me too. lol