Strat 5 Way - Pos 2 Out Of Phase

MrBump

I've got a partscaster with a neck and middle single coil paired with a P90 bridge. The two Strat pickups were part of RWRP HSS set.

This means that the bridge/middle setting is out of phase.

While it's an interesting sound, it's not massively usable. 

Is there an easy mod to get me something better?

ICBM

If the P90 has a braided shielded cable, you'll need to swap the coil wires on the P90 itself. Or reverse *both* the middle and neck pickups, if that's easier and/or less scary.

sweepy

Get a standard polarity middle pickup, there will still be an imbalance between a P90 and Strat pickup but it I’ll be better. Other solution is get a stacked or blade humbucker in the middle and deck it

MrBump

Cheers, @ICBM - when you say reverse the 2 SCs... What does that mean, exactly?

ICBM

sweepy said:

Get a standard polarity middle pickup, there will still be an imbalance between a P90 and Strat pickup but it I’ll be better. Other solution is get a stacked or blade humbucker in the middle and deck it

That will make no difference unless it's also reverse phase - and if it is, then you'll just transfer the problem to the neck+middle setting. There is no need to buy any new pickup, you just need to fix the phase issue on these ones.

MrBump said:

Cheers, @ICBM - when you say reverse the 2 SCs... What does that mean, exactly?

Swap the white (or yellow) and black wires at the switch and the back of the volume pot.

If that's not possible due to the length of the wires, you'll have to swap the coil wires in the P90 - one is connected to the end of the braided cable, the other to the baseplate.

Funkfingers

Bollocks to the soldering iron. This is a screwdriver job.

Unscrew the P90 from the guitar. Remove the cover. Slightly loosen the baseplate fastening screws and, possibly, the polepiece screws. One at a time, slide out the bar magnets. Rotate each magnet through one hundred and eighty degrees. Replace and tighten all of the screws. Refit the P90. 

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Bollocks to the soldering iron. This is a screwdriver job.

Unscrew the P90 from the guitar. Remove the cover. Slightly loosen the baseplate fastening screws and, possibly, the polepiece screws. One at a time, slide out the bar magnets. Rotate each magnet through one hundred and eighty degrees. Replace and tighten all of the screws. Refit the P90. 

That will certainly work, but may be even more scary for the inexperienced than swapping solder connections...

MrBump

Thanks all. Soldering doesn't scare me at all, but to be honest I'm quite curious about how to rotate the P90 magnet 180 degrees, so may have a play with that. It's a P90 in a humbucker case... Is that likely to make a difference?

Roland

Be very careful not to break the very fine copper wire as you move the magnets.  One false move and the pickup will need to be rewound.

ICBM

MrBump said:

Thanks all. Soldering doesn't scare me at all, but to be honest I'm quite curious about how to rotate the P90 magnet 180 degrees, so may have a play with that. It's a P90 in a humbucker case... Is that likely to make a difference?

If it has a soldered-on cover it will be a much more difficult job, yes. You will have to undo the soldering - I find cutting it with a heavy knife blade works best - and then re-solder afterwards, which will need a very powerful iron, at least 100W usually.

Before going any further, does it actually have a single-conductor braided cable? If it has a 2-conductor + shield cable then swapping the wires (usually white and black) at the controls is by far the easiest solution.

MrBump

@ICBM - dunno. Will have a look, need to replace the nut soon, and will check my options when I get it on the bench.

Thanks for the help, guys.

Funkfingers

MrBump said:

It's a P90 in a humbucker case... Is that likely to make a difference?

In that case, leave it unmolested.

ICBM said:

If it has a 2-conductor + shield cable then swapping the wires (usually white and black) at the controls is by far the easiest solution.

This is where photographs and/or accurate information about the make and model of the pickup(s) involved assist with remote diagnosis.