Coil Tapping Opinions

Alex_M

I was hoping to get your thoughts on coil tapping. I currently have an Epi LP PlusTop Pro with coil tapping on both humbuckers. However, to my ears the coil tapping doesn’t really sound much like a single coil...just a less hot version of the humbuckers? 

Appreciate your thoughts.

A

Funkfingers

Coil tapping is something that is done to single coil pickups and transformers. (Selected Bartolini humbuckers excepted.) Presumably, you mean coil splitting.

When a typical humbucker is coil split, you are hearing a single coil, just not in the Fender sense.

One way to get around this is partial coil split. Introducing a capacitor in the path to ground only shuts off the second coil of your humbucker down to a pre-determined frequency. This yields a fuller tone and partial noise-cancellation.

simonhpieman

I had an Epi 335 pro for a while. The thing had the flimsiest neck in the world and wouldn't stay in tune if I placed any weight at all on the neck when playing but my god, the sound of the bridge pickup "coil tapped" was wonderful!

OilCityPickups

Funkfingers said:

Coil tapping is something that is done to single coil pickups and transformers. (Selected Bartolini humbuckers excepted.) Presumably, you mean coil splitting.

When a typical humbucker is coil split, you are hearing a single coil, just not in the Fender sense.

One way to get around this is partial coil split. Introducing a capacitor in the path to ground only shuts off the second coil of your humbucker down to a pre-determined frequency. This yields a fuller tone and partial noise-cancellation.

What he says ...

ICBM

The spec for these guitars does actually say ‘coil tap’, but like Funkfingers and OilCityPickups said, this is probably technically wrong and it will actually be a coil split.

On the other hand, if it’s not and they genuinely are coil taps then they will give exactly a less-hot version of a humbucker. (But I think this is unlikely.)

The reason a split humbucker on a Les Paul doesn’t sound like a Fender-type single coil is firstly because the pickup construction is quite different and you are still getting half a humbucker in terms of the bobbin, coil and magnet - and secondly because the guitar construction is still 100% Les Paul...

As Funkfingers said - counterintuitively, you can actually make them sound more like real single coils by using a capacitor or resistor to split the pickup to slightly more than half. Why this works I’m not totally sure, but it does!

skullfunkerry

I don't know much about this as I very rarely use single coils, but I've seen people mention that PRS split their coils in a way that sounds more 'realistic' and judging from my SE, I'd agree with that

guitars4you

OilCityPickups said:

Funkfingers said:

Coil tapping is something that is done to single coil pickups and transformers. (Selected Bartolini humbuckers excepted.) Presumably, you mean coil splitting.

When a typical humbucker is coil split, you are hearing a single coil, just not in the Fender sense.

One way to get around this is partial coil split. Introducing a capacitor in the path to ground only shuts off the second coil of your humbucker down to a pre-determined frequency. This yields a fuller tone and partial noise-cancellation.

What he says ...

agree - or just  add a resistor  - around 1.5k neck pick and around to 2K bridge  

OilCityPickups

ICBM said:

The spec for these guitars does actually say ‘coil tap’, but like Funkfingers and OilCityPickups said, this is probably technically wrong and it will actually be a coil split.

On the other hand, if it’s not and they genuinely are coil taps then they will give exactly a less-hot version of a humbucker. (But I think this is unlikely.)

The reason a split humbucker on a Les Paul doesn’t sound like a Fender-type single coil is firstly because the pickup construction is quite different and you are still getting half a humbucker in terms of the bobbin, coil and magnet - and secondly because the guitar construction is still 100% Les Paul...

As Funkfingers said - counterintuitively, you can actually make them sound more like real single coils by using a capacitor or resistor to split the pickup to slightly more than half. Why this works I’m not totally sure, but it does!

The reason is pretty much simply 'power' virtually no single coil pickups will have as few turns in the windings as one coil of a average output humbucker ... a low vintage output tele neck is around 7800 turns. A vintage output HB has only about 5000 turns per coil ... about 70% of the power of a relatively weedy Tele pickup! If you add in 20/30% of the other coil you start to get into the right output terratory ... and hence 'fatness'.

Even if you use a powerful humbucker with say 8000 turns per coil ... perhaps weighing in at 17k when used in full humbucking mode, there will be a huge volume drop when switching off one coil. This volume drop can be helped a lot by adding in 'a bit' of the other coil.

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

The spec for these guitars does actually say ‘coil tap’ but, like Funkfingers and OilCityPickups said, this is probably technically wrong and it will actually be a coil split.

The pedants are revolting.

guitars4you said:

skullfunkerry said:

PRS split their coils in a way that sounds more 'realistic' and judging from my SE, I'd agree with that.

PRS use the method posted by guitars4you. They even employ different capacitor values for neck and bridge position humbuckers. 

CasperCaster

Funkfingers said:

 The pedants are revolting.  


PRS use the method posted by guitars4you. They even employ different capacitor values for neck and bridge position humbuckers. 

'Hoist with his own petard' 

Last I checked it was different resistor values 

ICBM

CasperCaster said:

'Hoist with his own petard' 

Last I checked it was different resistor values 

That's correct - 1.1Kohm for the neck and 2.2Kohm for the bridge if I remember correctly.

Winny_Pooh

ICBM said:

CasperCaster said:

'Hoist with his own petard' 

Last I checked it was different resistor values 

That's correct - 1.1Kohm for the neck and 2.2Kohm for the bridge if I remember correctly.

Just my experience, but IMO I'd double those values to get a bit more beef. Have 5k on my bridge humbucker at present and it works well

scrumhalf

My memory may be playing tricks with me but was it the early Gordon Smiths that had a variable coil tap via a pot?

CasperCaster

scrumhalf said:

My memory may be playing tricks with me but was it the early Gordon Smiths that had a variable coil tap via a pot?

I'm not sure, but early Peavey's had a combined rotary tone control and coil split, which offered the split pickup with no treble cut at one end, and fully humbucking with treble cut at the other end. The first I heard of using fixed resistors with a coil split was when Brinsley Shwarz worked at Chandlers, probably late eighties. Sid Poole also installed trim pots in the control cavities of some of his guitars. 

Alex_M

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. For those of you who have “factory” coil splitting, does anyone actually use it? 

steamabacus

I have modded a couple of guitars from normal coil split to the PRS-style partial splits and I would say it's a noticeable improvement, especially with lower wind 'vintage' humbuckers where the split can be quite weak.

My experience is that it's worth experimenting with the exact resistor values but you probably won't need to vary too much from the PRS values.

A couple of old threads on this topic ...

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/361839/#Comment_361839 

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/780523/#Comment_780523 

[edited to fix second link]

steveledzep

scrumhalf said:

My memory may be playing tricks with me but was it the early Gordon Smiths that had a variable coil tap via a pot?

I have a 1994 GS1 and a 1998 Graduate.  Both have pull switched coil taps, not aware of them being variable.

rossyamaha

I'm a series/ parallel fan. 

The_Whisper_Thief

Lindy Fralins “Unbucker” is by a mile the best pup Ive heard when split. Its a great sounding humbucker to start with and then genuinely sounds like a strat pup when split. Guess it’s dependent on the guitar its in too

p90fool

Contrary to the tiny values PRS use, when splitting something hot like a 498T I like to use a 47k resistor for a fatter coil split tone, more like a Broadcaster than a Strat. 

You still get the low string definition but without the shrillness of the plain strings.

thegummy

Funny thing about the tap/split thing is that people are so used to the wrong term being used they've reversed the meaning.

E.g. My Schecter bass has a coil tap and is labeled as such but in the Andertons video for it, Lee totally assumes it must be a split (and there for the pickups must be humbuckers when they're not) and even says how the silly people in the factory just put that tag on when it's wrong.

But it very much is the coil tap it said it is, Anderton just made an assumption that every time something says coil tap it's a misnamed coil split.