Is RW really neccessary in humbucking pickups?????

Denny Turner · From: Oahu, Hawaii USA

I would appreciate any info / enlightenment:

For the life of me I could never figure out why one coil in a humbucking set had to be reverse wound. It's always seemed to me that simply putting one coil mechanically out of phase with the other would put the signal back in phase which was put out of phase by opposite magnet polarity. I've occasionally made humbucking paired single coil pickups for about 35 years, never had to rewind one's coil in the reverse direction but simply reversed the magnets & the lead wires, ...and it seems to work just fine. I discussed this with Jason about 10 years ago, to which he quickly agreed ...as though he had already thought about it and came to the same conclusion.

Example: I have made several sets of humbucking-pairs of Danelectro lipstick pickups over the last 10 years or-so. With careful attention, old vintage lipstick cases "simply" slip off of the tape-bound coil-magnet assembly ...while the newer reissue pickups are wax potted and have to be heated to release the tubes for separation. Once the tape-bound coil-magnet "wad" is removed (slipped out), I just turn it over so it's bar magnet is opposite polarity facing up, then reassemble & reinstall the pickup AND WIRE THE LEAD'S COLOR CODE OPPOSITE the other pickup, like out of phase would otherwise be had I not flipped the magnet / coil over. This puts the modified / reversed-magnet pickup's coil / signal back in phase with it's stock humbucking partner ....imho.

Although reverse winding will indeed reverse the phase (and maintain output lead color code), simply reversing the leads without reverse winding seems to me to do the same thing in a lot easier manner. Did RWRP originally have some manufacturing benefit, and the term RWRP since-become so engrained that it is a marketing "neccessity" now; Or is there some electronic benefit that simply reversing the leads doesn't accomplish?

I have 2 theories about how the reverse winding idea came about; One of them might actually be an electronic reality or at least plausible electronic theory; While the other is a matter of manufacturing quality control Standard Operating Proceedure:

First, the quality control theory: If the coil is reverse wound, then the color coding of the leads could / would be the same, soldered onto each pickups' same SOP solder points. This would eliminate confusion over which pickup in the humbucking pair had to otherwise be wired opposite color code OR the color coded wires soldered onto opposite solder points. Murphy's Law suggests standard / SOP color code on all pickups solder points should eliminate confusion / brain farts / mistakes in factory assembly.

The second / electronic theory is that maybe there is indeed some benefit in the reverse winding that's not directly related to the simplicity of the AC signal motor that a pickup + strings is, ...a benefit / effect I haven't been able to find in 30 years or so of casual searching: MAYBE the reverse winding has some effect of cancelling some (unknown to me) antennae effect between the coils, ....some "bleed over" for a lack of better words; Maybe related to resonance, transformer sympathy, resonant or parallel antennae mass, etc.

I would be delighted to learn why reverse winding would be required or called for in one of a humbucking pair of single coil pickups as opposed to simply reversing the leads of one / either back into signal phase with it's partner.

Thank You.
_________________
Aloha,
Denny T~
http://www.dennysguitars.com/

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Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

If you have some time (maybe a lot) call Bill Lawrence and let him explain pickup and magnetic theory to you. If anyone knows it's Bill and he has been making "humbucker" pickups for many years, including pickup design when he worked for Gibson.

Rick Aiello · From: Berryville, VA USA

Denny Turner · From: Oahu, Hawaii USA

Thank You, Gentlemen.
_________________
Aloha,
Denny T~
http://www.dennysguitars.com/

Please help support humanity:
http://www.redcross.org/en/aboutus

Denny Turner · From: Oahu, Hawaii USA

Thank You again.

Although it seems that the mechanical co-mode aspect is reasonbly settled:

Rick Aiello · From: Berryville, VA USA

Here's where alot of the "Boutique" winders hang out ...

http://music-electronics-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11

I've commented there a couple times on horseshoe magnet stuff ... but they are a pretty "rough crowd" Whoa!

...

But it's fun to "lurk" and search for stuff.

Maybe your quest will end here ... buried in an achieved thread ... Mr. Green

Denny Turner · From: Oahu, Hawaii USA

Thanks Rick; I'll go dig there.

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