Q: If Ry Cooder did it, why can't I do it?

[JB Bobbitt]

i.e., build a CooderCaster (lap). Jerry Douglas has one too.

A: Because I'm a rank beginner and don't know squat. But I'm learning.

A Cooder caster has a string-through pup at the bridge, and a gold foil pup at the neck. I've got the string-through (Lollar) in hand, ready to buy the gold foil (Lollar), only to find this out:

"Just know that Ry Cooder used a two way switch because the single conductor String Through pickup will have one side of the pickup be out of phase when combined with a neck pickup. The String Through was never designed to be used with another pickup." (source: tech help at Lollar).

I take it the "two-way switch" means the pups are used only one at a time, not blended. If Ry and Jerry have it that way, I'm good with it.

Anybody have any insight?

[Jeff Highland]

The Gold foil is a single coil, the string through is two coils (reverse wound reverse polarity) which act as a humbucker.
But each coil is only picking up 3 strings so if you combined it with the gold foil you would have it out of phase with 3 strings and in phase with the other 3 which would most likely sound terrible.

[Jerry Jones]

Here's an older post that may have some value.

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... highlight=

[JB Bobbitt]

Here's an older post that may have some value.

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... highlight=

Thanks, very informative. I've yet to figure out the search function here.

[Stephen Abruzzo]

The late Tom Pettingill built a lap steel for me using the Lollar Coodercaster combo.

Here is what I had to see about combining the 2 pups: "I too like that middle setting. Being that half of the Supro was going to be out of phase, I wasn't too sure what to expect, but it turned out to be quite nice. It tames the Supro a bit, but not in a bad way."

[Dave Mudgett]

I agree with Georg. And also note that being out of phase has different implications when the pickups are different from each other.

To me, the issue is whether or not I like the sound of the pickups out-of-phase. I grew up with a '65 Fender Mustang, and I used the true electrically-out-of-phase sound quite a bit. I can't imagine using a 2-way instead of a 3-way switch to purposely avoid having the in-between out-of-phase sound available. But I would not argue with Ry Cooder either - whatever works for whatever ya' want.

[Bill Hatcher]

couldnt you just add a phase switch to the front pickup and have both in and out of phase possibilities?

[Steve Lipsey]

The famous Peter Green/Garry Moore 59 Les Paul (according to article I just read) has one pickup out of phase with the other, so the middle position has the tone that made that specific guitar famous....article said that there might be others out there, but this one was checked out to see what it did.

And there is someone out there making in-phase string-through pickups - I know a guy putting together a Coodercaster who found that - if interested, I can ask him where it got it.

[Jeff Highland]

The problem with an in phase coils string through pickup would be that you lose the Humbucking effect. The humfree with single coil tone is one of the big appeals of the valco pickup
Its a great sound on my 49 Supro and I also get some of the same advantage on the "twin Single" neck pickup on my Duesenberg Fairytale

[Stephen Cowell]

If you can break out both coils of the string-through you might be able to wire it with a SuperSwitch... swap the coils to normal for both setting, reverse one coil for bridge alone:

https://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Ele ... gKww_D_BwE

[Lee Holliday]

The outa phase has never been a problem for me as you can still use the different sounds.
An interesting option when I converted a Godin Radiator into a Coodercaster was instead of having switches there were three pots, a volume for each pickup and a master tone, so you can blend the whole mix, now that worked a treat.

Lee

[Jeff Highland]

As you say, out of phase is just a different sound, if you like it thats fine. The major issue is that 3 strings will be out of phase 3 in phase, if that does not bother you, fine.

[Donny Hinson]

Lee's got the right idea! I'd use a blend control or individual volume controls for each pickup to get maximum tonal variation.