Whole Lotta Humbucker out of phase

[Guitar Rod]

I'm totally in love with my WLH pickups, but I'm in a Peter Green phase and have been hankering to try an out of phase set. So I've been mulling trying a magnet flip. I barely use the middle position anyway. So I have a couple questions.

1. To anyone who has done a magnet flip or out of phase wiring on a WLH set, how well does the WLH set do the out of phase sound in your experience?
2. I've seen conflicting vids on magnet flips. One from ECP flips the magnet like a pancake (obviously the right way) and another flips it 180 like a propeller. Wouldn't that last method just be like turning the pickup 180 degrees? And if you flip it like a pancake, could you still turn the pickup 180 for the look?

 

[ARandall]

A mag flip simply changes the orientation/position of the long edge. Any way that does that task is fine. Try both ways with anything of magnet shape and 1 side marked and see for yourself what the effect of both methods is.....there is no right way just so you know.
Turning the pickup does nothing for phase of course. With the WLH it will do (almost) nothing tonally either as both coils have the same wind (there might be some barely audible differences in the screw/slug shape/mass difference).
The original PG had 1 or both coils rewound on the neck pickup I don't know which. But as Gary Moore said the OOP tone in the original changed with the physical orientation we can safely guess there was some difference in the 2 coils on the original.
In terms of OOP, you can swap wires or the mag. From an electrons/signal generated point of view the two are identical.

The OOP relies equally on the pickup and the guitar IME. I think you'll have to try yourself to know.

 

[Guitar Rod]

Thanks for the info. Cleared some things up and confirmed others. Swapping the neck wires would probably be easier and wouldn't devalue the pickups. Wasn't sure if the effect was exactly the same.

Still would like to hear some experiences with WLH out of phase. I've read that some pickups get a weak middle sound with it.

 

[DADGAD]

I have a set in my '71 Page replica (no.3). I have had them in my Page 1 and had it wired for the push pull OOP. It was a few years ago and the main hint that stuck out to me was that is was much milder of an OOP tone than the Page Burstbuckers that came with it. Those were super hollow and nasally sounding. I would like to go back to it on my current set up but I would have to switch the harness. I think it's an nice tonal option to have at your disposal.

 

[Guitar Rod]

Thanks for the info. Not much OOP? Maybe not worth the rewiring.

 

[DADGAD]

Thanks for the info. Not much OOP? Maybe not worth the rewiring.

You should try it nonetheless. You may like it. The worst thing that can happen is you redo the wiring. Mine was a Custom shop MJ set. Could be different on the SH-18 production set. Which one's are you using?

 

[Guitar Rod]

The original CS set released in the UK.

 

[DADGAD]

The original CS set released in the UK.

Me too. 2012 right?

 

[Guitar Rod]

I assume so. I bought it used last year on Reverb. Neck was never used.

 

[cooljuk]

Since not only the two coils of one WLHB are very similar to each other but the two pickups are also very similar to each other you should get a "Whole Lotta Phase Cancellation" with an OOP set. They should be very thin and quiet in the middle set up that way.

If you really want to chase the PG sound, try two humbuckers that are significantly more different from each other. As in: different coil patterns, coils with more offset, different wire types, different magnets and steels, etc. You will still get the OOP sound, and it will be thinner, but it won't sound like the 2 and 4 position of a Strat with no guts. It'll be more like when you roll back the bridge volume on an OOP set and the phase filtering is reduced a bit but you still have that nasal quack and complexity.

 

[skelt101]

I have a Burst Bucker 2 with A3 magnet in the neck and a WLH in the bridge of my LP. Did the magnet flip in the bridge because it has no cover, making the process pretty easy. The OOP tones are really cool and I use them often. The less compression in your signal chain, the more noticeable the volume drop. However, if you're running something with compression up front, e.g. a fuzz, the level stays more consistent.

 

[MelMann]

I have a pair in my flying v and wired them to be out of phase. It sounds nice and does not drop the volume in my case, just hollows it out. Try it!

 

[Guitar Rod]

Good to know. Thanks! I think I will.