How To Coil-Split a Humbucker | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 45 | Thomann

[@JamesReillyMusicProduction]

I love that you're videos are under 10 mins and get straight to the point!

[@CedricSatterfield]

This is one of the most succinct and easy to follow videos on this subject I have ever seen! No "well, back in the days of the 60's with the Shchfingflargin type wiring we used to....." or anything like that. Just straight to the point. I have a 335 Epi with the split but they discontinued the 339 with it as a feature and im considering trading/returning for the smaller body- but only if I can keep the split. I can solder, so now, thanks to you, I know what im doing under the hood should I choose to switch them out.

[@steveo44]

As usual a top class no waffle tutorial. Keep up the good work this series is gold dust

[@denis_kleshchev]

I know how to coil split a humbucker. I'm gonna watch this guide anyway :) I love these videos

[@Anshul1614]

I got a newbie question, after I did this mod I found out both north coils were split, which is not the middle position tone inwas going for. I wanted both outer coils. How do i go about doing it? I did exactly as Kris does but on both humbuckers. I did it on the volume put with alligator wires and I just connected the one unwanted to change to the hot of the volume. I just don't understand how to do the same on the tone pot.

[@D-8-Tone2]

Valamelyik videódban mutattad a prs stílusú 2k tranzisztoros coil splitet, egy semi-hollow Ibanezbe szereltem be, és nagyon jól működik, köszönöm szépen 😊❤

[@fredmarquis1105]

really love your guitar tech video, I currently build a little place in my house for guitar tune-up :)

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

That's awesome! Enjoy your tech cave! Haha! //Kris

[@NWTMasterWolf]

Thank you so much. I am about to split the H on a "cheap" Super Strat that I'm building. This helped me understand it all much better and without all that monologue BS many love to spew. Rock on bro.

[@Hell_Inc]

Excellent vid. Very informative. Kris is the man!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Much appreciated, man! Glad you like it! //Kris

[@henryalvarez6284]

Thank you! I had split coil down and humbucker up. I wanted to reverse it. It worked. 👍🎸

[@ibuprofen17]

I was thinking of splitting my humbuckers on my les paul. This is a great vid so yeah cheers

[@UrbanGarden-rf5op]

@ 2:45 I would say that the hum was more telling than the tapping😉

[@felixguitar1108]

Tomann you guys are awesome, you have the best deals

[@medrifter7884]

It was definitely good, will be watching more of your videos.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks man, check out the Guitar Tech Tips playlist, over 100 videos on there. Cheers //Kris

[@sbrave]

Bad ass riff at the end!!!

[@surfrby8876]

Great video ! learned something, I work on and build parts casters but pickups and electronics are my weakness, so thanks again,

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers! //Kris

[@PooNinja]

It is good. Maybe explain the difference between split and tapped coils or maybe how the alt voices of modern pickups like the Fishman fluence work 🤘🏽

[@MartinBlyberg]

CSGuitars has a video about the difference between coil-tapping and coil-splitting but simple put Coiltapping is limiting how many of the windings are actually used in a single coil while coil-splitting is simple not connecting one of the coils of a humbucker.

[@PooNinja]

@@MartinBlyberg I understand the difference between tap and split , but I’m not sure how the Fishman fluence get they’re different tones

[@The-Vibrant-Photography]

I love this video. But I’m a little confused about what to do when a 5 way switch is involved. I’m trying to tap the number on my HSS strat and the extra wires are intimidating me 😅 I’ll check for more videos like this, but do you have any instruction on how to handle that?

[@kieranuk6007]

Did you sort this as I have the same issue?

[@The-Vibrant-Photography]

@@kieranuk6007 I have not

[@JerryToneChaser]

Hey just wondering if you ever figured this one out?

[@dasenase]

My guitar has one pot, with a capacitor. Would I use this same instructions as tone to be used as a volume/tone pot?

[@williammolina9792]

Do you prefer the split coil switch (toggle) or the split coil with the tone knob.

[@josephhughes9490]

Kris, Just fantastic technical guitar tech information. Always great to know to mod your guitar. Just don't change the Tele as always. Lol. Great video Kris and thanks again to Thomann.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey Joseph, thanks and don't worry, won't touch the tele. There are guitars that simply shouldn't be modified. Haha! //Kris

[@josephhughes9490]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Correct..never touch the Tele..just use Thomanns equipment..lol

[@gamer1.114]

I really want to learn this riff in the end!

[@bradleyberdahl6148]

love this series!

[@pablogonnet11]

what a tone!!!

[@boomerbassmeme]

Cool tip! Always wondered how the heck they did that! 😊👍

[@tonakkie635]

Hi Chris, last month i modded my TE-40 with a push pull pot and made it switchable between HH and SS. I can send some pictures how I did this, maybe and vid for next time😉

[@Sanjeet_1810]

Amazing!! Thanks for the explanation

[@finbigger8505]

Extremely helpful

[@federicodeganis5288]

Great vIdeo, as usual. My guitars have always weird push-pull switches combinations! Nowadays, on volume for single/humbucker for neck/middle positions and on tone knob to switch parallel/series wiring for higher output on bridge pickups.

[@axslinger99]

Great video! I'm modding my HB DC and kind of lost track of what I had!

[@RobertSparkman-g9j]

Where does the black wire go? Do you have another video showing how to make the other connections to the volume pot and the input jack?

[@pauldncn1]

Thanks Kris now I see how I got the other pickups inverted ! Doh Many thanks If Germany were closer I’d let you fix this But it’s not!! I hear my soldering station calling 🙄😁

[@benmaguire4098]

Gr8 tips .. What about a " Kill switch " ? I learned the trick with twin hum buckers to have one turned all the way off & then hit a chord & switch between pickups . But not all guitars have the same kind of three position toggle & I saw the Muse guitar player has a button called a kill switch ??

[@guylikesguitar]

Awesome video as always! Could you explain in your next video how to do the same with the on-off functions on a push-pull tone pot? (pushing the tone pot: removing it from the circuit/ pulling the tone-pot: adding it to the circuit)

[@chronalcactus9258]

thank you

[@wesboundmusic]

Great and concise demo, loved it! Was there a way of achieving a similar result with a 2-wire humbucker, i.e. making the two coils sound more like parallel wiring, but only with different pots? (because I'm afraid my built-in humbuckers are 2-wire only and modifiying the pickups themselves to have 4 leads is... well, a more complex procedure). Thanks!

[@haraldsteaksauce4582]

Thanks for the Video. What's the best way to deal with the volume loss between humbucker and split humbucker?

[@ejohnthoresen]

im confused, i understand how the split works with the two coil finish wires, but where do the hot wire, the south start wire, and the bare ground wire go? thanks for the video! i'm somewhat new to this, so im a bit confused

[@ejohnthoresen]

ah, sorry. i got it now, thank you!

[@morningstar66661]

Sir, how i do a split coil wiring while i have duncan designed hb 102 with 4 wire. red, white, black and green only without the bare wire?

[@bishoy95]

Buying my second guitar, Torn between getting a Single Coil Guitar ( Squire Telecaster CV ) or a double Humbucker Guitar with coil split ( ESP LTD EC-256 ). What do you think ? P.S Still a late beginner who learns every genre, but mainly Blues, Rock and Jazz ( if I can learn it )

[@pavlepaja7642]

I have 2 holes on my PRS 24 custom and 3 way switch. Is it possible to install 2 push pull pots to get coil spliting AND series/parallel to work? 🙏 Regards from Sweden

[@ArSaSixNine]

Ok so, what this means, basicaly is that you can either have the full humbucker sound or a single coil at any given time and you wil have to choose by soldering, which coil is the one that is going to go unmuted, yes? I want to wire a guitar with only one volume but to be able to use the full humbucker or any of the two coils at any given time so my take is that the push/pull thing is not the best way to go, I was thinking that maybe a three way selector? Get rid of the tone knob, have a single volume and a three position selector, would that work? Never had or seen something like that.

[@niks17R]

Is there any difference in tone or buzz with other brand's push-pull pots?

[@zeniu.]

I only got a 2 wire humbucker, is it okay if i solder a 3rd wire to the white cable between the coils and use it as a split?

[@lordseph]

I have an SG with only two pots, 1 tone and 1 volume. What do I have to do if I want to split both humbuckers? Will I have to do the exact same wiring to the volume pot as well ?

[@jpberti]

Very cool.

[@strange_jason]

There are many ways to split with a push pull, this is just one of the ways

[@Dr.A05]

Does it need to be the tone pod? not the volume pod to split the humbucker. Am I right?

[@yawartzzband]

What kind of capacitor you put ?

[@marting.official]

How about squier humbuckers? Is it wired the same way with the fender pick ups ?

[@alternativejeff3775]

I got a stratocaster professional 2 hss with already a split coil mod So i upgraded my humbucker with a seymour duncan at the local guitar store But now when de knob is up its fully active and when down its single coil i gues ... So my Question is does this have affect on your tone Cause im maybe thinking its sounds strange and i hear more noise when not playing ??

[@charlescdt6509]

Awesome video, would this work on a "mud-bucker" for and SG bass?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

If it has 4 cables, then yes, absolutely. Cheers! //Kris

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

Can you use any small size capacitor from a circuit as the tone pot capacitor?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

As long as the value of the capacitor is right, it's gonna work. There are different types of capacitors which will have different sizes. If you want a small one, go for it. As told, just make sure the value is the right one. Cheers //Kris

[@evangelannobilbrew7090]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Pls what's the right value of the capacitor?

[@perthmike7]

Hi Kris, great tips thanks for sharing this. what type of LP Jr is that you are playing?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, thanks a lot! All the gear I'm using is on a gear list in the description box. Check it out! :) Cheers //Kris

[@joguipo]

Lovely stuff again Kris. A question: Is it possible in anyway to make the pot shift between 250 and 500 depending on having it split or full? Muchas gracias from Spain

[@podan2288]

Can you use a volume pot to do this?

[@0oTHEJACKo0]

Why is the volume of your split coil louder than the humbucker in series? Sounds amazing, but I don't quite understand why the volume rises instead if being dropped

[@bobsomerville-jacklin4398]

great info but from the pot's lug1 to switch lug1 what's is purpose of the capacitor? I know it should be grounded but why not just use some wire instead?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, good question! You can use an extra wire to ground the switch lug1, absolutely. But since this is a tone pot and I need a capacitor for that anyhow, why not keeping it cleaner and using one wire less? This way, with this capacitor, I have the ground connection sorted out for both the pot and the switching with just one component (=the cap). It's a little more elegant, isn't it? :) Cheers //Kris

[@Blizzardwolfie727]

what type of coil spit switch did you use

[@viy_m]

Is there a way two have 1 push pull pot for 2 humbuckers with independent volume for each? I mean when pushed controls volume of neck hum when pulled controls volume of bridge hum.

[@ThatBloxFruitKid]

how can you add coil split with a toggle switch? where do I attach the ground?

[@sys-out]

This red guitar body looks awesome 😍

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Looks pretty cool, doesn't it? A real rock machine. :) //Kris

[@mctwistx1248]

which brand of pickups you have?

[@paj1015]

Do you know where to put the resistor, if you want the humbucker to see 500K and the single-coil/split sound to see 250K?

[@villimagg]

ja das ist gut!

[@revilindo7370]

Where do we use push pull, on volume pots, or tone pots?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

It's up to you. Wherever it feels better to have it on your guitar. For the wiring it doesn't matter where you put it because the splitting function is completely independent from the pot function. Cheers //Kris

[@everythingbobbywolfe]

Funny thing, when I do this to a dimarzio, it does split (I do know that the red is hot on a dimarzio) I literally changed out a seymour (red and white together) and replaced it with a dimarzio (black and white together) and it will not change. I'm completely bewildered.

[@mailvilla]

10/23/2021: I have been wondering if I purchased an H-H setup with a 3-way switch, could I split both humbuckers and get a quacky twangy country sound in the middle position of the selector switch? You know, just like a Telecaster can do.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hi, you can't do an auto-split on a traditional switch (auto-split is when a humbucker automatically splits to a single-coil tone when switching to a certain switch position). But there are "Fender style" blade switches that can do that, like the Schaller Megaswitch. There's a 5-way and a 3-way version of it as far as I can tell. Also make sure to get Humbuckers with 4 conductors. Otherwise you'll not be able to split the coils for a single-coil style tone. Cheers //Kris

[@ernurhaktanir]

Hi.should we use split pot on volume or tone button?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

You can put the push pull pot where you want to, volume or tone. Or both if you want that. :) The push-pull function (coil-split wiring) doesn't have to do anything with the "main function" of the pot (wether it's volume or tone, doesn't matter). Cheers //Kris

[@cltw1]

The split effects on the sound of the humbuckers?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Yes, very much so. It makes a humbucker sound similar to a single-coil pickup. Cheers //Kris

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

0:34 Ackchyually under the hood look of a push pull would be if you'd separate the switch from the potentiometer. This way explanation of how this part works would be much clearer Ok, seriously though it becomes much easier to grasp after you accidentally ripped out the shaft and had to disassemble the whole thing and put back together

[@Anshul1614]

I got a newbie question, after I did this mod I found out both north coils were split, which is not the middle position tone inwas going for. I wanted both outer coils. How do i go about doing it? I did exactly as Kris does but on both humbuckers. I did it on the volume put with alligator wires and I just connected the one unwanted to change to the hot of the volume. I just don't understand how to do the same on the tone pot.

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

@@Anshul1614 guitarelectronics.com/2-humbuckers-3-way-toggle-switch-1-volume-1-tone-individual-coil-taps/ I hope this diagram helps I'm not in the "wiring zone" right now so it's difficult to find a solution without any components in front of me. Simple flipping signal wire with the wire that goes to the ground should help.

[@stella4913]

what if i have two humbuckers? i have a less paul and i want to split the coils like that. what should i do for the second one?

[@geoffreyalder7275]

But which wires did you use to create the coil tap?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Do you mean coil split? Because coil tap is very different and I didn't talk about that here. If you mean the coil split I explained which two wires you need at 0:55. The colors are always different so you have to check online which two are north finish and south finish on your pickup. Try guitarelectronics.com they have a ton of good infos on this. Cheers //Kris

[@insidious.92]

Hi Kris, I have a question... again... as always... 🤣 Can I use volume pot for coil split and do I need to a capacitor?

[@jhford]

Not Kris, but the pots are not specifically volume or tone, you could use either. Get the resistance you're looking for and wire it per this video. I have one guitar where I have a split on the volume and on the tone (Jackson Soloist) and another where each volume is a split (LP). The switch and the potentiometer are completely electrically separated. You don't need to use the tone capacitor for this if it isn't convenient, if you notice he solders the lead of the capacitor to the body of the pot which is usually ground. I use a small section of wire, frankly never thought to use the cap. I also use 50s les paul style tone circuits in all my guitars to avoid losing tone when I take out volume. Oh, and you don't even need a capacitor in your guitar strictly speaking if you don't want a tone control. It's only used to ground to attenuate high frequencies.

[@derekamarpreet]

Pardon the dummy question, but which coil is active when you split the coil with a p/p pot - the inside or outside?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

That's an absolutely legit question actually. You can't control which stays active. It's the one with more output and the weaker coil gets muted by ground. Most pickups are made in a way that the outer coil is a little hotter so that stays active when coil split but not always. Cheers //Kris

[@Jonton5986]

Hey Chris! My name is Paul, I have just install a new tremmery stabiliser and schaller floyd rose on my Jackson and it stays in tune when I play chords then I do one dive bomb then strings go way sharp! 😒 Is there any chance of getting some advise through email please bro? I’ll see you right for helping me.

[@tobiasbohl4508]

…how could I believe that they all use the same color code..😂 Problem solved! Many thanks from Germany!

[@pavel5283]

Can you coil split only one humbucker on a guitar with one volume control?

[@AndreChrisyudha]

You can

[@robertkelly1434]

Can the new Tesla pickups in the SC550 be coil-split?

[@MrKrankKopf]

If they're 4-conductor wired pickups, sure.

[@robertkelly1434]

@@MrKrankKopf I've since looked at the Tesla website, the Opus 1 pickups are, in fact, 4-lead pickups.

[@MrKrankKopf]

@@robertkelly1434 then you are able to split them. Buy a CTS or Bourns 500k push/pull pot and you’re set. Can you solder?

[@obz3n045]

Can i do this mod on all the emg pickups

[@WolfmanAndy]

I want to remove the frets on my Ibanez SR300 as I cant find a fretless neck, any suggestions?

[@jay_garett]

Wait. So the humbucker only goes to the push pull? Where does it interact with the main switch?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, this is a 1 pickup guitar so there's no switch. That wouldn't be an issue though: the hot wire (north start) of the humbucker still goes to the switch (or to the volume pot and then to the switch, depending on the guitar's design). That is not affected by the push-pull, since that only needs the north finish and south finish wires in order to split the coils. I hope that makes sense to you. Cheers //Kris

[@ronb7481]

Which end of each pickup half is the start and which is the finish? This is still not clear to me.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

You can find the color code of every brand in the internet, that's the first important step. North start = hot wire, north end + south end get wired together for series wiring (and these go on the push-pul for the coil-split wiring if you want that) and south start = goes to ground together with the bare wire. Cheers //Kris

[@ronb7481]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses I believe my problem in understanding this is not seeing actual schematic diagrams of the resulting circuits. It's one thing to show someone 'how' to do something (by copying a method) and another to demonstrate 'why' something works. Thankfully, it's starting to make its way through my thick skull!

[@marcionobrega5117]

Muito bom

[@rocknzekwolves3591]

What about the five wires humbucker???

[@kafftum]

This works for any guitar?

[@mathewg1747]

the local guitar tech wants to charge me $260 to do this... looks like I'm going to learn a new skill

[@belsenwasagaser3721]

What language is it?

[@grahamkelly8299]

500k cap yes?

[@danielbarbieri8199]

The main issue you will have to face is the shitty sound of the splitted humbucker. That's why you should put a resistor in serial instead of grounding it directly. A standard value is 7k, but you could use a 10k trim pot to find the best setting.

[@ElmerFerrer]

didn't work for me...

[@yetimatzenightcat8702]

Ich tu auch schon mal einen löten, aber mit jack daniels 😁 🐈

[@TheTwangKings]

There's something even better, a push-push pot! You just tap it! It is faster.

[@belsenwasagaser3721]

Humbucker?

[@DougHinVA]

it's too many details for a newbie and he is not showing exactly what to do.

[@modusceo]

Just do the work, start simple and eventually all this stuff makes sense

[@MultiRodc]

Man you didn't even explain which actual wires go where. When it came time to show what connects to the lugs you just started saying "the pickup wires go here" generically.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, you did watch the part from 0:42 where I explained everything about the pickup wires, right? Since every brand uses different colors for their wires, I can't tell you which two needs to be soldered on the push-pull. You need to figure out the color coding of the pickups you have and wire the north finish and south finish together to the push-pull on the lug I showed in the video. One can't be any more specific than that. I hope that helped. Cheers //Kris

[@jerryrussell2600]

Video instructions are horrible, did not show soldering of all connecting wires, then he jumped ahead leaving much out.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, sorry to hear that it wasn't helpful for you. One thing though: this video was about the push-pull function and how to install it. If you are interested in the rest of the guitar's electronics we have many other episodes on the Guitar Tech Tips playlist. //Kris