Telecaster with Coil Split and Phase

[frets]

Hi Fellas😺😺😺,

I built this one with a little different configuration on the switch. (you all know switches are my weakness; but, I’m getting better). Of course, if you have an HS Tele (HB in the Bridge position instead of the Neck) you can still use the diagram.  I would have preferred to do a 1/2 phase but the customer wanted the full phase to the Bridge.  If you want to do a half phase, I’ve posted other diagrams with that configuration.

I wanted to ask you all.  What do you think of a phase on a Tele?  I have mixed feelings about it and have never put one on one of my Tele’s.  Guess it just comes down to personal taste (of course!!).

[newey]

Oct 15, 2021 15:07:32 GMT -5 frets said:

What do you think of a phase on a Tele?  I have mixed feelings about it and have never put one on one of my Tele’s.  Guess it just comes down to personal taste (of course!!).

Well, I think it's better than putting the M pup on a Strat OOP wth either the bridge or neck. The further apart the coils are, the better. But also, the higher output the pickups are, the better.

JohnH and I are of the same opinion, OOP is kind of a one-trick pony. The only guitar I have that has OOP is the Flying Pumpkin, which has the classic "Peter Green mod"- 2 HBs with a 3-way toggle where the center position is always OOP, no phase switch. I built it because I love Peter green-era Fleetwood Mac, but I( don't use it much.

[JohnH]

My first ever guitar an english Shergold, has phase switching as stock wiring. It got me into guitar wiring. I've got lots of diagrams with phase switch options, and getting them right was a nice puzzle to solve.

But I never use them! A bright bridge single is as far as I need to go in that general tonal direction.

There'd be one exception.It's great for playing the tinny AM-radio intro from 'Wish you were here'

[frets]

Gosh,
I do agree with you two about Phase; but, you ought to see how many guys want it in builds. I’m always surprised and never inquire as to “why” a guy wants it. And it’s the younger guys. Younger guys seem to always want Series and Phase. That’s why 99% of my diagrams have them. The older guys are just interested in a standard upgrade or a Gilmour mod; but, guys 35 and under want mods.

I have phase on a Schecter SLS Elite I modded and I never ever use it. I do use Series occasionally but that’s rare too.

I’d like to hear what others think about phase in particular. There’s got to be someone in this group that loves it.

[newey]

I suppose that the high-gain guys find it more useful.

[unreg]

Oct 16, 2021 16:42:45 GMT -5 frets said:

I’m always surprised and never inquire as to “why” a guy wants it. And it’s the younger guys. Younger guys seem to always want Series and Phase. That’s why 99% of my diagrams have them. The older guys are just interested in a standard upgrade or a Gilmour mod; but, guys 35 and under want mods.

Lots of ”younger guys” are lost in impression valley.

They may be thinking something similar to, “Wow, that article was impressive sounding to me and exciting; so, I’ll call this Cindi and have her add series and phase to my guitar. Then my peers (or a peer) will have more respect for me; therefore, my life will be grander.”


Sadly, these guys are temporarily lost; impression valley is a game of endless tag. Though it seems fun at first, it always ends with serious exhaustion. The “older guys” have risen and been given the relief of leaving impression valley. There, the ordered guitar adjustments are not driven by one-sided efforts to please others.

[reTrEaD]

Oct 15, 2021 15:07:32 GMT -5 frets said:

I would have preferred to do a 1/2 phase but the customer wanted the full phase to the Bridge.

I haven't personally used the so-called half out of phase, but it does look intriguing. And in theory, parallel half out of phase should sound radically different than series half out of phase.

In parallel half out of phase, one of the two coils will have a capacitor in series with it. So we should expect the lower frequencies from that coil will be attenuated. Thus less cancellation of the lower frequencies when combined with the other coil. I would expect that would result in less of a castrated sort of sound. I'm guessing I would prefer that over series half out of phase.

In series half out of phase, a capacitor shunts one of the two coils. Lower frequencies are largely unaffected so they tend to cancel out. High frequencies from one coil are locally shunted and high frequencies from the other coil have a low impedance path to the output. I would expect this to sound much like a single coil tone at the higher frequencies but castrated of the lower frequencies.

In any case, I reckon you're right to give the customer what they want. Offer them options and advise them on the merits of each option, but let them make the final decision.

Oct 16, 2021 16:42:45 GMT -5 frets said:

Gosh,
I do agree with you two about Phase; but, you ought to see how many guys want it in builds. I’m always surprised and never inquire as to “why” a guy wants it. And it’s the younger guys. Younger guys seem to always want Series and Phase. That’s why 99% of my diagrams have them. The older guys are just interested in a standard upgrade or a Gilmour mod; but, guys 35 and under want mods.

I have phase on a Schecter SLS Elite I modded and I never ever use it. I do use Series occasionally but that’s rare too.

I’d like to hear what others think about phase in particular. There’s got to be someone in this group that loves it.

I think newey is spot-on about his supposition of high-gain guys finding it more useful. And they tend to be more present in the under 35 group you mentioned.

Played clean, full out of phase tends to sound tinny and nasal. Not very attractive to my ears. But then we consider Brian May. He uses out of phase much of the time. With the high-gain settings he uses for out of phase, the tone is rather powerful, even with the castrated fundamentals. Also, Brian often uses adjacent coils, out of phase for his signature tones. That tends to be dreadful when clean but impressive with high gain settings.

Since I'm all about the cleans, out of phase isn't of much interest to me, personally. But I wouldn't be judgmental of those who are targeting tones similar to those used by Brian. Although those tones don't fit nicely into the music I choose to play, I definitely can appreciate listening to Queen.

Important notes about the Red Special. All three single-coil pickups have the same magnetic polarity. Thus they don't hum-cancel when two are used and they are in phase. But ANY pair will hum-cancel when combined out of phase. Even adjacent pairs like Neck+Middle and Middle+Bridge In my opinion, having hum-canceling for high-gain settings and out of phase is extremely valuable.

---

In the configuration you're designing around, HB at the Neck SC at the bridge, I recommend designing such that there's an inherent swap of which of the two Neck coils are being use (when split), when you switch to out of phase. Use the coil with the opposite magnetic polarity to the bridge when in phase and the same magnetic polarity as the bridge when out of phase.

[frets]

I see, thanks Newey😻