How Can I Fix my Pickups that are Out of Phase When Used with Another Pickup?

You can fix the phase of pickups in two ways:

First, you can magnetically change the polarity on one of the two pickups by physically reversing the magnet 180 degrees or remagnetizing the magnet with opposite polarity either from North to South or South to North. You will usually change the magnetic calibration which can change the sound of the pickup after you remagnetize it. If at all possible, try to physically reverse the magnet polarity by reversing or flipping over the magnet used in most humbuckers as long as the pickup isn't epoxy potted. It is difficult to reverse magnets in single coil pickups when they are pressure fit into the flatwork and the magnet wire is wound directly against them. By removing the rod magnets will break the inner coil windings. If you have a molded Fender style bobbins and the rod magnets can be easily moved up and down, just slide them out and flip them over 180 degrees with no damage to the coil.

Second, you can reverse the lead or hookup wires to correct phasing in most cases. This electrically changes the currents direction within the coil or combination of coils. Humbucking pickups that use two coils can be electrically out of phase if incorrectly hooked up. Normally both coils are wound in the same direction. If they are both wound top left-top coming with both finishes wire hooked together and the beginning wire on the adjustable bobbin is grounded and the beginning wire on the non-adjustable bobbin is connected to the hot or positive lead wire in the circuit. By reversing the beginning and finish lead wires in a system can cause the pole pieces in single coil pickups to become noisy and can cause the system to short out if it accidentally touches ground.

 

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