Does it Matter If pickups are 'backwards'

[shogun]

I am wondering if the sound changes if you were to do this... For example, if the dimarzio logo was upside down on ur neckpickup.. does this change anything? just a dumb question

[ChopTart]

Depends. There's generally a rule of thumb when it comes to that, but i forgot what it was Sorry

However, there are certain pickups (as specified on DiMarzio's site) that have a radically different sound when flipped, more so than most. They usually specify so look up the ones you have on their site. If there's a big difference, they'll mention it and tell you the tonal differences.

[timi_h]

do it by ear. most pickups will sound subtly different depending on orientation, turn it around and see which way you preferred!

[elcid]

I asked my local tech this once and he said it doesnt make a difference.
Pretty much all a pick up is, is a magnet with wire wrapped around it. I wouldnt think the top half would be made any different from the bottom half, or the front coil be any different from the back, except maybe with something like a D-sonic where the front has slugs and the back has a bar, but guitar players are a fickle bunch and they will argue all day about being able to hear the most subtle difference that may or may not be there.

I dont know that personally I would trust Dimarzio saying the pick up sounds radically different if its flipped to be anything more than a gimmick. How many pick up manufacturers claim to make a pickup that gives you "an authentic PAF sound"

There's nothing to it to try it out for yourself though and see if you hear a difference.

[shogun]

thanks for the tips guys.. will i look like a knob with my p-up reversed? LOL
ill just claim it gets me one step closer to the tone im looking for

[elcid]

I forgot to mention, Seth Lover said that the reason the humbuckers face the directions they face in Les Pauls was because he liked the way it looked and it had nothing to do with the sound. I would like to think that he is a little more knowledgeable about pickups than at least most of us.

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by elcid

I forgot to mention, Seth Lover said that the reason the humbuckers face the directions they face in Les Pauls was because he liked the way it looked and it had nothing to do with the sound. I would like to think that he is a little more knowledgeable about pickups than at least most of us.

Seth Lover made his pickups have matching coils but not every humbucker has to have identical coils. Besides the D-Sonic, the Dimarzio Bluesbucker also sounds different if it's oriented one way or the other.

That being said, those are the only 2 Dimarzio humbuckers that I'm aware of that sound different based upon their orientation. It's not like Dimarzio hypes this feature in their pickups. This just happened to be a side effect of their design.

[ashbass]

this is from the Dimarzio FAQ about humbuckers:

Most humbuckers are symmetrical and their sound does not change at all when installed backwards, but some have a slightly different sound if you install them in the opposite direction from normal. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of taste for such a subtle difference, if you can hear the difference at all. Those models include the Air Norton™, Air Zone™, Evolution® neck, bridge and 7-string, FRED®, Humbucker from Hell™, DLX Plus™ neck and bridge models, Virtual P-90™, Blaze™ neck and bridge models and Tone Zone 7™.

The Steve’s Special™, the Bluesbucker® and the MegaDrive™ have distinctly different sounds if you turn them around, and there is no ‘right’ installation direction. The Bluesbucker® is brighter-sounding with the adjustable screw coil towards the bridge, while the MegaDrive™ is brighter-sounding with the adjustable screw coil towards the neck. The Steve’s Special™ is brighter-sounding if the coil on the pickup’s cable exit side is toward the bridge.

[toneboy]

Thanks for posting that ashbass. I knew the Humbucker From Hell had asymmetrical coils (I've used that pup for years) but I didn't recall Dimarzio saying anything about it sounding different based upon its orientation.

[The Euphor]

If you split the pickup the difference is greater. I like to use the outer coils combined with the single in HSH configuration. I can't describe the difference though. And I'm not sure I would hear it either. But it's the how I have it arranged. (Neck pickup up side down.)

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by The Euphor

If you split the pickup the difference is greater. I like to use the outer coils combined with the single in HSH configuration. I can't describe the difference though. And I'm not sure I would hear it either. But it's the how I have it arranged. (Neck pickup up side down.)

You can access either coil when you split it so the orientation really doesn't matter. That being said, it can be easier just to flip the pickup than rewire it to change the position of the active split coil.