hum cancelling single coil

[phil0333]

I am working on wiring up my project and I have a PAF Pro, HS2, Fred (in an RG). The HSH diagram from the dimarzio website only shows two wires coming out of the single coil. There is another diagram for the hum cancelling single, but it doesn't have an 8 pin 5 way switch like my RG has. Anybody help out with what to do? I've tried some things but I'm getting nothing.

[phil0333]

To rephrase the question, can I wire up the single coil, which has red, green, black, white, and ground wires, with the 5 position switch that comes on the RG (it's an RG 517)?

[frankfalbo]

First you have to decide if you want it to operate as a hum-cancelling single, or as a regular single. If you are splitting the humbuckers, then a hum cancelling single still leaves hum in the 2 and 4 positions. If you wire it as a single, you'll have hum in position 3. Lots of people wire HS2's as singles, and feel like that's the magic sound. So forgive me if it sounds strange that you'd wire a stack as a single.

Also if you wire it as a single, you will still have to make sure you're getting the right coils from your humbuckers so they cancel hum with the HS2. Sometimes the hum-cancelling coil isn't the one you really want with regard to the tone you're after, so then it can be better to wire the HS2 as a hum-canceller. That way you're not getting the sound of 2 single coils making noise, rather one single and one hum-canceller.

[JESTER700]

Frank's right, but the HS2 is easy to change the polarity on - flip the mags over (they're isolated from the windings) and reverse the leads. Careful when pulling so that you don't chip the alnico.

[frankfalbo]

Yeah I've done that, but you know the U-shaped metal shield around the top coil is supposed to be grounded. So on IBZUSA's for example, it's the red wire. If you make red hot, then you kind of made a noise antenna around the top coil. Also I think it's there to direct the magnet flow, too. I don't think it would change anything if it were grounded or hot, but I've always liked to leave the stacks wired as-is, and then alter the other pickups if I can. You can also reverse the magnets if you have to, but then reverse phase on the other two pickups, rather than reverse wire on the stack.

Sorry phil0333 if this is off-topic.

[phil0333]

No problem, I need to learn all I can. I tried using the 5 way switch that was already there (8 pin) I just wired the red's to the same place the red's were before, the black/white's to where the white's were before and the green/plain to the volume pot. I did this with the single as well. I'm getting nothing though. No sound in any position. I've checked all the connections and they seem to be tight (this is my first try at this so the soldering is messy, maybe that's the problem) I'm just getting frustrated because I know I can do this on my own, it's just not working yet. Thanks for your help. On a positive note, this is also the first time I've stripped/refinished and I'm extremely pleased with how the finish turned out (It's a burnt, dark mahogany stained finish). I'll post pics soon. It looks so good, I'm bummed that I can't get the wiring right. It's begging to be played!

[frankfalbo]

No sound at all usually means something mundane. You could have solder touching ground somewhere, or you didn't hook up the hot to the volume pot or something. If you have a continuity checker, you can touch ground and see if the whole thing isn't grounded out somewhere.

[phil0333]

I left most of the connections on the volume pot as they were. I have a white wire going from the volume pot to the switch (4th lug I think). Is that what you meant by having the hot wired to the volume pot? Other than the grounds, that's the only connection from the switch to the volume pot.
I'm thinking of ordering a new switch and pots, wiring them up with short wires, then use connectors of some sort to connect the pups once everything is in the guitar. would that work? that way I would have more room to do the soldering.