[headcrash]

Hey there, just a quick question (although I think I know the answer):
For position 4 in a HSS configuration I’d like to use the bridge (or screw) coil of the humbucker. This coil should be south. So the middle SC should be north and normal wound. Is this correct?

[gregr]

Wind direction can and will vary depending on who made the pickup and when it was made.

Depending on the situation you can reverse the wires or reverse the magnetic polarity in order to get the desired result.

[headcrash]

Wind direction can and will vary depending on who made the pickup and when it was made.

Depending on the situation you can reverse the wires or reverse the magnetic polarity in order to get the desired result.

Yes of course, but changing magnetic direction in a standard single coil will not be possible with most.

But my basic assumption should be that be correct, shouldn‘t it?

[gregr]

I use neodymium rod magnets to reverse the polarity of single coil slugs.

https://youtu.be/Ig-t5wx3iyw

A potential issue will arise with single coils if the inside windings make electrical contact with the slugs. In that case you would want that end of the coil to connect to ground if there is an issue with hum when touching the slugs. I have never encountered this, however.

I’ll give you an anecdote for Seymour Duncan pickups and magnetic polarity. I had to flip the bar magnet of a JB in order to get in-phase hum-cancelling operation when combining its slug coil with an SSL-2 single coil which I purchased as RW-RP. This tells me that the visible ends of the slugs in an installed RW-RP Seymour Duncan single coil are North and those in a standard one are South. It is my understanding that this is in keeping with the original Fender design, which Fender later changed.

[gregr]

Here’s an HSS wiring diagram from DiMarzio:
https://www.dimarzio.com/media/1435

Position 2 is combining the middle pickup with the North (inner) coil of the bridge pickup. The middle pickup is labeled as having South polarity.

[headcrash]

Thanks gregr, been looking at that one as well.
Would this combination be the most or more authentic quack position, or the one using the bridge side coil of the humbucker?

[gregr]

I prefer the outer coil but recommend trying both ways. Depending on the pickup, rotating it may also provide different results.

[darkbluemurder]

My ears tell me that with the bridge side coil (or outer coil - viewed in relation to the other pickups) gives a bit more air compared to the neck side coil (or inner coil). However, the standard magnetic orientation is such that the neck side coil and the middle single coil are opposite magnetic polarity and can therefore be combined in a humcancelling fashion. If you want to use the bridge side coil and want it humcancelling there are the following options:

1) Reverse the bridge humbucker by 180 degrees so that the neckside coil is now on the bridge side. Then wire it up as usual. I did this with various DiMarzio models, even some with Dual Resonance (such as FRED and Mo' Joe just to name a few).
2) Flip the magnet in the humbucker. That also flips the phase so you need to reverse input and output of the pickup, and potentially also reverse the wires of the individual coils. To write this as text sounds more complicated than it actually is.
3) Use a single coil with a different magnetic polarity, reverse the input and output wires for the humbucker.

Good luck,
Stephan

[headcrash]

Thanks guys for all the hints and stuff. I ended up ordering a cheap Fleor single coil for neck position on Aliexpress (yeah...I know...) and put it in the middle position. Since switch position 4 is the only one to bring the middle pickup into play, and I rarely use it anyway, I decided to do so.
I ended up using the bridge side coil of the humbucker, expecting to cancel hum with the neck single coil, but it doesn't. I can live with that since - well I don't use it that often, and not with higian, I even don't use that guitar much any more.
Pos. 4 sound quite ok, maybe a bit thin, so maybe I'll change the wiring to using the neck side coil of the humbucker some time.

[gregr]

Like I said, reversing the polarity of the alnico slugs in a traditional single coil is trivial. It is far easier than flipping a magnet in a humbucker because it is non-invasive. I was able to order a package of 1/4” diameter, 1/2” long neo rod magnets for $9.

Reversing the polarity of a stacked DiMarzio pickup is not as easy because it requires disassembly but is still doable. It is perhaps more difficult than flipping the magnet of a humbucker as the construction is a bit more delicate. I highly recommend desoldering the short black/white wire pair so that the top coil which contains the slugs can be physically removed from the rest of the assembly.