2 single coils in a humbucker slot 

Such a great idea mate :-)

This has always been my complaint. A split humbucker will never sound like a single coil. I've done this mod, crudely in the past. It works, folks. You have re-ignited my desire to do it again. When you have a muddy sounding humbucker, try dropping the capacitor value even more. Go from a .022 to a .01 cap. it will brighten up the sound. Thanks.

So glad to see someone has done this and that it works. AND with a Chapman! I've been thinking of doing this with an ML1. Unless Rob Chapman finally makes an Hss strat for lefties 😉

That Barekuckle '63 rules 🔥

I know this is an old video, but everytime I have an idea, I search it on Google Nd its always you guys doing exactly what I want to do! Subscribed!

Needs a push/pull so you can have them in series too. 2 singles in series is awesome

Been thinking about doing this on an HH strat or LP guitar. I hate clean humbucker tones (aside from middle position on an HH guitar) but hate standard HSS setups so want a setup like an HS type thing but THIS is where I was headed and now I'm convinced.

Rio Grande pickups in Houston have been putting Strat style pickups on humbucker chassis’s for years. The Muy Grande, the Tallboy & the Half Breed. I have all three on different guitars and they sound great. 4 conductor cable for wiring option.

This video kind of makes me want to try this on a hsh set up. Put the pair of singles in the neck humbucker spot and basically turn it into a hsss and use a freeway switch 10 position switch. Ill bet you can come up with some really mental combinations.

Robbie Robertson did this in the 70s with a Strat, moving the middle pickup down next to the bridge pickup.

I've wanted to do this for years but I didn't know how to tackle it, so thank you for the tutorial!

This is one of those questions that will pop into your head while you're noodling with your guitar. You'll look down and see the two single and think: What's stopping me from just connecting those things and making a humbucker? Will it work? I should try it someday. But you never do. It takes guys like this to throw his hat over the wall for Humanity and not only ask the tough questions, but follow through. Love it, man!! I'm definitely going to do this now. Thanks for this.

Been wondering about this for a long time. Thanks for doing it, seems so simple to do yet not enough examples. I hated the generic "singlecoils stacked is just normal humbuckers" answer which I knew was wrong due to the way they were constructed and put together.

I like it a lot. I’m going to do the same on my SG junior.

That’s a great mod! 👍🏼 I think the Apache is little brighter sounding, would have placed it as the middle. You could run them in series or parallel too . Had planned to modify me a guitar with two different telly bridge pups close together, running them on their own, or parallel or in series (massive output). A fat warm one in the back, and a more trebbly one towards the middle.

You might be interested in The 80's fender and Squier H2, the pickups are back to back single coils.

Saw this and subbed. It's a great idea and I love the sound.

I love this! 👊🏻

I'm so glad that someone has done this. Im wondering.. are the polarities at the top of each pickup the same, or like a normal humbucker, are they different... and does it make a difference anyway.

Cool vid man

Nah mate. Tones all in the string gauge 😂😂 Well done lad, looks like the wiring’s a bit of a faff but you’ve got something really cool there x

dual single coil are something that i wanted to try because i saw in the past ESP guitars made a guitar for a Japanese Guitarist signature models that contained 4 single coils it sound ridiculous (of course in good way) but until now i can't find any leaks about wiring diagram lol

Easily check the magnetic polarity of each pickup with a compass. A correct pair is North on one and South on the other in the pair. Note that the winding direction matters and matches the magnets! You'll want the inner pickups to be N-S paired so it will remain humbuckers even on separate 'pickups'. Read up on RWRP pickups and PRails if you want mostly hum-free sounds.

I'll admit it took me a while to sink in what you were trying to do . And what you actually did . What you actually did was aproximate a Tele with a choice of neck pickups . Position 2 = Tele position 2 with a '60s neck pu . Position 3 = Neck only with '60s pu . Position 4 = Neck humbucker wired in parallel equivilant . Position 5 = neck only with '50s pu . If this is what you were seeking , Great !

Another option is buying a Semour Duncan StagMag. Relatively cheap and a great sound.

You might be able to rewire it to replace the out of phase position to give you both neck coils in series. It might require a proper 5 throw switch, but they're not hard to find.

I thought this was a strange decision when you first told me.... turns out to be awesome. Might have to get you to do this with my tele 😏

now we need to see a black beauty style guitar with six single coils. that is the next logical progression. with individual mute switches. so you can have any combination

Pretty cool idea 👍 good shit

i've been thinking of this for more like 10 years! good to know it works as i expected!

most fellows would not do it because it means you have to use a router and wire up 2 separate single coils. And that means finding a fellow that can do it and pay him... and most guitar players are too scared. Tool oriented guys will figure it out and do it, but not many at all.

That sounds awesome mate!!. Great idea!.

the video title sounds like it could be a country song title

Thanks I’ve been pondering doing something like this on a Kramer beretta special I’ve got because I don’t care for the tones of a clean bridge HB, so I was thinking about putting a JBJr or another rail single coil sized HB closet to the bridge in the single HB ring of my beretta and then maybe something like a Duncan quarter pound in the neck side of the bezel to hopefully get a kinda fat middle-ish position clean to edge of break up tones but still have the bridge HB because \,,/, METAL! I would use a push/Push single volume pot to switch between the two pickups like the Charvel Henrik Danhage signature. I want to keep the clean single volume knob look and I rarely use a tone control. I might have to get a stacked pot to have 500k on the HB and 250k on the single and then I’d have to come up with a stealth way of switching PU unless I used a concentric stacked pot and both were always on and I could blend and control the level on the pot . Ok you see why I never actually do any of these experiments because, I can never decide exactly what I want to do and give myself options paralysis thinking of the different ways I could do it..... if I ever actually did do it lol.

Love how you constantly mod your guitars. Do you have any you’ve left entirely alone?

Hi, how did you screw into the bobbins? That's the part I can't figure out how to do without breaking the pickup.

Check out the Warman GRail.

Actually, that's not true about the copper. Copper comes in specific gauges. 42 gauge is common. A vintage Fender single coil is wound about 8k turns, which yields a specific DC resistance - maybe 5-6k. Using magnetic pole pieces in Humbuckers seems like a great idea, and I am not sure why they don't do that. I think Gibson first used the P90, which has a bar magnet, and then when the humbucker came out, they kept the bar magnet. Fender used to make a Wide Range humbucker that did this and I think one of the old Filter-trons did that - but all of these humbucker like pickups have used bar magnets for some time.

I've had a Dillion copy of a Fender strat since the early 2000s. I just realized today (May 18, 2023) that the bridge "Humbucker" is actually 2 single coils. I hardly play that guitar and never noticed the 2 sets of adjustment screws next to the humbucker. Now I'm experimenting with different height combinations. 🙂

now do 2 single coil sized humbuckers in a humbucker slot

good lord that is a lot of treble on that guitar. i can see why you swapped it for single sized rails in the neck

A humbucker IS two single coils back to back. There are humbuckers with the characteristics you hear in this video. The DiMarzio DP-156 ("Humbucker From Hell") has a DC impedance of 5.8 kOhm ... in series! The two coils are unbalanced (tonally, not such that they don't cancel hum). Another one is the DiMarzio EJ (Eric Johnson) custom neck.

7.30..you replaced the pickups on a Chapmann..is that legal mate?

There is no low end

Are these wired in series or just parallel?

Interesting. Nickel vs Brass chassis. 🤔So did a quick price check, and the nickel don’t seem as pricey as expected, so got me thinking, a not too expensive upgrade.

the coil taps ive tried didnt sound very good pulled out either.

Can you have them activated at the same time?

I can't believe they don't make these! I found your video after searching for something...and nobody is doing it! It seems so painfully obvious, I can't imagine why they're aren't doing some kind of single coil in a PAF style nickel cover. I do know that James Valentine from ....one of those pop rock bands like Train... I can think of their name, "She will be Loved"..., I think that's it..?! Know that 'un..?? Sure you do....radio wouldn't let you forget it for a few years there..back then.. Anyways....he has a tele slanted single coil in a chrome PAF cover on his MusicMan signature. I can't believe there aren't a myriad of such options. How many Gibson players would like , say...a stratty single coil in the neck position of their Les Pauls..?? It doesn't have to stay there forever.... Lord knows I love my neck position in my Les Paul ALMOOOOOST as much as I love the bridge... But damn, doesn't that sound like a magnificent toooooaaaaan potensh.. : a the crisp, lush clean tones of a Strat.... in the set neck mahogany neck / and deep, rich 'hoggin' nanny bod.. all chunky n' phat ...n', ....along with the Stoptail... I just think hat would the most spectacular clean & low gain Toanz.... The guy from mahogany rush had something of a similar idea, with his Batwing SG's, and his triple Strat singles paced into the Batwing... Sounded incredible, too! Edit: forgive me, I went on one helluva ramble/rant !! 😊

I've never had any use for split-coil humbucker sounds either, so that's good motivation for trying this. This seems effective, but you'd still be getting coupling between the magnetic fields of the two sides, even when they're split. Have you tested that? Perhaps a non-metallic baseplate would help to isolate.

I have a Jackson pro dinky 2 with jb SD . Can i put a neck strat on my neck slot? Or something close to single neck pickup coil for classic strat sound?

You invented the Fender wide-range humbucker. Just buy some wide-ranges.

Did you wire them individually as two single coil sounds, I was always thinking of wiring them in series like a humbucker and using a coil tap switch to get the true sing coil tone instead of splitting an actual humbucker which, of course isn’t the same as a single coil tone. It basically the of splitting a humbucker, pairing two single coils in series. Does it work? What does the series wiring sound like? You have done the hardest part, the mechanical work now just the wiring in series and test. Anyway it was a thought since I never heard of it before. Thanks maybe in another video?

I did this a few years ago with a single coil pickup wound to duncan antiquity strat specs and a single coil size P90. I prefer it to any neck humbucker.

Alternatively, just remove the screws from the humbucker and have a p90 with no hum.

I have been wondering about this myself… very cool video, thanks!

Am pondering a variant of this idea to get a tele with both single coil AND a single coil-sized humbucker option in the neck position. Any complications I've overlooked? In a perfect world I'd cover them both over somehow with a humbucker PAF cover to improve the look

Pretty sure this is how the bridge position pickup on Robbie Robertson’s bronze Stratocaster was.

Does the volume drop if you mute 1 of the coils, as compared to having both coils active?

no link to the CLEAR Bobbins used =/ Brilliant

so you reversed engineered a humbucker wired in parrallel. At least it was fun right.

Brooo you don't destroy your Pickups in this way, why the hack they are saying that...

Why not use a 3D printed PLA back plate instead of a metal base plate?

I just got a super cheap project husk on Reverb (Just a First Act guitar that someone had fully dismantled) to fiddle around and learn about wiring, etc without messing up a good guitar, and it needs a pickup. It is routed for a single humbucker in the bridge, and I've been trying to figure out what I want to put in it. I really like this idea. I was thinking of a GFS humbucker of some sort with a coil split, but this sounds like a great experiment. If one of the pickups is RWRP to the other, it should function as a humbucker when their both on right? (I assume if they're not of similar output, then it likely wouldn't fully buck hum, but at least it'd be less hum.)

nice

Sounds great! Also, this video gets me closer to what I want, which is basically a single coil in the neck, BUT, in the position closest to the neck. I would take the other coil out (the one closer to the bridge) and run just the one single coil near the neck, and put in a dummy bobbin cover in the empty space, or a nickel cover over the whole thing. I bet that would sound fantastic, you'd get more of that "hollow" strat sound.

Flip the hot and ground on the bridge pickup and it’ll be fine and take the phase out

Is the wiring for position 2 (neck and middle) in series or parallel?

Why not use the humbucker in parallel wiring?

Another thing you could try would be to remove the magnets from one of the coils to create a dummy coil

Lace sensor has been doing this for a long time with their dually pickups were you can get two single coil pickups to work individually or both at the same time

I invented a similar & diabolical mod! 🙂🙃🙂😉

Like, what to do if you want hss but you've only got hh guitar

This is an incredible idea. I am kind of pissed I have never thought about this

i did that to my humbuckers on my thin line tecleaster and it sounds better

One way of getting back that single coil upper end is to use 1 meg volume pots. The best pickups for that clear sound and use with gain seem to be rail pickups. Dimarzio's in particular sound great with a 1 meg pot as they often have a decent amount of bass built in. But a good pair in the neck might be a Dimarzio Norton S on the Bass side and something bright or neutral with the Fast Track 1 or Cruiser Bridge. Eventually would the proximity to each other even out the magnetism between the magnets on each pickup?

Bruh. A humbucker is just two single coils paired together, but reverse polarity to cut out the hum. Hence the name: humbucker. What you did is just create a custom humbucker.

Real late comment but concept i came up with a couple of days ago pickup with two coils, one with enough turns to output like a single coil, other one intended to be turned like one side of a humbucker; the single coil is coil tapped to the same count of turns as the humbucker side coil splitting means that the first coil gets all turns of copper active, making a proper single coil sound, and turning off the coil split Just turns it into a humbucker by using the coil tap could this work

Hey Rob, this is amazingly creative... At some point I'm going to try this... Thanks for sharing it.

I’ve been thinking about doing this too. I also found a pickup with a A5 Strat and a Hotrail on a humbucker baseplate. I love the clarity of Strat pickups and think they would sound great on a mahogany PRS style guitar

To broaden available coils: looks like some of the DiMarzio and Duncan Strat pickups place the connectors directly on the bottom of the pickups, and don't have the triangular plastic of traditional Strat pickups

Very cool, try series / parallel for the neck to get a thicker humbucker sound. The switch wires it parallel which is thinner sounding. The way to probably do it a little bit more affordably is to use tele neck pickups.

I'm looking to do this exact thing but with a Seymour Duncan Vintage rail (not a hot rail) and a Robert Cray Neck Pickup. I appreciate the video but with the swimming verb I can't hear the absolute pickup difference that well. Plus I don't know what amp or amp sim you're playing through which would further aid in absolute tone reference. Thank you for posting though 🙂 --Jason ✌🏻&❤

I don't know if you are aware of this, but it's been done. Only on the bridge position instead of the neck. Robbie Robertson from "the Band" did this on the guitar that he played for their last performance, "the last waltz". Somewhat like this anyway. I don't know for sure how it was wired. He also had the body of the guitar coated in copper. I don't know if that had any affect on the sound. It had to have made it a heavier guitar though. I believe there is a Robbie Robertson model strat made this way. At least it was in the works at one point.

That sounds SHOCKINGLY good. What is your signal path in this video?

Imagine 4 all together in the bridge position

I recently replaced the Chapman seymour duncan neck pickup on my Chapman ML3 Pro modern with a SH-2n jazz and in switch positions 2 thru 4 the combinations sound out of phase. any ideas? I wonder if SD Chapman bridge pickup and SH-2n are wired differently internally. i may just get the SD JB and replace bridge pickup.

This guitar is too bad ass for clean tones

So, are both pickups both the same polarity and same winding direction?

do you have to put one in upside-down, shown at @0:02 , been thinking of doing this and i wanted to check

Wouldn’t the magnet base keep you from having to have a flat plate to “level” the humbuckers plate?

this is completely pointless

I’m from NYC and won’t curse, England taught us than, but I will get blunt “Blood Brink”!!! Subscribed👍👍👍

What would be the difference between Neck humbucker in parallel mode vs 2 single coils in a humbucker slot? I suppose with the latter, you could experiment with different pickups, but are there other benefits?

Well... use a SD Stag Mag SH3 ! 😄

middle earth (lol) :D

I can bet this is a 50 yo idea. And still nobody uses this configuration. Because of a reason I guess

So, nothing changed except location in the guitar? Asking bc I’m making a guitar, from scratch. Haven’t cut pickup cavities yet but want the appearance of HH w having HSS… no flipping magnets or wiring in series/ parallel??

3:15 Rob Chapman

I made the same in the bridge of my strat, with two am std pickups. With a 3 way switch (single/series/single coil wiring). And put a seymour classic stack in the neck. Its a very polyvalent setup. Not real humbucker sound but nice for me with my beloved 2555sl head. Not metalic base plate, just plastic for me.