- Understand the difference between coil split and coil tapped pick-ups.
- Learn the basics of how each modification affects your guitar tone.
- Listen to examples of standard pick-ups vs. modified pick-ups.
Every electric guitar’s tonal character is directly linked to the type and quality of the pick-ups. Those standard tones can be modified through coil-splitting and/or tapping.
Coil splitting and coil tapping modify how guitar pick-ups behave and, ultimately — how they sound.
Let’s explore how coil-split and tap can provide versatile options.
Coil Splitting vs. Coil Tapping: Differences & Main Takeaways
- A single coil pickup can only be coil-tapped, whereas a humbucker offers the choice of tapping or splitting.
- Coil tapping a single coil will allow you to switch that pickup into a vintage sound.
- Coil tapping a humbucker produces a weaker signal than coil-splitting it and is the more popular method of achieving a single coil sound from a humbucker.
Coil tapping means taking a “tap” off the wound coil of a single pickup partway through. The result is a more vintage tone from the reduced signal path. Coil tapping is rarely implemented as a DIY modification as the wiring process is complex.
Coil splitting is the process of dividing the two pickups of a humbucker down to a single coil using a switch or pull pot. This modification will give your humbucking guitar a single-coil sound.
A guitar pickup is designed to transform the vibrations of a guitar string into an electrical signal. It uses a magnet(s) inserted into a bobbin and wound with copper wire. The resulting wrapped copper is called a “coil”. So, both coil-tapping and coil-splitting involve interrupting the flow of electricity through the coil.
Single coil pick-up modification.
If you have single coil pickups on your guitar, you have just one modification option. That option is a coil-tapped pickup.
As you can see from the image above, the coil is wrapped around the magnetic pole pieces. The two ends of this “single-coil” are soldered off to a hot hook-up wire and a ground hook-up wire.
This configuration is considered to be the standard single coil set-up.
Exploring Coil Tap: An Alternative Tonal Enhancement
Coil tapping is another effective way to maximize the potential of your guitar’s single coil pickup. Coil tapping reduces the pickup’s output by canceling a portion of its winding. The process involves extracting the signal from within these windings.
In other words, when winding the coil, the copper is “tapped off” before the end of the winding process.
Let’s imagine you are winding your single coil ten thousand times. To coil tap that winding, you could stop at eight thousand winds and tap off the signal before continuing the winding.
You now have the option to switch your standard single coil (with ten thousand windings) to a coil-tapped version with just eight thousand windings. A coil tap results in lower voltage output and a crisper, brighter sound.
Coil tapping also influences your guitar’s overall volume, as it taps into the wiring’s midpoint. This approach can be advantageous for specific playing styles.
As the sound of a pickup is affected by the number of windings, the quality of the components, and the position of the pickup on the guitar, numerous coil tap setups are possible, each yielding distinct tones.
Watch young guitarist Matt Winkler demonstrating his coil tapped Squire Stratocaster.
The best solution for a single coil pickup modification
While all the above information is factually correct, coil-tapping your single coil pickup is not the best value modification you can do.
Rewinding your own pickups is a tricky process. The cost of having a guitar tech rewire your pickups has to be factored in. And, in reality, a coil-tapped single-coil pickup rarely sounds incredible. You could consider a P90 pickup instead.
Guitar luthier and technician Tom Anfield recommends single coil guitarists invest money into an Artec Hot Rail (dual rail humbucker) to replace a single coil pickup.
The Artec mimics the more expensive Seymour Duncan for a quarter of the price and allows you to coil-tap out of the box and add the option of a humbucker. If you play a Telecaster or Stratocaster, this hot tip could save you hours of painstaking wiring and yield a better result.
Coil Splitting: Unpacking Humbucker Pickups
Humbucker pickups are essentially two single pickups wired together with opposite polarities to eliminate unwanted noise and hum associated with single coils. (Hence HUM-bucking).
Coil splitting disrupts the connections of these two coils within a single humbucker, disabling one while leaving the other to function as a single pickup.
This feature can be implemented during guitar manufacturing or by experienced guitarists following online tutorials and wiring diagrams. Coil splitting is ideal for those seeking a broader tonal palette from one guitar.
With a coil split humbucker, you can enjoy a more dynamic humbucker sound as well as a sound closer to that of a single coil.
Watch Guitarist Lucas demonstrating his Coil Split Telecaster with humbuckers.
FAQ
Does Coil Splitting Impact Tone?
Absolutely, coil splitting affects your tone—it’s its primary purpose. It offers a straightforward way to diversify your guitar’s sound. Humbuckers produce a warmer, smoother, and punchier sound, often favored by metal and hard rock guitarists.
In contrast, single coil pickups deliver a brighter, more characterful tone, ideal for blues, funk, country, and even jazz musicians. Coil-splitting is especially handy for gigging guitarists who play multiple genres, eliminating the need to carry multiple guitars.
Can All Pickups Be Coil-Split?
Single-coil pickups cannot be coil-split because there’s nothing to split within their design. In contrast, humbuckers can be split.
Some humbuckers are unsuitable for splitting, such as Hum Cancelling P90s or Twangmaster, while others, like Pure P.A.F and High Output humbuckers, can be split. Correct lead wires, typically 3-conductor or 4-conductor, are necessary for splitting humbucker pickups.
Can You Coil Tap a Humbucker?
While tapping humbuckers is possible, it tends to affect their thick, low-end sound significantly. Coil-splitting is often preferred and more straightforward to set up, both for do-it-yourself guitarists and pickup manufacturers.
Can You Coil Tap Any Single-Coil Pickup?
You can generally tap any single-coil pickup, provided it has quality winding. Tapping allows you to implement a volume switch for these pickups, reducing output and altering tone characteristics.
Wiring methods for coil tapping vary, offering unique tone and volume adjustments. Some high-powered single-coil pickups can be ordered with extra wire for tapping, enhancing their versatility.
Wrapping Up
Ultimately, choosing whether to split or tap is a personal choice. While these techniques serve similar purposes, they achieve them differently. Coil splitting divides humbuckers into single coils, while coil tapping extracts a signal from within the windings.
If you’ve reached the end, comment below how you approach coil tap vs coil split. Why not also check out these articles to further your inner guitar geek side…?
