Pickup questions

[danw]

Hello,

I've been working on a frankenstein-type project guitar for awhile now, and it's about time to get some pickups for it. I have a few questions:

1) I've heard good things about GFS pickups in general on this board. Can anybody vouch specifically for the Dream 180s? Man, they're pretty, if nothing else, and half the price of any of the big brand-name ones I've seen.

2) How close does the string spacing have to be to the pole spacing on the pickup? I'm looking at a bridge with 2" string spacing, and the bridge pickup calls for 2 + 1/8". Is that going to cause a big problem, or do I have some room there?

3) Can any humbucker be wired for coil-tapping? I don't have that on any of my existing guitars, but it sounds like a versatility I would like to have. And for that matter, do pickups typically come with wiring instructions? I've never bought just a pickup before, and I'm a bit new to this business.

[Anfontan]

Originally Posted by danw

Hello,

I've been working on a frankenstein-type project guitar for awhile now, and it's about time to get some pickups for it. I have a few questions:

1) I've heard good things about GFS pickups in general on this board. Can anybody vouch specifically for the Dream 180s? Man, they're pretty, if nothing else, and half the price of any of the big brand-name ones I've seen.

2) How close does the string spacing have to be to the pole spacing on the pickup? I'm looking at a bridge with 2" string spacing, and the bridge pickup calls for 2 + 1/8". Is that going to cause a big problem, or do I have some room there?

3) Can any humbucker be wired for coil-tapping? I don't have that on any of my existing guitars, but it sounds like a versatility I would like to have. And for that matter, do pickups typically come with wiring instructions? I've never bought just a pickup before, and I'm a bit new to this business.

I have a Fender Strat thats made in Mexico that I installed 3 GFS pickups to replace the original ones and they are a lot better sounding, the bridge pickup is a Liverpool RetroTron that is similar to the Dream 180. I have it wired for coil tapping, it just takes a DPDT switch and a humbucker with 4 conductor wiring. I'm not sure of the bridge spacing problem though..
The GFS pickups come with some vague wiring diagrams-I recommend Seymour Duncan's site for more exact diagrams.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/

[danw]

Thanks for the info -- and those are really great diagrams.

[Light]

Originally Posted by danw

1) I've heard good things about GFS pickups in general on this board. Can anybody vouch specifically for the Dream 180s? Man, they're pretty, if nothing else, and half the price of any of the big brand-name ones I've seen.

No clue.

Originally Posted by danw

2) How close does the string spacing have to be to the pole spacing on the pickup? I'm looking at a bridge with 2" string spacing, and the bridge pickup calls for 2 + 1/8". Is that going to cause a big problem, or do I have some room there?

Not very close. The main difference is cosmetic, particularly on a pickup where you can adjust the pole pieces. The main reason for wider spaced pickups is cosmetic.

Originally Posted by danw

3) Can any humbucker be wired for coil-tapping?

No, it must be designed to be tapped. It must have a three or four conductor wire.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[RightOnMusic]

pete biltoft at vintage vibe guitars is a pickup god.

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by Light

No, it must be designed to be tapped. It must have a three or four conductor wire.

That's not entirely true. It takes a little bit of surgery, but standard humbuckers can be modded for coil tapping. I've done it; all you need to do is open it up and find the wire that goes from one coil to the other, sever it, and run wires from the two severed ends to the outside. It's not that difficult.