How to install a split coil and get the best of both worlds!

How to Install a Coil Split on a Guitar with Humbuckers

Humbucker pickups are powerful and quiet, but sometimes you want the brighter, snappier, and more dynamic sound of a single coil. What if you could have both, without swapping pickups?

In this video I activate the function coil-split on my guitar equipped with the Ultramarines of Guss Pickups. These microphones were kindly sent to me by Gurvan Tonal, and they allow precisely this transformation.

If you missed the train, you can read about it first on theinstalling these pickups on my guitar.

🔧 What is a coil split?

A humbucker is two coils working together: one for each magnetic polarity (north and south), and with opposite winding directions. The result: the signal adds together, but the electrical noise cancels out.

When we make a coil split, one of the two coils is deactivated. We therefore lose noise cancellation, the output level decreases, but the sound becomes clearer, more defined and more dynamic.

The sound becomes more hollow, close to a single coil, without having to change the pickup.

🧲 Pay attention to polarities and windings

If you want to use two split mics together (like in the middle position), you need to make sure that:

• The remaining coils are of opposite polarity (north/south).
• The windings are reversed (to continue to cancel noise).

In my case, Gurvan advised me:

• Bridge pickup: keep the north coil (with the inner fixed poles).
• Neck pickup: keep the south coil (with the adjustable poles), reversing the position of the pickup to bring it closer to the neck.

🛠️ Installing the split coil

I had already installed a push-pull potentiometer; all that remained was to wire it correctly. The push-pull switch is a double DPDT (2-pole, 2-position) switch with six contacts. The two contacts identified by a "C" are the common points.

Ultramarine pickups have four conductors, two of which represent the junction point between the coils. This is the point that must be connected to ground to disable a coil during splitting.

• Identify the active contacts when the button is pulled.
• Connect the correct terminals to ground.
• Solder the pickup junctions to the center terminals of the switch.

Both pickups will split at the same time, but because I chose the coils well, the noise still cancels out in the middle position.

🎧 And the result?

Test in the middle position: noise is canceled, as with a parallel humbucker. The two remaining coils are polarized and wound to complement each other.

The sound is clearer, more defined, and slightly hollow. It's not a true single coil, but it's very close, without having changed the pickup.

Note: My guitar has 24 frets, so the coils are placed a little differently than a Strat. This also affects the tone of the split.

🎸 Is it worth it?

Yes, definitely. It adds a new tonal color to my guitar without sacrificing anything. And since the pickups were already wired as four-conductor wires, it was just a matter of getting the connection right.

💬 Share your experience

Do you prefer single or dual coils? Have you ever tried a coil split? Are your pickups wired for that? Share your experiences in the comments; it helps me guide future videos!

And if you liked this video, consider leaving a like, or even better to yousubscribe to the channel and activate the bell so you don't miss any upcoming content. See you soon, and in the meantime, let's keep playing our guitars!