[Theobalt]

Hi!

I was wondering about the polarity and the winding of Dimarzio's single coils. I already have a SD SSL-5 in a stratlike guitar, and I was planning to pair it with True Velvet pickups. So, a SSL-5 with a RWRP True Velvet should provide a hum cancelling combination, except if for some reason Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio use different polarity orientations and winding directions.

I have found on Seymour Duncan's website that the SSL-5 is south, top going. On the Dimarzio website, I have found concerning the True Velvet middle : "For technically-minded players, reverse polarity on our true single-coil Strat® replacements is south up." Do I understand that the SSL-5 and the True Velvet Middle have the same polarity and winding, hence once paired they are not hum cancelling?

Besides, anyone has experience in pairing Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio single coils?

Thanks!

[BluesJam]

I’m sure if you know your polarity they can make a pickup that matches.  Also, you need to know if the SSL is sound clock or counterclockwise too,  Personally, I prefer to keep the same brand in each guitar.  I have the FS1, which is similar to the Duncan ssl5.  The Dimarzio pickups are built differently too.  Duncan uses eyelets, DiMarzio wires in the coil, and then tapes the coil.  My FS1 is very quiet for a single coil, and personally I think it’s a superior pickup.  I had Duncan’s in a telecaster in the past and the hum was very audible.  The FS1 is the quietest single that I have played, the next is the HS4 wired in single coil, which was very quiet as well.

[DavidSchwab]

DiMarzio can make anything you need. When I worked there I was working on pickups for Ibanez, Ernie Ball, and just regular people that wanted something custom, usually bobbin color or polarity.
It’s actually a fairly small company.


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[BluesJam]

Small, but a great company with outstanding products.  Boutique wonders is a just modern catch phrase with a higher price point.  I had Duncan’s, by the DiMarzios work for me.

[DarthPhineas]

Hi!

I was wondering about the polarity and the winding of Dimarzio's single coils. I already have a SD SSL-5 in a stratlike guitar, and I was planning to pair it with True Velvet pickups. So, a SSL-5 with a RWRP True Velvet should provide a hum cancelling combination, except if for some reason Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio use different polarity orientations and winding directions.

I have found on Seymour Duncan's website that the SSL-5 is south, top going. On the Dimarzio website, I have found concerning the True Velvet middle : "For technically-minded players, reverse polarity on our true single-coil Strat replacements is south up." Do I understand that the SSL-5 and the True Velvet Middle have the same polarity and winding, hence once paired they are not hum cancelling?

Besides, anyone has experience in pairing Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio single coils?

Thanks!

Never had any problems pairing SD and DMZ. One or two of the smaller boutique places might have a random issue

[Theobalt]

The true velvet middle was already ordered when I posted in the first place. I shall receive it soon, probably next week, or even tomorrow if I am lucky. I will keep you informed how it works with the SSL-5.

I will probably try the FS-1. I have been for the SSL-5 for its Gilmourish sound, but the guy also used a FS-1 on Animals and The Wall.

In the meantime, thanks for the feedbacks!

[Theobalt]

So the True Velvet Middle is installed and fully working. I installed it following Dimarzio's instructions. I did not try to swap wires or else, I installed it as it is intended to be in the first place.

The True Velvet and the SSL-5 in neck position are in phase, but they are not hum-cancelling. This means, if I am not mistaken, that the polarity and the winding direction are the same. I conclude that Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan are using opposite ways to build single coil pickups. So, I should have ordered a True Velvet Neck instead to get the humcancelling effect with the SSL-5. Not a big thing in my opinion, I am already used to the hum when playing with single coils...

[BluesJam]

Original strats had no rwrp middle pickups.  It can be argued that rwrp pickups that create a hum cancelling configuration takes away sonic frequencies and character of the single coils itself.  I highly doubt it that Gilmore had rwrp wiring in his Strat in the 1970’s.

A cool wiring mod would be to have a 3-way switch for each of the pickups. (1) master volume & tone (1) blend pot to add the neck pickup.  Then you can get tele sounds and all 3 pickups on a la Gilmour

[mobys436]

I know this thread is almost a year old, but I'd thought I'd chime in anyway.

Standard duncan singlecoils are south polarity, dimarzios are north. Wind directions are the same, but this doesn't really matter as far as compatibility since you can just swap the hot and ground leads when soldering to change the wind direction.

So for a duncan and dimarzio singlecoil pups to be humcancelling and in phase both need to be standard (according to each brand's specs), but when wiring it up you need to swap the hot and ground on one of the pickups.

In your case, if you have a duncan in the bridge and dimarzios in the middle and neck, to be humcancelling in pos 2 and 4 you'll need a standard true velvet in the middle, and a rwrp true velvet in the neck, and the hot and ground with both pickups will need to be soldered the other way around (as in, if the duncan is wired white-hot, black-ground, the dimarzios will need to be the other way around: black-hot, white-ground)