can i make my own dummy coil?

[varunkapahi]

i have a p-j bass where i never use the p pickup. the single J pickup makes a whole lot of 60cycle buzz. now can i get rid of that noise by making my own dummy coil ala some musicman basses while keeping the single coil sound?

or is there a way i can make the p pickup act like a dummy coil to cancel the hum from the J pickup at the bridge?

[Rune Bivrin]

Considering your location I'd be very surprised if the hum was 60Hz

Anything you do without adding active electronics will undoubtedly change the sound substantially. You could add a dummy coil in parallel with the J pickup, but that would reduce the lows. Adding a dummy coil in series would reduce the highs.

With a bit of active electronics you could definitely get rid of almost all the hum without losing tone.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by Rune Bivrin

Considering your location I'd be very surprised if the hum was 60Hz

Anything you do without adding active electronics will undoubtedly change the sound substantially. You could add a dummy coil in parallel with the J pickup, but that would reduce the lows. Adding a dummy coil in series would reduce the highs.

With a bit of active electronics you could definitely get rid of almost all the hum without losing tone.

thanks for the response! yeah it might be 120hz but i guess you get what i mean so anyway i meant to ask "how" can i make a dummy coil to add to the circuit!?

i used one of the coils of the p pickup as a dummy coil and added it in parallel and i can see a noticeable loss in output and some clarity as in mids/highs. will i get more mids if i add it in series instead i can let go of some highs

[line6man]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

yeah it might be 120hz

No, it would be 50Hz.
You're probably confusing the frequency of DC ripple rectified from a 60Hz AC source.

In any case, you could make a dummy coil if you want, but not with a P pickup. A P pickup is two coils, plus the J makes three. That means that two coils would present hum 180 degrees out of phase from each other, which would cancel it out, then the third coil would have the hum, but with no other waveform to destructively interfere with. You need an even number of coils.

[line6man]

Originally Posted by Rune Bivrin

Anything you do without adding active electronics will undoubtedly change the sound substantially.

I tried a dummy coil a few months ago, and I was actually quite impressed with how good it sounded.
Placing the dummy parallel to the audible coil obviously dropped it's impedance, so there was a noticeable volume difference, however, once I turned up the gain on the preamp I play my bass through to compensate, it sounded just fine to my ears.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by line6man

No, it would be 50Hz.
You're probably confusing the frequency of DC ripple rectified from a 60Hz AC source.

In any case, you could make a dummy coil if you want, but not with a P pickup. A P pickup is two coils, plus the J makes three. That means that two coils would present hum 180 degrees out of phase from each other, which would cancel it out, then the third coil would have the hum, but with no other waveform to destructively interfere with. You need an even number of coils.

i meant i used one of the coils from the p pickup not the whole thing

Originally Posted by line6man

I tried a dummy coil a few months ago, and I was actually quite impressed with how good it sounded.
Placing the dummy parallel to the audible coil obviously dropped it's impedance, so there was a noticeable volume difference, however, once I turned up the gain on the preamp I play my bass through to compensate, it sounded just fine to my ears.

yeah i have it in parallel i hear a dip in volume and maybe the mids as the harmonics are not ringing out like they do without the dummy coil. i can say this because i can bring the dummy coil in or out of the circuit with a switch and try to compensate for the gain by the amp's control but anyway if i didnt have the switch i wouldnt be so bothered

[varunkapahi]

hmmmmmm