What is a start and finish?

[raymondl3]

Hey. I was looking at a Seymore Duncan schematic for a series parallel switch and since it didn't describe the origin of wires, I refered to a color code chart which described each lead as a start and finish. Is there a more technical term, like positive and negative or hot and cold?

Thanks.

[SGD Lutherie]

Just what it sounds like. Start is where the coils starts as it's wound, and then you have the finish end of the coil.

The reason this information is helpful is so that the coils get wired up the right way.

On a humbucker, you wire start to start, or finish to finish, since the two coils are wired together with reverse polarity. This assumes both coils were wound in the same direction, which is the usual way for humbuckers.

[raymondl3]

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

Just what it sounds like. Start is where the coils starts as it's wound, and then you have the finish end of the coil.

The reason this information is helpful is so that the coils get wired up the right way.

On a humbucker, you wire start to start, or finish to finish, since the two coils are wired together with reverse polarity. This assumes both coils were wound in the same direction, which is the usual way for humbuckers.

Thanks for the advice. I wired up the pickup and the switch outside of the bass and it seems to work. I tapped on the pickup with a small screwdriver. It was a little quieter in one of the modes. If I swap the stops and starts (reverse the order), will that make any difference?

Thanks

[SGD Lutherie]

Originally Posted by raymondl3

It was a little quieter in one of the modes. If I swap the stops and starts (reverse the order), will that make any difference?

If you wire the coils in-phase (assuming they are would in the same direction) they will be out-of-phase with each other and sound very thin, also the pickup will hum.

This is why it's wired start to start, or finish to finish.

So you can think of start as (+) and finish as (-) or vice versa.