Guting a soap bar

[bobodechimp]

Have a dean evo. Love the feel but don't love the pickups. Could replace them but one it's a unique pickup size. Two not thinking another soap bar is what the doctor ordered. Was thinking that if i could gut the pickup gently i could rewire the humbucker into a single coil. If not so gently then could mount any pickup i want in side. So what I am asking is one is this the idea of a crazy person and two how do i go about this?

 

[bassbenj]

Have a dean evo. Love the feel but don't love the pickups. Could replace them but one it's a unique pickup size. Two not thinking another soap bar is what the doctor ordered. Was thinking that if i could gut the pickup gently i could rewire the humbucker into a single coil. If not so gently then could mount any pickup i want in side. So what I am asking is one is this the idea of a crazy person and two how do i go about this?

Theoretically you can turn a humbucker into a single coil by bringing the wires for each coil out separately. For single coil you then have a switch that selects just one of the two coils in each pickup. Generally you want to select just the outside coils (towards neck and bridge) or the inside coils (the other ones) so that the thing maintains a certain humbucking with both pickups on full.

As for how to do this, it depends on how the pickups are made. Some times the insides just fall out and there are the coils and wires! I had some $20 MM pickups that were two wire and I wanted 4 wires and they were potted in tar! But with diligent and careful chipping I got down to the connections and installed the coil split. But be forewarned! The wire in pickups is FINE. It will break by looking at it crosswise! You can easily render an expensive pickup useless by attempting this if a lot of digging is required!

 

[line6man]

A lot of soapbar pickups are epoxy potted, which means that modification is basically impossible.

 

[bobodechimp]

It has that red gook stuff. And it was a100 buck bass so the pickups are el cheepo's

 

[JustForSport]

'red gook stuff'- wax?

 

[bobodechimp]

It's harder than wax. On Side note, if just drop a pickup into the rout and not close it up IE a lipstick or single pickup p. How noisy do you think it will be. Ugly it's ok but to much hum will be a deal braker

 

[JustForSport]

Single coils are known to more likely produce hum- unless they have a matching rw/rp single coil on at the same time,
but a side-by-side split-coil can be hum-cancelling and fit in the same place.

 

[reddog]

I'm interested in buying any soapbar, if you yank it.

 

[bobodechimp]

I'm interested in buying any soapbar, if you yank it.

Pm me

 

[bobodechimp]

So i desided not to gut the pickups. Instead going to make custom wood pickups. Now just got to figure out what to put inside of them. Want something warm sweet but yet clear. Vintage hifi if that makes sense. Oh ya cheap is another concern