2020 TV Yellow Epiphone Les Paul Special P90 single coil cycle hum

[Jimmy Gunn]

I get the whole single coil cycle hum concept.  But shouldn't it be eliminated if selector switch is in the middle position.  Even on high gain.  Shouldn't they cancel each other out like a humbucker.

I have tried two of the new TV Yellow 2020 Specials and both hum very loudly on high gain no matter what the selector switch position is.  Am I missing something here?

Edited May 5, 2021 by Jimmy Gunn

[mihcmac]

Epiphone doesn't typically do a reverse coil on the neck pickup to give you hum cancelling on the mid switch position, both the magnets and coil are reversed on one pickup. Both P90's are in the same polarity which you can easily check by placing a compass next to each pickup, if the  needle swings the same way on each pickup, they are in the same polarity. To get hum cancelling one has to be in opposite magnetic polarity.

Most other manufacturers, other than Gibson and Epiphone, are using P90's with opposing magnetic fields.

Edited May 5, 2021 by mihcmac

[Jimmy Gunn]

Thanks alot mihcmac.  That answers my question.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Jimmy Gunn

[Jimmy Gunn]

Gibson and Epiphone.  What is the rationale for not using opposing magnets? 

[mihcmac]

Here is the original link with instructions that I followed to reverse the magnets and coil, it wasn't very difficult and worked.

https://forum.gibson.com/topic/56103-easy-p-90-hum-cancelling-mod/?do=findComment&comment=754477

 

Basically you have to dissemble the P90 carefully and flip the coil and magnets and reassemble. No soldering required on Epiphone P90's.

Edited May 6, 2021 by mihcmac

[Jimmy Gunn]

That is raite cool!!  I am trying it today.  Thanks again.

[mihcmac]

I recently bought this Hum Eliminator and it works so well with P90's that I decided not to do the reverse the coil on my SG Classic because the Electro-Hamonix Hum Debugger really works, not much to do just step on it and the noise is gone.

These have been around longer than I expected. The Hum Debugger is now a permanent component in my pedal chain.

Edited June 3, 2022 by mihcmac

[mihcmac]

Having great success with my Hum Debugger, If you have any trouble when you really push the gain using any type of Pickup, Single Coils or Humbuckers, this Hum Eliminator just simply removes the noise. My Sans Amp pedal has 3 inline OD's and finding I am able to explore new ranges of sound I couldn't use before because they just created too noise.