Coil tap
A connection brought out from partway along a pickup's winding, letting a switch select either the whole coil or only the portion before the tap.
A tap does not switch coils as a split does; it changes how much wire is in the circuit, so the tapped version is quieter and brighter because fewer turns means less output and a higher resonant frequency. It is most often found on single-coil pickups wound with a tap, and on some basses where two different levels of the same pickup are wanted. The amount of wire before the tap decides how extreme the difference is.
Example: a tapped single coil in the bridge gives a lower-output setting that cleans up an overdriven amp with a flick of a switch.
See also
Related
- PageCoil split
- PageActive pickup
- PageAlnico
- PageBlade pickup
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley
- PageAd-Rock
- ReferenceCircle of fifths