themikeaustin wrote:... I have two ASAT Specials and the neck pickups are reverse-wound relative to the bridge pickups, and there's no quack when both pickups are played, which would seem to invalidate the first paragraph above.
From what I've read elsewhere, neither the RWRP nor the PTB wiring removes the comb-filtering effect we call "quack", but I suspect combining an RWRP with a standard pickup would affect it - since you're changing the (aggregate) direction of the magnetic field above each pickup (see below).
When we pluck a string we cause a wave to run back and forth over the string - bouncing back upon itself at the nut and bridge. Though the motion of the wave moves down the string - the string itself moves from side to side as the wave passes by. It is this motion that pulls the magnetic field around and induces a current in the coil. This motion runs perpendicular to the string (the string is tied left to right, but vibrates up and down). Where the magnetic field is flatter atop the pickup (lining up with the string directions), the vibration of the strings will be perpendicular to the field - and induce a larger signal in the coil.
It follows that a Standard+RWRP coupling
ought to cancel out whatever noise is
not coming from the pickups, and put more signal in the coils because the string's vibration cuts more perpendicularly where the field direction is flatter. One would expect that to translate into a sharper comb-filtering effect (i.e. one would expect the harmonic amplification/cancellation effect to be less buried by ambient noise).
I'm not really sure what to make of your ASATs/RWRP combo. There should still be some comb-filtering going on, since there will be a difference in amplitude in the string over each pickup.
I plan to drop a RWRP SSL-2 in the middle position of my legacy when the copper shielding I ordered arrives. I sure hope it doesn't (overly) mute the quack...
(edit: spellchecking)