A surface wave component has a pair of interdigital transducer comb structures carried spaced apart on a surface of a substrate which is carried on a base plate. In one embodiment, signal leads extend beneath the substrate to areas adjacent the rear portions of the comb structures and are capacitively coupled thereto via the substrate which is a dielectric. In another embodiment, inductive coupling loops interconnect the rear portions of the comb structures of a respective transducer and another inductive loop is carried on the opposite side of the substrate for signal coupling. In both embodiments both symmetrical and asymmetrical signal coupling is provided by utilizing a grounding plate or layer as a signal lead.