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Single-Coil vs. Humbucker
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 3:08 am    Post subject: Single-Coil vs. Humbucker Reply with quote

They both have their uses and both can sound great in the proper context but some players are primarily known for one or the other.

The famous die-hard single-coil (or Strat) guys:

Jeff Beck (at least the past two decades or so)
Jimi Hendrix
David Gilmour
Eric Clapton
Ritchie Blackmore
Yngwie Malmsteen
Robin Trower
Rory Gallagher
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Scott Henderson (for his blues solo stuff)

The famous die-hard humbucker (or LP, etc.) guys:

Robben Ford
Duane Allman
Carlos Santana
Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Jimmy Page
Joe Perry

I know I've omitted many other great players but I'm just pointing out guys whose tones are synonymous with the type of guitar and pickups they use for their signature tone. Then you have a bunch of other guys (especially the more modern ones) who have humbuckers slapped on Strat-style guitars, but I'm not going to get into that here. This is strictly about the "pure" single-coil sound versus the "pure" humbucker sound.

Which do you prefer and why? I agree with Jeff Beck when he said something like "The Strat (including the single-coil pickups) is a more honest guitar than the Les Paul." The tone is purer with more frequency response than humbuckers - more lows and more highs, less mids. It's definitely a less forgiving sound and seems to allow more of the player's character to come through. How many of you guys play "pure" Strats, i.e. 3 single-coils? I've always had a Strat around. It's not as easy to play, but there's that "honesty" factor that I really like about 'em.

As a shop owner and meeting players all the time, it's fascinating to see how some are completely drawn to the pure Strat while others are hardcore LP guys and then some are the Superstrat or PRS type of guys. What kind of tone do you seek out of the guitar and the pickups?
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Donnie B.



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 101
Location: Chula Vista, CA

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Being a fan of most of the aforementioned players, and also dabbling in many of their styles, having both is a must. Although a super strat is my main fix because of the overall versatility, I have nights where I'll get in a major Les Paul mood and will wind up pulling out my 10 year old Lester and jamming along with some Gary Moore blues stuff.

I had the 3 single coil Expert for a while but ended up parting with it to finance my recent Brian Moore binge. Recently I'm been yearning for the pure strat sound again (although it'll also be a occasional mood thing - for the most part the stuff I play requires a guitar with a neck and action like the C90) so I'm thinking of maybe springing for one soon.

Ed, I know how you feel about Fender so I'll pose a question to you. I'm not looking for a main axe, just something to get "that sound" every now and then. I figure I can't go wrong with an American Standard. Even though their QC is pretty loose, I've had a few thru the years and although was never totally blown away, was never truly disappointed either. For the most part, they always served the purpose. Agreed?
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kirk95
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Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 58
Location: Boulder, CO

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Let's see I love them all Humbuckers, P90's, Strat single coils and Tele single coils...

That's pretty much it... each has it's place.

There is no place to hide on a Tele with single coils. Humbuckers are much more forgiving and everthing else is somewhere in between!
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Donnie B. wrote:


Ed, I know how you feel about Fender so I'll pose a question to you. I'm not looking for a main axe, just something to get "that sound" every now and then. I figure I can't go wrong with an American Standard. Even though their QC is pretty loose, I've had a few thru the years and although was never totally blown away, was never truly disappointed either. For the most part, they always served the purpose. Agreed?



I think even a Mexican-made Strat will do the job fine if you pick up one that plays and sounds good acoustically. Just make sure you go through a bunch and go with the one that feels good to you. Fender is cranking out nearly a thousand guitars per day, so even if they all meet their rather loose QC standards, some are going to be a lot better than the rest. So just browse through a bunch at the local GC or the mom-and-pop shop and pick out a good one and then replace the pickups with the Suhr V60LP's (used by Henderson and Landau) and you're set to go! Very Happy
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Donnie B.



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
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Location: Chula Vista, CA

PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are the Suhr pups hum cancelling????
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
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Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Donnie B. wrote:
Are the Suhr pups hum cancelling????


The V60's aren't, but that's how you get the purest single-coil tones. Stacked or whatever other methods they use to cancel the hum takes away the chime and the liveliness of a great single-coil sound. The V60's are by far the quietest non-stacked (or "pure") single-coils I've ever heard. I'm not trying to sell you these (although I can Wink ), just saying that they're the best single-coils that I've ever or tried. Some of my customers have been replacing their Fralins and Kinmans with the V60LP's and have been ecstatic with the results.
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Carlo



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 408

PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 4:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tend to favor bridge humbuckers (I have a DiMarzio Tone Zone in mine). I'm a hybrid picker and an economy picker so I tend to have very light touch and attack. But I also have a Tele and I like it very much but it does take more work, especially since I don't use a lot of gain or compression on my amp.
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bill®



Joined: 11 Sep 2004
Posts: 72

PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 4:43 am    Post subject: Mexican Strats... Reply with quote

I have a Mexican Strat that I picked up that is a totally abnormal. It is literally one of the best rock guitars that I have ever heard, something that more than one of my much older guitar playing friends have seconded. It really does kick ass. So yeah, there's good ones out there.
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frankus



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 1100
Location: Chelmsford/Arachnipus

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use a strat, an Ibanez RG and soon a Tokai 335.

I prefer a humbucker on the bridge, but a single coil can really sing there too. I like both single humbucker on the bridge, they both have a flutey quality, but are both unique. I think I prefer the Humbucker.

What about tone controls? I really like the idea of the Gibson 2 tones two volumes.. does that make a massive difference? I like the setup but find it tricky in a live environment (my strat was a smith strat and still has 1 volume 1 tone)
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dinojackson



Joined: 11 Sep 2004
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2004 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone here prefers the sound of active single coil/humbucker pickups than passive pickups ??
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jason_m



Joined: 15 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2004 5:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a huge fan of Yngwie J. Malmsteen, I have been using DiMarzio HS-3s for a long time now. They give a great Strat tone without being too high output and without the 60-cycle hum. I'm buying a Carvin Holdsworth model guitar this month, and am looking forward to hearing the H22 pickups designed by Allan. Gee, can you guess who my two fav guitarists are Question
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bill®



Joined: 11 Sep 2004
Posts: 72

PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jason_m wrote:
As a huge fan of Yngwie J. Malmsteen, I have been using DiMarzio HS-3s for a long time now. They give a great Strat tone without being too high output and without the 60-cycle hum. I'm buying a Carvin Holdsworth model guitar this month, and am looking forward to hearing the H22 pickups designed by Allan. Gee, can you guess who my two fav guitarists are Question


Yngwie and Allan are probably two of the most different guitarists I can possibly think of, apart from the fact that they both has impressive chops (although Allan much moreso obviously).
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jason_m



Joined: 15 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you ever heard Yngwie's cover of "In The Dead of Night"? It's a very excellent homage to both UK and Allan. I love that both of them are primarily influenced by non-guitarists- Yngwie/Baroque and classical violinists, Allan/jazz saxophonists.
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stratoskier



Joined: 24 Sep 2004
Posts: 82
Location: Bozeman Montana

PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was curious if anyone has found any single coils that work particularly well in a basswood guitar? I have an old, vintage-trem Ibanez Radius (542R) that has a terrific neck on it, but it has some of those old Ibanez double-blade single coils in it. Lots of output, but not a lot of single coil personality. Based on Ed's endorsement (and Scott Henderson's), I'm thinking of getting a set of V60LPs, but I think all the players I know using them are using alder guitars. Any thoughts?
Bert
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Eske Meldgaard Krogh



Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 1
Location: Århus, Denmark

PostPosted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I absolutely need a single coil in the neck position... It's simply the epitome of electric guitar tone for me. I play two YJM Strats - on one I have added a HB at the bridge whereas the other is still 3 SC. However, the YJMs and HS-3s weren't quite single coil-y enough for my tastes, so I did a coil tap on them and suddenly the guitar came alive with sparkle and bite - tone hot-roding for sure (plus it's cheap and simple)! I highly recomend anyone with a HS-2, HS-3 or YJM in their guitar to fit a push/pull pot on the tone control to add that extra tonal colour of true single coil pickups to the sonic pallette.

I really like my YJMs, however, there are too many little flaws with regards to fit and finish, for me to truly think that they'll be the end-all-be-all guitars for me, they are work horses with nice tone, but they truly lack attention to detail. With this said, I do love the neck and scalloping on these things (the obvious reason why I play them). I hope to end up with a custom Suhr Classic within the next couple of years (probably HSS), which should remedy the short comings of my Fenders.

Cheers

Eske
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