How is "Hollow Tone" described for humbucker pups?

[classicplayer]

I am relativley new to the world of humbuckers. I read the terms to describe them sometimes as "hollow toned" or "woody" sounding. Just what exactly do these terms mean; is it a characteristic of pickups alone, or a combination of pickup and guitar together?

I am familiar with single coils in Strats and know what sound Strat's pickups make when in position 2 and 4 (thin sounding, and glassy). Is this what hollow means?

The reason I ask is that I have recently put in Duncan '59s in my Les Paul Classic and struggle to describe the resulting sound. I call it full and balanced across the tone spectrum. By changing my amp's tone controls though, I can make them either fat, or thin sounding (with a lot of "bite"). As I like my Strat for the biting sounds, I prefer that my Les Paul should have a really fat sound to it with just enough high end to make notes stand out. I probably sound like a rank beginner and I consider that I am when it comes to pups; even though I have played guitar for many years.

Classicplayer

[Benjy_26]

Re: How is "Hollow Tone" described for humbucker pups?

Welcome to the Forum!

Don't worry if you don't understand somebody's description of a certain sound. There are a lot of players out there with different ears, tastes, and ways to explain what they perceive. What comes to mind when I think of PAF sound and "hollowness" I think of it as a transparency to the mids, tight lows, and rounded highs that still have plenty of definition and bite, just not as much as a single coil.

The best exaple of this that I have personally tried is the SH-55 Seth Lover set that I had in my Epi Sheraton. Right on the heels of these pickups though is the PG set that I have in my LP. I tried the 59's in both the LP and the Sheraton, but they had a bit too much low end for my tastes through my rig.

[classicplayer]

Re: How is "Hollow Tone" described for humbucker pups?

Thanks for the welcome Benjy 26. It seems from your reply that you think hollow tone describes more the single coil sound rather than the humbucker types. I agree about the '59 neck by Duncan. Dialing in the right amount of bass can be tricky. I usually get mind set right on the edge to where one more tweak would put it in the "boomy" category. It is not so difficult for me as it was earlier as both my amps (tube and solid state) have good speakers and the speakers are now broken in with the result that their tones are much smoother than when they were new.

Classicplayer

[Benjy_26]

Re: How is "Hollow Tone" described for humbucker pups?

Honestly that's the way I hear my Seth's and PG's. True PAF's aren't as fat sounding as most people think. Try a good set of PAF replicas like Seth's or Antiquities and you'll know what I mean.

[dr.barlo]

Re: How is "Hollow Tone" described for humbucker pups?

As far as I can say, there are two notions of hollowness when it comes to PAFs. The first is due to lack of mids (think of Felder's work in "one of these nights") and that is due to an a5 PAF. Well pronounced bass, not spongy, and well pronounced, present highs. The second type of hollowness I can think of is due to the 3d clarity and definition from some of the non-wax potted pickups. SD's antiquities have that. They are smooth, spongy, yet have that to die for hollowness.

B

[theboatcandream]

Re: How is "Hollow Tone" described for humbucker pups?

As far as I can say, there are two notions of hollowness when it comes to PAFs. The first is due to lack of mids (think of Felder's work in "one of these nights") and that is due to an a5 PAF. Well pronounced bass, not spongy, and well pronounced, present highs. The second type of hollowness I can think of is due to the 3d clarity and definition from some of the non-wax potted pickups. SD's antiquities have that. They are smooth, spongy, yet have that to die for hollowness.

B

The second meaning you just gave is what I usually think of as well... almost like two guitars playing at the same time.