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What makes the Humbucker so magical?

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  • #1

    What makes the Humbucker so magical?

    Someone told me you can stick a compressor in the signal chain to get P-90s to sound like humbuckers, but I found this isn't true.

    There's a kind of percussive "thud/thunk" and a different "string balance"/separation compared to P-90s, even with a compressor. It has to be more than just the compression from having two coils. Is it the phase cancellation or the coils being close together? What do you think it is?

    Yet this magical tone is fragile and can easily get lost in the mix of a rock and roll band, I assume because of its low-mid emphasis that gets buried by the cymbals.

    How much do you think the humbucker had to do with the emergence of rock/metal or was it just a coincidence that the humbucker came out around the time these styles were taking off ('57)?

    Do you think the metal great's (Page, Iommi, Young, Van Halen) style and sound would have been the same if the humbucker were never invented?

    So many questions!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

    Where would the thick, crushing tone come from had the humbucker never been invented?
    Originally posted by Myaccount876
    Attenuators are for pussies. Neighbors calling the cops isn't a problem - if the cops can actually still decipher the neighbor's complaint on the phone with the Marshall in the background, you're doing it wrong and it needs to be louder.

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    • #3
      Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

      From stacked p90s. They would have different tone but essentially be the same. All the players you mentioned used single coils often. Iommi loved his p90s, Page's REALLY heavy stuff was done on a Tele etc.

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      • #4
        Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

        Originally posted by Falloffthebonetone View Post
        From stacked p90s. They would have different tone but essentially be the same. All the players you mentioned used single coils often. Iommi loved his p90s, Page's REALLY heavy stuff was done on a Tele etc.
        Yeah, but Van Halen, dude. Where would the Panama tone come from?
        Originally posted by Myaccount876
        Attenuators are for pussies. Neighbors calling the cops isn't a problem - if the cops can actually still decipher the neighbor's complaint on the phone with the Marshall in the background, you're doing it wrong and it needs to be louder.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

          Originally posted by Archer250 View Post
          Yeah, but Van Halen, dude. Where would the Panama tone come from?
          A strat probably with the tone turned down or using the between position. Who knows? My question is, how can we be so sure that it wouldn't sound even BETTER without humbuckers and was done using alternate means? Eddie could do what he did on pretty much anything with strings. Maybe humbuckers were the WORST choice he could've made and if he tried something else, the final product would've been even better.

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          • #6
            Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

            For the record, every p90 I have tried gibson or otherwise has always sounded fatter, hotter, more aggressive and had a clearer top end than the typical PAF style humbucker. If he used a p90 he would've been fine. Potentially better off. In my mind the REAL hero here is the amplifiers.
            Last edited by Falloffthebonetone; 04-24-2014, 07:12 PM.

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            • #7
              Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

              use 500K pots with single coils and it will sound a lot like a humbucker. the advantage with the HB is noise free bliss.

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              • #8
                Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                It's all in the fingers man.

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                • #9
                  Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                  Originally posted by esandes View Post
                  use 500K pots with single coils and it will sound a lot like a humbucker. the advantage with the HB is noise free bliss.
                  The irony is that not only are you wrong, but that actually achieves the opposite. A 500k pot will make the pickup brighter, humbuckers are darker.
                  Last edited by DreX; 04-24-2014, 10:39 PM.

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                  • #10
                    Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                    Originally posted by DreX View Post
                    The irony is that not only are you wrong, but that actually achieves the opposite.
                    Tell us about your experience. Please describe it in great detail.
                     Originally Posted by DreX

                     I don't mean to be a jerk, but some people bring out my compartmentalized rage, and I think that's their idea of victory. I wouldn't bother asking people to be civil on the internet though, just hide them in my basement and move on. Call the authorities any time you feel it necessary.

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                    • #11
                      Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                      whats a humbucker?
                      "Technique is really the elimination of the unneccessary ... it is a constant effort to avoid any personal impediment or obstacle to acheive the smooth flow of energy and intent"
                      Yehudi Menuhin

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                      • #12
                        Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                        The pickup design doesn't matter. Everyone on SDUGF knows that the real tone comes from the magnets.
                        Schecter ATX Blackjack C7 BKP Painkiller (B) and Abraxas (N)
                        Hagstrom Hj800 Jazzbox stock pickups
                        Fender Jazz Bass EMG MJ Set
                        Music Man SUB Ray5 stock pickups
                        Line 6 Helix
                        Dunlop Strings and Picks

                        The opinions expressed above are my own and do not reflect normal levels of sanity.

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                        • #13
                          Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                          Originally posted by Archer250 View Post
                          Yeah, but Van Halen, dude. Where would the Panama tone come from?
                          Don't know if it's accurate, but I read an article not too long ago where a tech working on Eddie's guitar back in the day said when they tested his guitar at the time, one of the coils on the famous single humbucker was dead, so it was essentially operating as a single coil. And apparently the neck single that started as a 'decoy' was wired in temporarily to fatten things up. Need some corroboration on that.

                          FWIW - Significant portions of the first VH album were done on a Les Paul Junior with a single coil P90.

                          Here's an odd conspiracy link for y'all too. Discuss...
                          Evidence EVH Used Hum+Single Pickup Combos : WoodyTone!
                          http://www.woodytone.com/2011/03/31/evidence-evh-used-humsingle-pickup-combos/

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                            Originally posted by beaubrummels View Post
                            Don't know if it's accurate, but I read an article not too long ago where a tech working on Eddie's guitar back in the day said when they tested his guitar at the time, one of the coils on the famous single humbucker was dead, so it was essentially operating as a single coil. And apparently the neck single that started as a 'decoy' was wired in temporarily to fatten things up. Need some corroboration on that.

                            FWIW - Significant portions of the first VH album were done on a Les Paul Junior with a single coil P90.

                            Here's an odd conspiracy link for y'all too. Discuss...
                            http://www.woodytone.com/2011/03/31/...pickup-combos/
                            Thank you very much sir!

                            Basically in short, to the questions
                            What makes humbuckers so magical?... Do you think the metal great's (Page, Iommi, Young, Van Halen) style and sound would have been the same if the humbucker were never invented?

                            My answer is their sound would've been for the most part the same because THEY are what makes the humbuckers so magical. The gear provides the tone for sure but the player provides the sound, and "magic". And by player I mean everything they do, from turning knobs swapping gear and flipping switches to actually playing the guitar. In your quest for sound, you realize that you will always compromise, it's just a matter where you are willing to stop.
                            Last edited by Falloffthebonetone; 04-25-2014, 02:17 AM.

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                            • #15
                              Re: What makes the Humbucker so magical?

                              Humbucker had nothing to do with Leslie West.

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