better pickups for splitting?

[avereste]

I have a pair of 59's in my les paul, wired for humbucker/single tones.
They sound great but I would like less volume drop when splitting.
I wonder if Burstbuckers would be a better choice for the matter since they are unbalanced. I so, which coil of is the stronger?

I think I don't want Stag Mags, too much compromise I guess.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

IIRC, the slug side of the pup is usually a bit stronger than the screw side. Not sure what direction to steer you on pups....other than I have heard that higher output pups tend to sound better split, since the strength of each coil is greater due to the wind being hotter.

I've had the stag mag and several other PAF to mid output buckers set up to split and was never really happy with the tone. It always seemed like a compromise and the noise seemed worse to me than a traditional single coil.

I'm sure someone will come along with some better suggestions, but that's been my experience, so I just gave up and got a strat for when I want single coil tones.

 

[PRSfan nym 1985]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

In my opinion probably the best option for splitting is going to be the P-Rails were you can split to a good old P90, a rail single coil tone (imho it's kinda a cross between a tele and a strat), parallel humbucker (kinda like a PAF style), or series humbucker (relatively hot with a more contemporary voice).

Will it give you the same sound as a strat, a les paul with great PAF style humbuckers, or a P90 monster NO but I think it will give you a lot more flexibility than a traditional humbucker. Unfortunately I haven't found a pickup that turns a guitar into totally distinct strat, LP, etc tones. The P-Rails is the closest I've found but I still like having a guitar around with a nice vintage sounding set of humbuckers, I still like a traditional strat or tele, and so on.

My only other advice is that I've heard good things about the DiMarzio Bluesbucker being able to get good split coil tones but again I doubt that it's going to sound distinctly like a strat split and all that.

Different pieces of wood, different hardware (bridges, etc), different scales, different nut widths, and all that fun stuff really do affect the tone more than simply pickups.

A PRS McCarty, A Gibson Les Paul, and a Gibson SG are all solid body humbucker equipped axes but all three have different tones.

Likewise a Strat and a Tele are both single coiled axes but they have very distinct tones.

To really get distinct sounds you have to have different instruments. Hopefully I didn't rain on your parade or anything but if a perfect pickup existed like what we all want there probably wouldn't be so many pickup mfrs and models available out there likewise there wouldn't be hundreds of different guitars of various shapes, sizes, and materials.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

The Rio Grande Tallboy/Muy Grande set splits very well, but is still a compromise. Me, I gave up on fancy wiring a while ago. Too many compromises, IMHO.

 

[AlexR]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

wiring the pickup for parallel rather than split may be the option. You get a crisper tone but without as much volume drop

 

[blueman335]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

My only other advice is that I've heard good things about the DiMarzio Bluesbucker being able to get good split coil tones but again I doubt that it's going to sound distinctly like a strat split and all that.

Bluesbuckers are something like 10K and have a ceramic mag, which is insane for a blues neck HB. I don't understand the logic. Way too hot, dark, and bassy. I put an A3 in mine to add treble, dial down the output (so it wouldn't overpower the bridge anymore), & get better clarity. In it's stock form, I think a Bluesbucker is better-suited for the bridge slot. It really should have an alnico in it to be a better fit for the targeted market. It's definitely one that would sound better in the neck if it was split or in parallel. With a bar magnet, a HB just isn't going to get a sound like a Fender SC with six rod magnets.

Basic coil splitting, as I see it:
-Hot HB's split better (the ohms drop in half). Split a JB and you still have 8K; split a '59 and you have 4K. Big difference in tone and output.
-Neck HB's split better more often than bridge HB's. Neck slots have more bass and mids, and give a fuller sound.
-In bridge HB's split them so that the slug coil stays on; in neck HB's split so that it's in series (HB mode) when both PU's are on and split.
-In parallel the ohms drop to 25%, making a '59 only 2K. It's not a 75% drop in output, but in the bridge it's still pretty puny and you get treble up the wazoo. I much prefer coil cut.

 

[chassless]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

-Hot HB's split better (the ohms drop in half). Split a JB and you still have 8K; split a '59 and you have 4K. Big difference in tone and output.

that must explain why my custom custom sounds magic while split.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

The best splitting pickups are Zhangs with the Splatoption. Look at Zhangbucker.com

 

[marcello252]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

The best split sound I've found is the one from a SD Custom Custom using the slug coil (I think it's the standard SD wiring for split option).
In my strat sits confortable with the other two single coils.
Another good one is the APHn at the neck, even if the coil is weaker the single coil sound good, the APHb doesn't sound so good.

 

[marcello252]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

The best split sound I've found is the one from a SD Custom Custom using the slug coil (I think it's the standard SD wiring for split option).
In my strat sits confortable with the other two single coils.
Another good one is the APHn at the neck, even if the coil is weaker the single coil sound good, the APHb doesn't sound so good.

 

[avereste]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

I'm fine with the sound of the '59s splitted, but not with the volume drop.
With a Jb or a stronger pickup I will have the same problem because the output will fall from 1 to 1/2, no matter if 1 is 8 or 15.

For this reason I'm wondering if an un balanced pickup like the Pearly Gates or a Burstbucker would be better for splitting.

 

[richard parker]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

I don't know why but when I split my JB the volume hardly changes. Splits really well too - turns my SG into a Tele.

 

[avereste]

Re: better pickups for splitting?

I don't know why but when I split my JB the volume hardly changes. Splits really well too - turns my SG into a Tele.

I have to say that the volume drop is more noticeable in the neck position than in the bridge one.
Maybe I have to try to flip the neck pickup in order to let the slug coil get more string vibration...