Fender style single coils hum more the P90 pickups?

[Wayne27]

How come some fender style single coils hum more the P90 pickups? I thought because P90s have more output that they will always hum more then fender single coils. Is it because the bobbins are taller on fender single coils?​

 

[jeremy]

i havent found that to be true, and i dont know if its the output that would cause it. the wide short coil of the p90 vs the tall slender coil of the strat pup could also influence things. i dont find much of an issue with either, but i primarily play live and have been playing single coils for 30+ years

 

[Wayne27]

i havent found that to be true, and i dont know if its the output that would cause it. the wide short coil of the p90 vs the tall slender coil of the strat pup could also influence things. i dont find much of an issue with either, but i primarily play live and have been playing single coils for 30+ years

Do you think p90s are just shielded more then fender style single coils pickups?

 

[beaubrummels]

Theoretically, I would expect P90s to hum more because they have more turns of wire on the coil. Coiled wire is an omnidirectional antenna, and having more turns makes it more efficient at picking up signals. Most P90s aren't shielded (except ones with nickel covers), P90 structure is very similar to Fender-type single coils, except the magnets are underneath. In Fenders, the poles are the magenets. Experientially, P90s I've had can hum just as much if not more than Fender single coils. The P90s in my SG Special and Casino both hum about the same, despite the Casino having nickel covers. And I had Phat Cats in my Les Paul for a while but they hummed so bad I sold them after a week, and those were covered. (They sounded superlative, though. If I could get that sound without the hum, it would have been the perfect Les Paul.)

 

[GuitarDoc]

I'm hoping my Silencers (I just received) are going to be the ticket to P-90 awesomeness with no hum.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I've found they all hum more or less the same.

I didn't have an issue with the Phat Cats, personally. I really like the Neck Phat Cat.

I do use a Noise Gate at all times, though. But even so, I've never even have to set my noise gate differently than what I do with plain old humbuckers. Not even with Phat Cats or Quarter Pounds which people also mention are noisy.

 

[solspirit]

I think my fender sc pups are a little quieter than my P-90's, the P-90's have more of a buzz than a hum.

 

[marcello252]

Theoretically, I would expect P90s to hum more because they have more turns of wire on the coil. Coiled wire is an omnidirectional antenna, and having more turns makes it more efficient at picking up signals.

this.

that said, maybe the magnet under the coil could provide any mild shielding? Don't know, my P90s hum like single coils, but it's not a big issue if the guitar is properly shielded and there are no ground loops