Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

I saw someone on here before say that a vintage output humbucker isn't good for modern rock as the cleans will sound thin.

That comment got me thinking as that is kinda what I am looking for. Thinner more single coil type cleans.

Thoughts? Suggestions?
Suhr SSV



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Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

So here's a question for all you knowledgeable folk out there.

Dimarzio reckon their Chopper Strat/Tele bridge pickup is a good inbetween of a single coil and a humbucker that does cleans and high gain well.

So what is the equivalent then in a regular size humbucker as it doesn't seem to come in one or am I missing it?

Thanks.
 
Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

I don't find the original Wide Range similar to a traditional PAF; I think people tended not to like them "back in the day" because they didn't sound like a PAF. As has been touched upon, the reissue Wide Range (and there are a few types, Mexican, Japanese, Enforcer etc.) is a different animal, basically just a variation of the PAF template design and sound-wise.

I've never series wired Strat pickups though.

Oil city brass knuckles are single coil sounding humbuckers similar to the original WRHBs

I have wired the middle in series / parallel on a switch - dies not sound like a humbucker sounds like a really fat quack - good tone but needs 500 k pots

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Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

With the HFH mentioned, I have two more to suggest: the Bartolini 1C & 1CTA. Fantastic, complex (even jazzy) cleans, and they hold up well to *lots* of gain.


+1

The Bartolini 1CTA has the clarity and transparency of a single coil with some additional warmth. As stated by the previous poster, also does extremely well under gain. In any case with any humbucker, a buffer preamp helps immensely. The buffer preamp built into the onboard Demeter midboost is fabulous and even if you do not use the boost, the additional clarity provided by the buffer is worth the price of admission.

Kindest regards,

Chris
 
Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

I saw someone on here before say that a vintage output humbucker isn't good for modern rock as the cleans will sound thin.

That comment got me thinking as that is kinda what I am looking for. Thinner more single coil type cleans.

Thoughts? Suggestions?


The Slash Alnico II Pro man! I used to play freaking latin pop music with them. Very clean, stratty like. Maybe with more ''push'', but nothing out the extraordinary. They will nail what you're looking for!
Don't let the ''Slash'' name scare you. I don't believe they're really for high gain stuff. No, low or medium gain at most. Of course, you can do the high gain stuff, but you'll need an amazing amp + pedals for it!
 
Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

I'd say none.

The best cleans I've had from a humbucker that takes gain well is the PATB series. But its not a strat type clean thats for sure.

This is actually the right answer. There are humbuckers that have some spank or twang like a single, but none of them really do so well with gain. All the single coil-sounding humbuckers out there I can think of and have experience with are low wind, low output.
 
Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

The Full Shred neck pickup is designed to hold up well under high gain.

It's also the most single-coil-like (I'm not counting split) SD humbucker I've played.

Something about the wind/magnets - it feels tubular and focused, narrow aperture like a single coil.

It won't sound like a straight-up Strat neck pickup, but it gets more of the way there than all the other SD pickups I've seen mentioned. The other vintage wind SD neck pickups (Jazz, Pearly Gates, etc.) can have single-coil like qualities under low gain, but they all kind of have a mushy low end. The Full Shred neck low end is firm and round in a way that feels single coil-like to me.
 
Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

The Jazz doesn't resemble a single coil at all to me. The attack and harmonic content of the highs are not very similar.
 
Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

When I bought my first Historic Les Paul in 2005, my first thought was that the BB2 in the bridge sounded remarkably like a vintage Tele bridge pickup...just bigger.

But one important issue is matching the output of the HB to the SC. Using the volume knob can go a long way to getting those tones.

Bill
 
Re: Humbucker that reminds one of a single coil pups cleans

The Jazz doesn't resemble a single coil at all to me. The attack and harmonic content of the highs are not very similar.

If you set it close to strings it may not but if you set it lower it sounds more "single-coil-ish" IMHO.
 
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