Single Humbucker Guitar

Maz

Maz

New member
I made a thread earlier about replacing a JB in alder, after putting some money together and doing research on some different guitars, I found what I'm specifically what I'm looking for would be easier to accomplish from buying parts from Warmoth and assembling a guitar myself.(Also the guitar I was going to be given had a Floyd, big no-no!!)

After trying quite a few Duncan pickups, I'm mainly stuck between the Custom, Distortion, and Full Shred, for my Single Humbucker guitar. I'm making it out of a Mahogany body, Maple Neck, Maple fingerboard. I'm planning on putting in a 250k Push Pull for the volume, and a .47uf Capacitor.

I play mainly 2 types of music, a mix of Prog-metal, thrash-metal, and metal core, so my tuning jumps everywhere from Standard to Drop-C. I also play Jazz, not Fusion, just straight up, Count-Basie style Jazz, mostly a solo here and there, and sustained 7-chords.

I'm looking for the pickup out of the three that will offer me a clean tone that isn't muddy, and not TOO warm, but not a total ice-pick. I need harmonics, the ability to solo, and chunky rhythms. In my main band, I play all of the led, so I'm sitting on the bridge pickup 100% of the time, the EMG-60 is too muddy in Drop C. In the school Jazz band, the Guitar/Bass/Drums is obviously referred to as the "rhythm section" I don't need a pickup with a HUGE lows though, the Dean Markley amp I have to use is so low it sounds like a bass amp. My Epi SG sounds like a bass at the 12th Fret with it.

Also, is a capacitor completely necessary? I'm picky, as is the teacher for the Jazz Ensemble at school. This guitar I'm hoping to build is going to be my only guitar pretty much, which is why I'm here. I don't want to be buying multiple pickups to try out either, unfortunately though, all the pickups I played were in an Ibanez with a basswood body, and a rosewood fingerboard.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Not to overwhelm you with options or anything but have you thought of doing a lower output bridge pup for your jazz stuff and adding the blackout modular preamp for the higher gain low tuning riffs; maybe a jazz or 59 bridge??? Both of those pups work well in mahogony guitars IMO....
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

have you tried using the Tone Wizard on the SD site? plug in the info about the guitar and then just change the style of music for different options. see if it gives you the same pickup at any point. or gather specs on the pickups it does give you and use the Tone Chart for something that is close. when I just checked, it suggested a Full Shred for several of the options.

I don't know how many channels you have on your amp or how many pedals you use, but for my preference that's where I typically go if I'm looking for a wide range of tones if I only want to use a single guitar... have the amp do the work.

as far as a cap... it's my opinion that's totally a preference issue. a few years back I started to totally disconnect any tone pots in my guitars. not all, but maybe it's my ear but I wanted to cut down on things between the pickup and the output jack in some of the guitars. might be the same reason I tend to not use stomp boxes. many people do just the opposite.

so... seems like it's totally a matter of what works for your ear. for me, with a single pickup mahogany... I'd go with a JB or a Full Shred, 500k push/pull pot (to split coils), no caps, hit the output jack and out to the amp.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

If you want a functioning tone control a .02 or .047 capacitor is what makes a pot a tone control. Gotta have it.

I couldn't imagine playing Freddie Green/Count Basie rhythm guitar on a single bridge pickup solid body guitar!

When I was 15 I had all kinds of crazy ideas about building a one guitar does it all kind of guitar. I won't say you're wasting your time - this is how you learn. But this guitar you're thinking of putting together is not going to be something you'll play for the rest of your life. You'll leave it behind and get a guitar with a two or three pickups - trust me.

My advice? Order a body cut for two humbuckers - not one. And drilled for a volume and tone pot.

As for pickup choices, I'm into Freddie Green and Count Basie but not any of the other music you mentioned. Can't help you with the dropped tuning stuff - no experience.

If it was my guitar, I'd go with a pair of Duncan paf's - probably nickel covered Pearly Gates.

For heavier music, maybe a PG neck and a Duncan Custom since you said you tried the Custom and liked it. But I'll defer to the metal heads on the forum who will probably have other ideas. :)
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Gypsyblue said:
If you want a functioning tone control a .02 or .047 capacitor is what makes a pot a tone control. Gotta have it.

I couldn't imagine playing Freddie Green/Count Basie rhythm guitar on a single bridge pickup solid body guitar!

When I was 15 I had all kinds of crazy ideas about building a one guitar does it all kind of guitar. I won't say you're wasting your time - this is how you learn. But this guitar you're thinking of putting together is not going to be something you'll play for the rest of your life. You'll leave it behind and get a guitar with a two or three pickups - trust me.

My advice? Order a body cut for two humbuckers - not one. And drilled for a volume and tone pot.

As for pickup choices, I'm into Freddie Green and Count Basie but not any of the other music you mentioned. Can't help you with the dropped tuning stuff - no experience.

If it was my guitar, I'd go with a pair of Duncan paf's - probably nickel covered Pearly Gates.

For heavier music, maybe a PG neck and a Duncan Custom since you said you tried the Custom and liked it. But I'll defer to the metal heads on the forum who will probably have other ideas. :)
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I'm fine with neck pickups, but they're almost useless to me. At my local guitar center, they have a cheapie Ibanez RG with an SH2N, an Sh5, killswitch, coil splitting, a triple shot, just to toy with. I dialed in my "tone" to a Vox VT120+ to get a feel for what it would sound like at home, but the neck pickup was too muddy on a "metal" setting for me. That's the case with most neck pickups, even using both humbuckers, I just can't find that tone I like. All of my guitars have the tone pots at 10 and the pickup selector at the bridge position. I just can't find a neck pickup that suits me.

I feel like it would be a bit of a waste to pay $35 for a neck pickup route
repositioned for 24 frets, and another $70+ for a neck pickup which I barely use. It might take a little bit of playing around with at GC to find a neck pickup that fits my picky ears. Of course, I do also have my Epi SG which could use a pickup upgrade. My friend wanted to buy it off me, after it's been sitting in my closet for about 2 years, I strung it up and I've been using it, and now I don't want to sell it, I'm falling in love with it all over again! :scratchch

I might try the Custom/PG combo in the SG, and see how that works. That SG doesn't see too much rock music past AC/DC.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

My friend, you're 15 years old. What you don't know about guitars is a lot - probably only second to what you don't know about the opposite sex. :)

Trust me - you'll use that neck pickup. And you'll be kicking yourself around the block eventually if you don't put one in.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Gypsyblue said:
My friend, you're 15 years old. What you don't know about guitars is a lot - probably only second to what you don't know about the opposite sex. :)

Trust me - you'll use that neck pickup. And you'll be kicking yourself around the block eventually if you don't put one in.
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Ignorance is bliss. :approve:


Maybe I could try out a Distortion neck, then I could get another push-pull, and get those great cleans I'm looking for. It's pretty hard to find a good clean pickup after having EMGs in my guitar for so long, I've had my friends ask if I was playing my acoustic while talking over skype.
 
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Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Gypsyblue said:
Trust me
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Unkle Funk's rule number one - NEVER trust anyone who says, "trust me".

The Gibson Les Paul Junior. One pickup, two controls, no nonsense.

Maz. You may not feel any need of a neck position pickup right now. At some point in the future, you could change your mind. Keep an open mind.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Funkfingers said:
Unkle Funk's rule number one - NEVER trust anyone who says, "trust me".

The Gibson Les Paul Junior. One pickup, two controls, no nonsense.

Maz. You may not feel any need of a neck position pickup right now. At some point in the future, you could change your mind. Keep an open mind.
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I'll make sure not to put "trust me"s in my persuasive essay that's due monday for english class! :naughty:

My local GC had a Les Paul Junior sitting on the floor when I made my once a month trip for picks/strings/etc. It was nice, but I played an Alpine White LP Studio after that and suddenly the LP Junior felt like a glorified Epiphone. And one p-90 isn't really going to get the job done for me as of right now.

I was just reading about the Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell, that might be a good option. I listened to someone do a review of it, it caught my ear a little more then other neck pickups.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

hey man, do whatever makes you happy. it's your money and your guitar. if you don't like it, build another one and still have this one to boot.
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Maz said:
I was just reading about the Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell, that might be a good option. I listened to someone do a review of it, it caught my ear a little more then other neck pickups.
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I always wondered who bought stuff like that. :)
 
Re: Single Humbucker Guitar

Gypsyblue said:
I always wondered who bought stuff like that. :)
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Haha, well my local guitar center pretty much has Fenders, Gibsons, and a buch of other brands with EMGs in them, except for the ibanez with all the cool toys that has a Jazz and a Custom in it. So, sometimes that's the case.

I did play the Schecter Synyster Gates Custom, with the dual Invaders, and I was pretty impressed with the tone from the Invader in the neck.
 
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