The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

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DrJackson

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Which Humbucker has the closest Single Coil tone when is splitted?

My Guitar is HSS and I have a JB humbucker in the bridge and I really like its sound, although it is a pretty bright when is splitted, I would like to have something more Stratocaster sound available
I particularly like the clean sound of the Fender SCN, but these PU do not come in humbucker configuration (the HSS Deluxe Strats have a PearlyGates HB)

There is a way to wire the HB to use the coil closer to the bridge? (the outside coil) I know that when the HB is splitted the Pickups that sounds is the inside coil, this would have more SingleCoil tone?
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

The GFS Bigmouth sounds a lot like a Quarter Pounder. I have tried a few other single coil sound a likes and the Bigmouth is the best I have found.
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

The HFH is ok as long as you have a maple fretboard. However if you have a dark sounding guitar with rosewood or ebony it will sound weak and dark.
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

idsnowdog said:
The HFH is ok as long as you have a maple fretboard. However if you have a dark sounding guitar with rosewood or ebony it will sound weak and dark.
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Maple & Ebony are the brighter sounding tonewoods, with the Ebony being even brighter sounding than maple. Of the 3 most common used fingerboard wood species, Rosewood is the warmest.

I've used the HfH on a rosewood board/maple neck combo on a basswood body, using at ADA MP1 & MP 2, I had no trouble getting a nice single coil type of sound in the neck position.
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

Have you considered using the JB in parallel? You could install a push-pull pot or switch to select between series and parallel. This would allow you to keep the JB sound you have now.
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

Jeremiah said:
Stag Mag would be the obvious choice.
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Yes, I found myself researching these pickups, but these do not come in trembucker configuration (or at least I have not found in MSCN FRND or GuitarParts)

This Humbucker from Hell has the same A5 magnet that may sound rather like JB? There is a way to wire the HB to use the coil closer to the bridge? (the outside coil) I know that when the HB is splitted the Pickups that sounds is the inside coil, this would have more SingleCoil tone? (without using a TRIPLE SHOT?)

Maybe if I order a Half JB/half Stag Mag pickup in the SeymourDuncan Custom Shop? what do you think?

Thanks for All comments! :)
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

DrJackson said:
Maybe if I order a Half JB/half Stag Mag pickup in the SeymourDuncan Custom Shop? what do you think?
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hmmm ... i am doubting that this would get you the sound you want ... it sounds weird when one considers the magnet situation .. the stag mag's pole pieces are magnets ... the jb needs a bar magnet underneath both coils ... would be a funky magnetic field configuration for sure
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

GoDrex said:
it seems like this pickup is rarely mentioned around here
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i think it suffers from being neither fish nor fowl, yunno? ... yeah, the split sound sound is exactly like a single coil because it IS a single coil ... but the humbucker sound isnt like a 'traditional' humbucker sound due to the magnets being pole pieces instead of the big ol bar magnet underneath
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

tone4days said:
i think it suffers from being neither fish nor fowl, yunno? ... yeah, the split sound sound is exactly like a single coil because it IS a single coil ... but the humbucker sound isnt like a 'traditional' humbucker sound due to the magnets being pole pieces instead of the big ol bar magnet underneath
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I guess the question then becomes: Do single coils in series sound good?
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

The stag mag is a fine concept which doesn't bear fruit in the real world. With a normal humbucker the polarity is north/south horizontal. With two single coils the polarity is north/south, north/south vertical. Even if you wind the coils in opposite directions, you still have two equal coils with separate magnets for each pole. The result is a very quiet and powerful single coil without single coil presence or a cold and hard sounding humbucker.
 
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Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

I found the custom has a very good single coil sound.

Yes, you can wire the coil closest to the bridge to be the one that works.
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

hermetico said:
A humbucker is quite well TWO single coils in series!!!
Certainly yes!

The difference is that if you put them together, the both magnetic fields interfere one with the other.
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For the record, I know how a humbucker works. In retrospect, I should have asked if wiring a strat for series yields good, usable tone? Or should a humbucker be used instead?
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

I've had good luck splitting both the JB and the Duncan Custom.

I'd make my choice based on the tone of the humbucker. I'd buy the humbucker who's tone I really like when it is NOT split and then just live with whatever the split tone is.

If the pickup is high output and wound to 14K or hotter the odds are it'll sound "decent" split, and "decent" may be as close as you can get to a true single coil sound.

Most players who split humbuckers to get single coil tones DO NOT use the bridge split tone by itself - it's to weak and plinky.

Most players who split humbuckers to get single coil tones use either the neck split by itself or combine it with the split bridge humbucker for a tone that sounds a little like a Tele with both pickups combined.

Lew
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

I'd be more worried about what sounds good, rather than what sounds "The closest" to a single coil.
Anyway, I dig the sound of a split JB.
I also quite dig the sound of my Dimarzio Blaze bridge and neck inner coils in split mode.
Does it sound close to a single coil? I have no idea and don't really care, because it sounds good, which is what matter.
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

lately I've been experimenting with my JB humbucker, I played with all possible combinations which he offered the pickup
*Series in phase (Humbucker)
*Series out of phase
*Paralell in phase
*Paralell out of phase (anti-humbucker?)
*Inside coil Split
*Outside coil Split
And what happened to me is that I fell in love again with my JB :)
The Outside-Coil sound has amazing flat but yet warm single Coil Sound (Doh!) hahaha It is What I was looking for! perfect for Funk Strums, Clean Chords and anything else
and it has a very very diferent sound to the Inside Coil, wich still has a lot Mid/low end
 
Re: The Closest "SingleCoil Tone" Humbucker

... a split humbucker is not going to sound EXACTLY like a Strat SC... because the poles are not going to reading the string at the same exact spot as they would on a SC-equipped Strat... especially if it's the bridge SC on said Strat. You'd need an angled humbucker to mimic a bridge position SC on a Strat, and have the poles situated at the same exact spots too. If you have an angled bridge pickup route, then a pup like the Stag Mag w/ its stud polepieces on it would emulate a Strat more authentically. But then you'd have to position the polepieces to sit where they are on a Strat as well. Consequently, the polepieces on the neck and middle pups would also have to read the string at the same area as they do on a real SC-equipped Strat too... for an authentic Fender Strat sound...
 
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