Your pickup type preferences?

Ibanezguy

Just thought I would start this thread because I only use humbuckers and would just be interesting to see what other players use. I don't mean being nit picky for every style out there just what works for you in a live situation. When ever someone picks up one of my guitars they always , at some stage, experiment with an out of phase setting and I just don't like that tone at all ? I normally roll my eyes when they say "thats a cool tone" no its not lol.

I have either dual humbucker guitars or HSH and I NEVER use the single coil or out of phase settings because they are weak and useless in my humble opinion.

As I play in a duo direct to PA through a POD HD500X, I need my patches to be balanced to the tracks and I also have to watch that I don't end up having a patch for every song so I need a clean tone that is useable for multiple tracks and you can't expect the same levels from humbuckers and single coils without a patch change or adding some sort of boost. Same for drive patches. So my live settings are either neck or bridge nothing in between. ? Sure country would be cool with singles but there's no risk of me ever playing twangy shite ?

What are your preferences? No right or wrongs remember, this is what makes guitar playing so cool. Yeah I'm bored at work ?

V8

Ibanezguy wrote: I have either dual humbucker guitars or HSH and I NEVER use the single coil or out of phase settings because they are weak and useless in my humble opinion.

So my live settings are either neck or bridge nothing in between. ? Sure country would be cool with singles but there's no risk of me ever playing twangy shite ?

For the longest time I was much the same - why did they even make single coils? Then my teacher took all the fx away and got me playing clean.

I got educated, in a big way. There's something to a single coil and a slightly overdriven valve amp (or a decent overdrive pedal) that humbuckers just can't replicate - although there's a lot to be said for lower output humbuckers - there's detail and subtlety to them that the higher gain stuff you find in shreddy-smurf guitars lacks.

I did some work on a Ibby Gio GSA60 (HSS) recently, was missing a neck single, so I dug in the parts box pulled out a squier bullet pup and stuck it in. Cleans were so much better than the stock single the Ibby had in the middle position. The stock pups (middle single and bridge mudbucker) were flat and bland clean, but showed some promise when you threw gain at them.

I agree - For live, you don't want to mess around much with switching - My mate modded his S1 tele (4 positions) to get bridge and neck only - that's all he needs and it keeps gigging easy.

Country players are probably the most technical, cleanest playing guys out there. Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, Les Paul - absolute monster players. But it sounds like you'd have to get past your prejudices to appreciate the skill and talent.

Foottapiologist

Meron Rigas wrote: ....your blurb.... but mostly this bit.... "have to get past ...... to appreciate the skill and talent."

I typed a long post but you said it so much better than me so I redrafted.

My pointy humbucker guitars look fantastic, pride of place in the collection, but they are mostly suited to looking at them lovingly and easy-to-play metal. I seldom play them, just taking them out every now and then just because they are there. Like rolling the Ferrari out the garage on a sunday morning. Looks nice but very limited.
My daily driver is a cheap entry level fake strat that's been set up well played mostly clean with maybe a bit of reverb. And for variety I sometimes swap over between 2x SSS and an SSH el cheapo strat, striving to achieve the clean skills

palaughton

This is a tough one. A really good PAF clone can sound a "little" like a P90 if it is a really low wind with a good ration of winds between the unbalanced coils, this can be amazing. However A good P90 can also sound monster and can really rock. For cleans a really nice compressed strat single coil can also do the trick.

I think I am a little undecided here, all can be awesome in different applications. So confused ???

singemonkey

I like all types. What I don't like are super-hot pickups. I still want the guitar to have the identifiable twang of a string. Super-distortion type hums lose that. I have 2 double humbucker guitars, 1 p90 guitar, 1 Jazzmaster with JM pickups, and 1 with standard single coils with a double single coil humless boost in the bridge.

Yeah, people who think humbuckers lack definition have likely not played low-power, un-potted PAF style pickups.

domhatch

i've always been a particular fan of p-90s. but mainly because i've been a particular fan of gold tops. first i had an epiphone, now i have a tokai. but i've come to realise i love that warm, openness p-90s offer. and then, when you drive them just a little bit, they give you what you're asking for with a little added punch-in-the-faceness.

i had a lovely highway one strat. i enjoyed playing it, straight as an arrow, slippery neck, and the clean slap n tickle tone from the pups was magic. i don't play strats any more - that middle pickup is exactly where my picking/strumming hand sits on the body. uncomfy. same with a yamaha pacifica i used to own; hss config. very seldom relied on the buckers, almost always turned to the singles. clean, crisp, clear.

of course, you can do both of the above with a good old fashioned humbucker in a good old fashioned les paul, and i often do - my tokai custom is a great case in point. a lot has to do with how you play, your setup, etc. even where you play along the strings - you'll get a lotta snap n tickle closer to the bridge, f'r instance.

as some have said, you don't necessarily want to put the hottest pups in the guitar. i like the standard pickups in my tokais - not too hot. if i want more, i'll do it myself. i'll drive n boost n hit it harder. it's easier, as far as i'm concerned, to add than it is to take away.

in a nutshell, i don't have a preferred pickup type. i'll shape the way i play and respond to the type of pickup in the guitar as far as necessary. if i can't do that, it's not the guitar for me
dh|

Foottapiologist

singemonkey wrote: yadda yadda.............. low-power, un-potted PAF style pickups.

Valid point. I read the OP's post, with reference to music types, fresh after reading his posts elsewhere where he was posting photos of pointy Ibanez's and was subliminally thinking powerful shredding buckers vs articulate playing, rather than engaging my brain along the lines of simply humbucker vs single.
:-[ :-[

Hasie

Currently I am stuck on the bridge humbucker of my PRS Tremonti SE, with the volume rolled back to clean it up - and that's how I recorded my entry for the August challenge.

domhatch

Hasie wrote: volume rolled back to clean it up

...and that's what i do, no matter what pickup type i'm using. volume control is all - you managed to say what i was trying to in far fewer words
dh|

Stoffeltoo

Me still learning to control volume

domhatch

Stoffeltoo wrote: Me still learning to control volume

me too. it's a balance thing for me. (i'm still even learning to balance channels on my amp!) i guess the whole thing is a learning process - which is what makes this so wonderful for me.

rawk!
dh|

Ibanezguy

Just fitted a Seymour Duncan JB Trembucker in my 1999 Rg550. It sounds great. ?

Stoffeltoo

A trick I learnt by our bands' sound engineer is this.
All guitarists, Bassists, keys and vocalists setting at full volume (Including pedals, vocal and otherwise)
He then blends the maximum output on the desk to prevent distortion and "tone deaf" guitarists like me.

The upside is that the stage monitors are running on independent busses allowing for selective volume for individual or grouped muso's on request. It also prevents that earsplitting feedback loop from mikes ?

I once stood in front of a no name bad ass bass amp which I swore was debriding my skin with every low E note. Could'nt hear it but feel it I did

I am still at logger heads whether I prefer humbuckers or single coils. Some of our songs need the single coil bite and other the fuller and lusher humbucker tone. (If all else fails, go to semi acoustic with LR Baggs with lined fishman amp. Absolute tone for country, rock and surf rock rhythm

My pick-ups worth

singemonkey

Stoffeltoo wrote:
I am still at logger heads whether I prefer humbuckers or single coils. Some of our songs need the single coil bite and other the fuller and lusher humbucker tone. (If all else fails, go to semi acoustic with LR Baggs with lined fishman amp. Absolute tone for country, rock and surf rock rhythm

My pick-ups worth

This is why P90s are great. They have a lot of cut, but they're also much meatier than Stratocaster pickups. The Who's live at Leeds is a classic example of how great that can work.

domhatch

singemonkey wrote:
Stoffeltoo wrote:
I am still at logger heads whether I prefer humbuckers or single coils. Some of our songs need the single coil bite and other the fuller and lusher humbucker tone. (If all else fails, go to semi acoustic with LR Baggs with lined fishman amp. Absolute tone for country, rock and surf rock rhythm

My pick-ups worth
This is why P90s are great. They have a lot of cut, but they're also much meatier than Stratocaster pickups. The Who's live at Leeds is a classic example of how great that can work.

love me some p-90s. always have, may have mentioned. will have to check out live at leeds methinks. thanks for the heads up, singe!

Ibanezguy

My RG550 now has a brand new set of Seymour Duncan humbuckers. A Jazz neck and a JB bridge. No doubt in my mind, good humbuckers are way more versatile than single coils for cover/top 40 gigs. I can cover all tones needed with ease. This combo of Seymours is a tried and tested solution by many players thats why I chose it and YES its damn good ?

bruciekins

I guess I've always been a Strat guy, but modern Fender pickups don't float my boat. I replaced the pickups (and wiring) in my '94 S AmStan Strat with Kinman MkII noiseless pups. I'm happy with them In my Tele partcaster my luthier made for my I used the ones he wired for me. In my Wahburn HB35 I have Tonerider Rocksongs, which I like for a creamier overdrive. I don't do metal, too old to be convincing. ?