single coil or humbucking in a split PU?

William Johnson · Post by **William Johnson** » 23 Jun 2005 2:14 pm

i understand the physics behind the noise cancelling, etc. but most humbuckers are slightly dull to me (fender vs gibson thing, other than the 24-3/4 scale vs 25- 1/4 scale sound). do most agree with tbis?

who has a split coil that can be switched to either single or humbucking? happy? who sells them?

i have a Derby with a E66 now.

anyone, installed a bridging/balancing (hiZ to Lo Z) transformer and running XLR?

other ideas?

thanks,
Billy

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William Johnson (Billy)
Grievous Angel Productions
Statesboro, GA. 30461 USA
www.grievousangelpro.com

Terje Larson · Post by **Terje Larson** » 23 Jun 2005 8:42 pm

I've had splittable humbuckers and it's a good solution if you want the best from both worlds. I think most manufacturers have those.

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If you can't hear the others you're too loud, if you can't hear yourself you've gone deaf

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 24 Jun 2005 2:01 am

How about the Emmons "Pentad" pickup?

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 24 Jun 2005 6:33 am

Terje, they have splittable pickups for 6-string, but I don't know of any for 10- and 12-string pedal steels. Are there any?

George Macdonald · Post by **George Macdonald** » 24 Jun 2005 8:02 am

Terry, I had a split coil humbucking pickup in a 12 string MSA. The pickup was wound by the late Red Rhodes in California. He installed a three way toggle switch to go from either coil or to both coils in the center position. For practical purposes, the only good sound was the humbucking position using both coils together. Neither of the single coils had enough output, and sounded too thin to me. [just my 2 bits] George

George Macdonald · Post by **George Macdonald** » 24 Jun 2005 8:03 am

Sorry, should have been addressed to Billy

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 24 Jun 2005 8:07 am

Humbuckers, as some players comment, just don't seem to have the dynamics and clarity of single-coils. On the other hand, single coils are sometimes noisey. You have to make the decision which you want, noise-free operation, or maximum dynamics and clarity. Humbucking pickups, even when wired in single-coil configuration still don't sound exactly like a single-coil pickup. There's just too many other design features (eddy currents, field distortion, and stray capacitance) that enter into the equation.

The best solution is to have pickups that can be changed easily. That way, you can select which type pickup you want in a few seconds, and there won't be any compromises. So far, only a few steel manufacturers (Sierra and MSA) have accomodated players with such a design.

All this said, the differences various pickups provide are normally quite small. An inexperienced player who thinks that a mere pickup change will make him sound like one of his idols is in for a very rude awakening. Players constantly inquire about guitars, pickups, amps, and amp settings of the pros, only to find they still can't get "the sound" of their idols.

Duh???

It's in the hands!

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 26 Jun 2005 5:46 am

Donny, et.al, I had assumed that this pickup was a humbucker, but it gets that telltale buzz with the strings ungrounded by my hands.
<IMG SRC='http://usera.imagecave.com/charliethemo ... 6-copy.jpg'>
Any guess to what I have here? In this case, a picture isn't worth a thousand words.

Denny Turner sent me a lengthy discussion about converting two lipstick pickups into a humbucking pair, but it involved major surgery, turning one set of coils over.
Any suggestions as to what I can do with this pair to make it buck the hum?
Can they just be wired out of phase?

[This message was edited by Charlie McDonald on 26 June 2005 at 07:15 AM.]

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 27 Jun 2005 3:36 am

Billy.. For years GeorgeL made a pickup called the 10-5.. This is a humbucker that has five different voicings.. it comes with a 5 way rotary switch.
It is easily the very best steel pickup I have ever used for being able to get a wide variety of sounds.

The switch taps and isolates coils... It is a great unit,but I don't think GeorgeL lists them anymore.
Carter put one in a new guitar for me a year and a half ago, so perhaps they are still available.

You may want to talk to John at Carter, they may have a few around, or be able to get you one. As a matter of fact, I'm going to try and find one for myself!

I used one for many years in an MSA as my #1 pickup and REALLY loved it. Feel free to mail me about other pickups with coil taps etc..
Thats all I have EVER used,[still do] I can give you a bunch of "how to" if you are interested.. bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 27 June 2005 at 04:54 AM.]

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 27 Jun 2005 3:56 am

Billy.. just checked the GeorgeL site.. the 10-5 IS listed once again.. Thats the answer if you want a bucker/single/switchable..bob