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Humbuckers, single coil or P90s?

And, while we're at it, coil split or coil tap? 
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Comments

  • humbucker!
  • Is the answer 42?
  • Seymour duncan five two single coil

     o:) 
  • Supertron/humbucking love.
  • Or
    my current favourite sound

    Two Suhr passive humbuckers with a 3 way blade switch.

    As used by Plini
  • Horses for courses.  What sort of music do you primarily intend to play?
  • Depends on the guitar and what you're playing. 
  • But I've got a Burns so it's the classic 3 Rez-o-Matik pickups for me :smile:

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  • It’s easier to dirty up the sound of some ‘cleaner’ sounding pick ups than it is to clean up, for example, a pair of DiMarzio Super Distortions.

    if you plan to play a variation of musical styles. 
  • modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
  • modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Not sure the whole pickup argument is redundant but on the topic of modellers I picked up a Strymon Iridium a few months ago and have been blown away by it, does everything so well

    Now just need to work on the talent bit
  • edited January 2021
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw
  • modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
  • bobmunro said:
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
    I agree both have their place. But there’s no way you can tell the difference over recordings. Some may argue that’s not the point which I understand. 
  • I used to play in a 60's instrumental/shads trib band. I ended up using a red American Standard Strat, Fender Blues De-Ville and a Zoom multi effects pedal.
    99.9% authentic sound.
  • bobmunro said:
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
    I agree both have their place. But there’s no way you can tell the difference over recordings. Some may argue that’s not the point which I understand. 

    Very true - indistinguishable when listening to a recording. I prefer modellers by the way.

  • I'm sticking with piezo pick up on my acoustic ukulele :smile:


  • By accident I have become a guitar collector, as well as a player, so I've got the lot! I only just recently got a guitar equipped with P90s and, due to Covid and the absence of gigs, I've not had a chance to really get to grips with the sound.

    I personally prefer humbuckers but it is all down to personal preference and the type of music you play.

    I am not convinced that spending a lot on pickups is a wise move - I would always advise fiddling with the tone of your amp first, or adjusting the pedals you use.
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  • Saga Lout said:
    By accident I have become a guitar collector, as well as a player, so I've got the lot! I only just recently got a guitar equipped with P90s and, due to Covid and the absence of gigs, I've not had a chance to really get to grips with the sound.

    I personally prefer humbuckers but it is all down to personal preference and the type of music you play.

    I am not convinced that spending a lot on pickups is a wise move - I would always advise fiddling with the tone of your amp first, or adjusting the pedals you use.
    What's in your collection?
  • bobmunro said:
    bobmunro said:
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
    I agree both have their place. But there’s no way you can tell the difference over recordings. Some may argue that’s not the point which I understand. 

    Very true - indistinguishable when listening to a recording. I prefer modellers by the way.
    We're not talking about listening to a recording though, we're talking about playing. I've got a jcm800 and a pod live xt with the same amp model programmed in. You might not be able to tell the difference on a recording, but I can damn well tell the difference when playing. The 'warmth' you get from playing through a tube amp can't be recreated through a model. 
  • bobmunro said:
    bobmunro said:
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
    I agree both have their place. But there’s no way you can tell the difference over recordings. Some may argue that’s not the point which I understand. 

    Very true - indistinguishable when listening to a recording. I prefer modellers by the way.
    We're not talking about listening to a recording though, we're talking about playing. I've got a jcm800 and a pod live xt with the same amp model programmed in. You might not be able to tell the difference on a recording, but I can damn well tell the difference when playing. The 'warmth' you get from playing through a tube amp can't be recreated through a model. 
    I can’t disagree with that.
  • Saga Lout said:
    By accident I have become a guitar collector, as well as a player, so I've got the lot! I only just recently got a guitar equipped with P90s and, due to Covid and the absence of gigs, I've not had a chance to really get to grips with the sound.

    I personally prefer humbuckers but it is all down to personal preference and the type of music you play.

    I am not convinced that spending a lot on pickups is a wise move - I would always advise fiddling with the tone of your amp first, or adjusting the pedals you use.
    A good pick up though, gives you a head start in amplifying true to the instrument sound and tone quality. 

    But then I play electro-acoustic instruments, rather than pure electric .... so no doubt you loud & proud lads have got a different agenda. :smile:


  • It does depend on the guitar in my view;

    Seymour Duncan 59's in a semi hollow body ES355 style. Nothing beats it for me.

    Telecaster, single coil of course, I tried many variants, some of the bare knuckle one's were superb. Also for something a bit different and a nod to above, SD Lil 59 was a bit darker but made it sound less telecaster.

    P90's are my least favourite, but did have a lovely Les Paul special that was quite nice.

    I dread to think how much I've spent on guitars over the years, and I'm still not very good! Been lucky to own some very special one's, but often in moments of madness sold them on. And lets not talk about Oasis's old Amp I bought and sold  >:) (was originally Jesus & The Mary Chain's) and a few other bits from Creation.
  • Rob7Lee said:
    It does depend on the guitar in my view;

    Seymour Duncan 59's in a semi hollow body ES355 style. Nothing beats it for me.

    Telecaster, single coil of course, I tried many variants, some of the bare knuckle one's were superb. Also for something a bit different and a nod to above, SD Lil 59 was a bit darker but made it sound less telecaster.

    P90's are my least favourite, but did have a lovely Les Paul special that was quite nice.

    I dread to think how much I've spent on guitars over the years, and I'm still not very good! Been lucky to own some very special one's, but often in moments of madness sold them on. And lets not talk about Oasis's old Amp I bought and sold  >:) (was originally Jesus & The Mary Chain's) and a few other bits from Creation.
    A Tele with DiMarzio single coil is a thing of wonder in the right hands - shame my hands are not that good!
  • Rob7Lee said:
    It does depend on the guitar in my view;

    Seymour Duncan 59's in a semi hollow body ES355 style. Nothing beats it for me.

    Telecaster, single coil of course, I tried many variants, some of the bare knuckle one's were superb. Also for something a bit different and a nod to above, SD Lil 59 was a bit darker but made it sound less telecaster.

    P90's are my least favourite, but did have a lovely Les Paul special that was quite nice.

    I dread to think how much I've spent on guitars over the years, and I'm still not very good! Been lucky to own some very special one's, but often in moments of madness sold them on. And lets not talk about Oasis's old Amp I bought and sold  >:) (was originally Jesus & The Mary Chain's) and a few other bits from Creation.
    Yeah, that's definitely true. As a metalhead, nothing deals with those scooped mids like an EMG on a 'proper' metal guitar like a super strat or a Warrior/Explorer - but they're pretty ordinary when dealing with a clean tone, and don't handle the more standard rock tone you want when playing a Les Paul or an SG, for instance
  • bobmunro said:
    bobmunro said:
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
    I agree both have their place. But there’s no way you can tell the difference over recordings. Some may argue that’s not the point which I understand. 

    Very true - indistinguishable when listening to a recording. I prefer modellers by the way.
    We're not talking about listening to a recording though, we're talking about playing. I've got a jcm800 and a pod live xt with the same amp model programmed in. You might not be able to tell the difference on a recording, but I can damn well tell the difference when playing. The 'warmth' you get from playing through a tube amp can't be recreated through a model. 

    The positive thing with the modelers is the fact you can use them in doors. I've got a tiny Laney valve amp, only sounds great when it is turned up to 11. Bearing in mind it's only a 15w amp, we used to gig with these.

    Never really understood why people have huge cabinets when playing in pub.
  • PopIcon said:
    bobmunro said:
    bobmunro said:
    modelling amps, pedals, etc make the whole pickup argument redundant
    for the price of a couple of decent pickups you can have the whole history and panoply of guitar sounds at your fingertips
    Fingertips are much more important, them plus the talent and dedication of the organism deploying them
    Says a man who has truly never played a proper tube amp - and if he has, has ears filled with thick, viscous dogshit

    The answer is EMG 81, btw

    There are three camps - those who insist the old way is the best way, those who say that new tech always wins, and those that are happy to accept both have their place.

    I'm in the latter, glass amps are fantastic and so are modellers.
    I agree both have their place. But there’s no way you can tell the difference over recordings. Some may argue that’s not the point which I understand. 

    Very true - indistinguishable when listening to a recording. I prefer modellers by the way.
    We're not talking about listening to a recording though, we're talking about playing. I've got a jcm800 and a pod live xt with the same amp model programmed in. You might not be able to tell the difference on a recording, but I can damn well tell the difference when playing. The 'warmth' you get from playing through a tube amp can't be recreated through a model. 

    The positive thing with the modelers is the fact you can use them in doors. I've got a tiny Laney valve amp, only sounds great when it is turned up to 11. Bearing in mind it's only a 15w amp, we used to gig with these.

    Never really understood why people have huge cabinets when playing in pub.
    I got one of the first (and what I consider best) modelling amps back in the day, A Roland VGA-5, was superb amp. Built a pedal board for it, that thing could do anything! Even made me sound reasonable.
  • Or
    my current favourite sound

    Two Suhr passive humbuckers with a 3 way blade switch.

    As used by Plini
    Some people would take exception to this. Because it's either a blade or it's a switch. But, as I've yet to own a guitar with more than two pickups, it's entirely moot. 
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