Members twotimingpete Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 I used to have a humbucker guitar with a coil splitter on it, but no longer do. I've never directly compared, but if I recall, the split humbucker was a bit thinner and weaker sounding than a typical, "real" single coil pickup. what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Markdude Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 I'd agree. Although I still like the split coil tones in my PRS better than I liked the non-standard humbucker tones from the 5-way switch it used to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 My Gibson 498 sounds pretty good split....but it's way too hot for my tastes as a bucker. Some split doubles are hotter on the "live" side than the other coil so there's not as much dropoff in volume and it's not thin sounding. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PrawnHeed Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Try a P-rail or similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeadNight Warrior Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Kinda depends a lot on the pickup and the guitar too though. The Air Norton 7 and Tone Zone 7 in my Universe sound great when coil split. The AN7 and Evo7 in my RG2127X sound fairly average when split. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 I installed a coil split on a JB once. It didn't sound very good. My first electric had a coil split on the bridge humbucker, but that pickup didn't sound good either way. I've heard good coil splits before, just not on one that I've owned. But from what I have heard, it is a bit thinner sounding than a "real" single coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Most humbuckers have single coils that are somewhat weaker and wimpier so that when the two coils are wired in series, the resulting sound is pleasing because doing that with two side-by-side Strat coils can get ugly in a hurry. That's why I think people shouldn't split, they should parallel. That way, you get some of the flavor of both coils, but still at low output and with great clarity. Some buckers are meant to be split, though, like the Chopper, or the Lace Dually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 The 904 is an interesting case. The "bridge pup" is really two independent single coils (hence the "x04" of the name model: 0 humbucker, 4 singles. Notice the two adjusting screws on the frame). The push/push tone knob singles or doubles those pups. It has a very tele-esque quality to it when played in single mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 I like combining a split humbucker with a full humbucker (middle pos, one split, one not). That's the closest I have found. I really like it. It seems to work better with the neck split and the bridge bucker on full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Most humbuckers have single coils that are somewhat weaker and wimpier so that when the two coils are wired in series, the resulting sound is pleasing because doing that with two side-by-side Strat coils can get ugly in a hurry.That's why I think people shouldn't split, they should parallel. That way, you get some of the flavor of both coils, but still at low output and with great clarity.Some buckers are meant to be split, though, like the Chopper, or the Lace Dually. This. I generally only split a humbucker if I want to parallel half of it with one of my single-coils (i.e., bridge+middle position on a "fat strat") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scott944 Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Is that 904 a Yamaha? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Most humbuckers have single coils that are somewhat weaker and wimpier so that when the two coils are wired in series, the resulting sound is pleasing because doing that with two side-by-side Strat coils can get ugly in a hurry.That's why I think people shouldn't split, they should parallel. That way, you get some of the flavor of both coils, but still at low output and with great clarity.Some buckers are meant to be split, though, like the Chopper, or the Lace Dually. Lace dually isn't a humbucker. It's a pair of singles on one frame. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members svejkist Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Why not combine a split with a tap? Build a humbucker where one coil is overwound but tapped, until you split it? Seems like a simple solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mac_C Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 APC Pickups make the best split sounds I've ever heard. They sound VERY genuine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gdsmithtx Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 The Air Zone in the bridge of my SZ520 that sounds pretty nice split, in conjunction with the pseudo-P90 Bluesbucker in the neck. By itself, it's so-so, but the middle position combo is sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marc G Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 I have a JB/Jazz combo on one of my guitars which was wired for coil tapping.... I really can't complain. The JB gives nice Tele type sound and the Jazz in the neck has an almost stratish sound.... though I have to kick in a boost to get the levels up to the humbuckers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 27Frets Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 To my ears, any of the split humbucker guitars that I have owned in the past have never been able to sound "stratty" enough- still sounded good, just not as good as a true single coil guitar. (IMO) Some split buckers do sound thin as you pointed out, and that can be cool too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Lace dually isn't a humbucker. It's a pair of singles on one frame. EGAnd under that definition, what exactly is a humbucker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 That's why I think people shouldn't split, they should parallel. That way, you get some of the flavor of both coils, but still at low output and with great clarity. Could you please give a fuller explanation as I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to coil splitting. Thanks, Steadfastly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 And under that definition, what exactly is a humbucker? A humbucker consists of 2 coils which are reverse wound and reverse polarity in order to hum cancel. However, each coil is not a full size single coil bobbin closer to half the height of a standard single coil bobbin. Also, the standard construction is different. A typical fender style coil has magnetic slugs passing through the bobbin on which coil is wound. In a standard humbucker, a magnetic bar is touching the slugs which are made of some type of conductive metal. There are several manufacturers now making humbuckers from 2 full size single coils. When these are split you get a true single coil tone. However, some argue that the humbucking mode of these pickups lacks the low mid punch of a traditional humbucker. Its really comes down to a compromise either way if you want both tones out of a single guitar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 Could you please give a fuller explanation as I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to coil splitting. Thanks, Steadfastly A humbucker consists of 2 coils which are reverse wound and reverse polarity wired in series. Sires wiring takes the end of one coil joined to the beginning of the second. Splitting them takes the wire which joins the coils and sends it to ground so you now have one live and one dead coil. Parallel wiring wires the starts of both coils to the output and the ends of both coils to ground. Wiring the coils in parallel shifts the resonant peak to sound closer to a single coil than a humbucker but without the hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 The Lace Dually is two Lace Sensors in a double coil frame. One does not serve to cancel hum in the other. They can be wired with a three way switch, just like any other pair of pickups. One, the other or both on. Since Sensors are essentially noiseless to begin with, they have no need for a noise cancellation coil. Very cool pickups. A pair of them in a Les Paul gives your four different pickups to work with. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 A humbucker consists of 2 coils which are reverse wound and reverse polarity in order to hum cancel. However, each coil is not a full size single coil bobbin closer to half the height of a standard single coil bobbin. Also, the standard construction is different. A typical fender style coil has magnetic slugs passing through the bobbin on which coil is wound. In a standard humbucker, a magnetic bar is touching the slugs which are made of some type of conductive metal. There are several manufacturers now making humbuckers from 2 full size single coils. When these are split you get a true single coil tone. However, some argue that the humbucking mode of these pickups lacks the low mid punch of a traditional humbucker. Its really comes down to a compromise either way if you want both tones out of a single guitar... I guess you could just start out with one of these, then wouldn't you have the problem solved? Godin xtsa http://www.godinguitars.com/godinxtsap.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 The Lace Dually is two Lace Sensors in a double coil frame. One does not serve to cancel hum in the other. They can be wired with a three way switch, just like any other pair of pickups. One, the other or both on. Since Sensors are essentially noiseless to begin with, they have no need for a noise cancellation coil. Very cool pickups. A pair of them in a Les Paul gives your four different pickups to work with. EGWell I guess they aren't reverse wired, true. P-Rails can be wired with a three-way switch, though, and I would consider that to be a humbucker, and it's definitely two full single coils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 5, 2011 Members Share Posted April 5, 2011 I have no clue how a P Rail is made inside. From clips, they sound pretty conving in all modes. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.