Are Single Coil P/Us Really "All That?"

[Paultergeist]

Greetings, all!

I am grasping for an understanding that seems to be just on the edge of my perception/playing -- or maybe not.....looking for some perspectives and especially suggestions.

Been playing for a while...own a couple of Strats, as well as some humbucker-equipped guitars. As for the Strats, it seems I have always simply pulled out the stock single-coil pups and put something else in the place of the stocks -- usually a Duncan or DiMarzio stack. My questions are stemming from a realization that many boutique pick-up manufacturers (Fralin, Rio Grande, Klein, etc) do not even attempt to produce a hum-canceling pup in a Strat size drop-in. Obviously, there are sone attributes to the full-sized single coils that make them preferable to many players -- despite some added hum? I have particularly noticed that Strat-sized P-90-voiced pups are not even available in a hum-canceling configuration, but many lower-output pups are offered by some manufactures as hum buckers, yet the boutique winders still typically offer only true single coil pups.

This explanation is getting long -- I apologize -- but I am trying to understand. I ocassionally hear another player getting great tone out of single coils, but I don't hear such a great tone when it is I that is playing. I feel that I am just missing something, or perhaps I am on the verge of understanding the player's benefit of true single coil pups? Just looking for insights and understanding as I struggle to find my tone.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[melody]

Well I will say that the amp your using has a lot to do with the sound of the guitar your playing.

[Kap'n]

Different tools for different jobs.

I usually play single coils more, but that's more a function of the music I'm playing right now.

[curtisstetka]

Some people feel that when you get rid of that hum you're also getting rid of some desirable aspects of a single coil pickup's sound and so they live with the hum and do other things to mitigate it.

Personally, I really enjoy playing single coil pickup guitars. And I experience minimal hum with my guitars. I've added shielding to the cavities and under the pickguards of my guitars and that seems to have done the trick. I also do not play with a high level of gain that would accentuate the hum. Think of early Dire Straits - that's one of the quintessential single coil sounds to my ears.

[buckaroo]

I prefer single coils.

Speculation on my part until somebody proves me wrong:

Boutique winders may often cater to a "relatively vintage purist" market base. Customers who are looking for older school recipes that bring back a bit of the glory of the old style in some way.

When you look for single coils in modern configurations (humbucking, etc.) they may be more commonly found from "mass produce" winders and less commonly than from the boutique winders. But there are always exceptions so shop around. The mass produce winders cater more to the masses. And all that goes with that.

Both types of winders have the potential to offer great pickups.

There is no one magic bullet. Tone is built from the ground up with all the variables having an effect.

There is a lot more to tone than just pickups. The "weakest sonic links" in your whole signal chain may effect your tone adversely. Starting with the tone of the wood selected to build your guitar to the speaker that reproduces the final electronic signal. Everything has a say in your tone......not the least of which is "how you play".

Pickups are just one of the many variables. Try different things and see what makes a difference. But mostly .......PRACTICE, Practice, practice.

[Don]

They're all that and then some !

I like them all but generally prefer single coils. They can be a bit more touch sensitive than humbuckers or noiseless pickups. I like the more delicate sound of a Strat, the cutting sound of a Tele and the fatter sound of P-90s. Sometimes I feel the need for humbuckers.

I don't have hum issues (I think I have a higher tolerance for hum than some players) and, other than the stock cover on my Tele's neck pickup and my Gibson's humbuckers and stock braided wire, none of my guitars have any shielding.

If you're really used to humbuckers it can take a while to get used to and maybe even prefer single coil pickups.

[the_best_of_fools]

Try one of these and thank me later...

[Paultergeist]

There is lots of good food for thought contained within these insightful replies.......

My sincere thanks to all who replied.