Carvin H50S Stacked Humbucker Jazz pickups

I don't know about the H50S, but the H50A is one of my favorite J pickups.

 

Carvin seems to change the H50(x) line every so often, so it can hard to keep up...

No, I have not tried the H50S specifically...nor the H50A for that matter. I have tried and used one of the predecessors in that line - the H50N, a model that was commonly-used during the 90s, and into the Aughts. And frankly, I was not impressed...

Firstly, don't even think about operating these without a decent onboard preamp: they're simply too weak. Not much guts.

As for the actual quality of the tone, I would have to say "meh". Not great, not terrible. Kind of on the subdued side. No real distinguishing characteristics one way or the other.

I really think the stacked humbucking design is mostly at fault. It's a hybrid design - incorporating humbucking electrical characteristics into a single-coil form factor. Unfortunately, it seems to capture most of the worst aspects of each type...

MM

 

I have to agree with Meh. I bought a pair of those (50N) stacked buckers to try to save my Aria pro II and it was not enough to save it from the auction block (nor were the Active EMGs I bought later).

I agree that the stacked coil design just has too much inductance and resistance to be kick butt.

However, if you'd like a stacked coil design that really works, I'd highly recommend Fender SCN pickups. I put a pair in my MIM Deluxe and it's now amazing. And not a whole lot more money than the Carvins.