humbuckers vs single coil

[bassbenj]

I find the only pups for me are double hums with massive poles such as what is found in G&L and EBs.
I dont avoid treble...I go looking for it!

My G&Ls show exactly what the difference is between humbuckers and single coils because I can switch my G&L from humbuckers to single coil. The difference is not huge, but very real. Humbuckers pickup on the strings at two close-spaced positions. Single coils just at one position. The end result is that single coils have a clean clear purity of sound that humbuckers don't.

Single coils when used alone also have a bunch of hum that humbuckers don't! Of course the amount of hum is dependent on what is going on electrically in a given room. Sometimes there is none, other time it can be quite a bit. OF course if you use TWO single coil pickups they can cancel each other like a wide-stance humbucker!

My bottom line is a really do prefer the purity of single coils but hate hum so my G&L is typically set to neck and bridge single coils both on. I do like humbucker mode and series for a nice deep solid kind of slightly fuzzy tone as single coils do sound "thinner" though cleaner. Which is exactly why there is a switch on my G&Ls.

 

[korybaugus]

Yes.

 

[Monsterbass74]

Jazz bass with single coils wired in series or with series/parallel switch. For Humbuckers I like them wired in series only.

 

[maturanesa]

A bass with single coil pickups will be more present in a normal mix. Soapbars are louder and fatter but at the end, when you balance the volume, you can hear more the singles. thats why its impossible not to hear every note of a jazz bass or P...

 

[Kwesi]

Soapbar pickups are single coil.

Normally, the term "soapbar" is normally used to refer to a humbucking pickup in a housing similar to typical EMG or Bartolini shapes but as PSPookie said, they can be whatever is put into that specific housing. The word "soapbar" refers more to the shape that the type of pickup.

 

[Phalex]

Guitar: Humbucker

Bass: Single coil

 

[Ric5]

First of all not all humbuckers are the same. You can wire them in series or parallel. Parallel will give you the jazz bass sound and scoop some mids and highs and cancel hum. Series humbucker will give the fat p-bass tone with nice mids, this tone is nastier and closer to a single coil, and it will break up more when distortion is applied. Single coil reproduces all the frequencies equally, and it also does not cancel the "hum" noise. Also a scatterwound pickup will also scoop mids somewhat. There are also differences due to the gauge of the wire, the type of magnets, type of poles and rails, whether the coils a stacks or side by side, etc ...

 

[IngerAlb]

+1 for single coils I prefer their clarity and presence. I've owned basses with various pickup combos, but I always liked J/J basses the most I'm still undecided regarding the active/passive aspect though...

 

[IronLung1986]

my two most used settings are: 2 singles (jazz bass); and 1 bridge humbucker (stingray). i don't normally use 2 humbuckers together or 1 single by itself, as these are often too muddy or too thin, respectively.

 

[line6man]

Soapbar pickups are single coil.

I'm not sure where you got that generalization?
As other have stated, the beauty of the soapbar case is that it can house just about any kind of pickup.
Single coils, double coils, split coils, quad coils, whatever.

 

[ImMoreBetter]

I'm surprised how overwhelming the single coil preference is.

Make it humbuckers for me.

 

[totallyfrozen]

This thread's in the wrong forum, but I'm sure you figured that out by now.

Humbuckers vs SC...I like both. Maybe in the same bass, maybe not. Versatility is more important than design loyalty IMO.

 

[totallyfrozen]

Normally, the term "soapbar" is normally used to refer to a humbucking pickup in a housing similar to typical EMG or Bartolini shapes but as PSPookie said, they can be whatever is put into that specific housing. The word "soapbar" refers more to the shape that the type of pickup.

"Soapbars" always deliver a CLEAN tone.

 

[OOZMAN]

No 50/50 blend fanboys?

Guess I'm the first then. Single coil + MM Humbucker for me.

 

[David Jayne]

I used to be a died-in-the-wool H/H guy. Wanted 'modern' tones. But later I started wanting more 'vintage' tones, and built a Jazz bass with singles. And it was a struggle for about a year- I just couldn't get sounds I was happy with. I fooled around with all sorts of onboard pres, different pups, blah-blah-blah...but I eventually figured it out. It's all in your approach, technique, and EQ choices. Running 'hums' takes a different approach than running singles. I now prefer singles for, as has been stated, the 'purity' of tone. Narrow aperture pups, such as on a Jazz, do things that hums don't. And vice-versa. I am now a died-in-the wool P bass guy, as 'pure' as it gets- no phase cancellation. Listen to current Anthony Jackson to get an idea of what sound I go for(even though he runs a single humbucker). Pure tone. Cuts through anything, yet sits in the mix if you want it to.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Soapbar pickups are single coil.

This is true... except when they aren't.


They're a shape, not a coil configuration.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I prefer whatever sounds great in the bass I'm playing. My main basses are dual or quadcoils with coil switching. So when I want a single coil vibe, I get it. And when I want humbucker +humbucker or bridge/humbucker + neck/single coil I get those sounds too.

 

[maxbass]

Single Coil or Split Coil

 

[GRAHAM SG1]

Guitar - single coil

Bass - Humbucker

I prefer the tone from my Gibson SG bass humbuckers over my Precision, its warmer and more full, having said that, the Precision pick ups have a large range of sound in the tone pot and are louder than the Gibbo !

 

[Infidelity]

I'm a convert.. Loving my Single Coils right now..