Mark V combo - Humbuckers vs. Single Coils

[Monsta-Tone]

So.....
I've been in the process of rewiring one of my Strats for a week or two. Other, more important stuff just keeps coming up.
The Strat has DiMarzios (approximations of single coils, but no noise at all)
- Area 61 in the neck
- Area 58 in the middle
- Virtual Solo in the bridge

I finally finished last night and plugged it into the Mark V immediately.
With my Roadster, my favorite settings sound good with singles and humbuckers. Albeit, the singles don't quite sound as nice as they could.

With the V, the cleans sounded fantastic!
Channel 2 needed a little bit of treble and presence.
Channel 3 sounded WAY too dark.....but after adjusting a little bit, sounded really good.

If you are not playing Metal, which do you prefer, Singles or Humbuckers???

 

[Wayno]

I vote humbuckers, purely because I haven't had a single coil guitar for many moons. Bet the cleans sounds could be heavenly though.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I haven't played a guitar with singles in a long time. Lately I've been really getting into Strat music though and thought I would give the Areas a try. Really nice pickups so far!

I think my V combo really likes singles much more than humbuckers. Again, I'm not looking for Metallica or Dream Theater tones though.....I'm just looking for great all around tones to play some bluesy, Pink Floyd kinda tones.

 

[tbonesullivan]

For me, singles are good up until moderate amount of gain. It also depends on what type of single coils. Bridge single coils do sound kind of thin, when compared to bridge humbuckers, and high gain seems to accentuate this.

The Dimarzio hum-less single coils are pretty close to the real thing, so while they do have no hum, they still don't sound good with lots of gain, even the "INJECTOR" Paul Gilbert sets. Those work ok, but I still like the humbucker with high gain.

The exception to this is P90s. They sound awesome with lots of gain. Sure there is noise, but that buzz saw Mississippi Queen sound can't be beat!

 

[gag halfrunt]

I use HBs with coil taps for the best of both worlds! My fave pickups are PRS DGTs (think a hot PAF that doesn't lose the warmth of a low output PAF).

 

[tbonesullivan]

The problem I always have is that the split HB's are never as good as proper Single coils. There are some setups made for splitting, but they end up being a compromise.

 

[Bluestoned!]

HB's

 

[Bankim]

For Non Metal forays, definitely single coils. I prefer my strat when I am in bluesy mood or if I feel like jamming to some floyd..Andy Timmons even.. I haven't changed the stock pickups on my strat though. They sound good n serve their purpose 8)

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:mrgreen: I just got my old 1992 Custom 24 back from a friend. I sold it to him for $2,000 years ago when we bought our house (needed to raise the down payment....).
He just sold it back to me for $1,400 because he needs to raise enough money for a down payment.....

This guitar sounds really good with the V. My Strat with Parallel Axis humbuckers does not like channel 3 though.
Guess I'll have to keep experimenting!

 

[MarshMesa]

I much prefer single coils on my Strat for most things non-heavy. My Strat has the EMG SA pickups (what David Gilmour uses) and they can get surprisingly heavy if needed. But they don't sound nearly as rich and full as my humbucker Telecaster does. Sometimes though, I wish my Strat had passive pickups instead. There's a brightness in tone that the EMG's have that kind of hard to put my finger on. I feel like passive single coils have a bit thicker sound.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Singles for sure. My favorites are my two Yngwie Strats, one with a maple board and DiMarzio YJMs and one with rosewood board and Duncan YJMs. The pickups in both are designed to handle fairly high gain very well while retaining their clear, twangy character. And the cleans are nothing short of phenomenal. I really dig Trevor Rabin's high gain tones with his Strat in his '80s Yes and solo days. I've been using my rosewood Strat lately to record some of his stuff.

The only humbucker clean sound I like for rock is the middle position, tapped on a HH guitar (still not as good as #4 on a Strat). The HH config is also my favorite for high gain playing, although the YJM singles aren't as far behind as you might think. I had the pleasure of watching Eric Gales play in a small club about 20 years ago. If you don't know who he is, he is an absolute KILLER, although he never really became famous. He can seriously shred in the Eric Johnson category, that is---tasteful shredding with a traditional tone. He switched between various Fender Strats throughout the night, and I noticed his best tone was always with the SSS strats. When he played his Fender HM Strats with humbuckers, the single note clarity and cut wasn't as good. That night made a powerful impression on me in more ways than one. 8)

Having said this, I love the '80s thrashworthiness of the Duncan Distortion or Bareknuckle Nail Bomb through any Mark cranked nicely. Oh God how I love it. Likewise for the EMG 81 and 85 when I'm in that kind of mood. :twisted:

If I could only have one config, it would be HSS, because singles rule for cleans, no contest....

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I haven't tried the YJM's yet. I do really like the Areas so far though!

I just got my old Custom 24 back. It definitely sounds better with the Roadster.
I got a full set of new tubes for the V, we'll see after that........

 

[Newysurfer]

So.....
I've been in the process of rewiring one of my Strats for a week or two. Other, more important stuff just keeps coming up.
The Strat has DiMarzios (approximations of single coils, but no noise at all)
- Area 61 in the neck
- Area 58 in the middle
- Virtual Solo in the bridge

I finally finished last night and plugged it into the Mark V immediately.
With my Roadster, my favorite settings sound good with singles and humbuckers. Albeit, the singles don't quite sound as nice as they could.

With the V, the cleans sounded fantastic!
Channel 2 needed a little bit of treble and presence.
Channel 3 sounded WAY too dark.....but after adjusting a little bit, sounded really good.

If you are not playing Metal, which do you prefer, Singles or Humbuckers???

Don't prefer either - both are equally great imo :mrgreen:

 

[bandit2013]

I could not vote as it said I can only select one. I would personally have to choose both.

I use single coil guitars on many occasions. I can even do the heavy stuff. Actually I have gone from Lace Sensors to the Seymour Duncan mini humbuckers (rails in one, everything axe set in the other) that fit a single coil position. All sound great. However, both of my SSS guitars are not Fenders but Carvins. I was able to hear the tonal difference of a Mexican Strat thought he Mark V and Roadster when my friend from work came over. It sounded great though both but a bit lower in overall output.

The smaller pickup adds some character to the heavy distorted signal that I really like over the other guitars with humbuckers. It all depends on personal opinion.

 

[mikemjr12]

I find the Mark V versatile enough where I can get humbuckers to sound as clear and pristine as single coils, but I can't really get single coils to thicken up like humbuckers. So I typically use humbuckers, particularly on stage. I also have a G&L SC-2 with jumbo MFD pickups which are like P-90s, and those sounds really good as well.

But yeah, the EQ is so responsive and has a wide range. I've used really dark neck humbuckers and with the proper EQing, they cut through a mix easily.