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January 2005
Posts: 161
Location: Atlanta GA | I have been looking into purchasing an electric guitar and know nothing about them. The one thing I have noticed is that several models have humbucker pickups. As with everything else, I'm sure there is a history and science associated with humbucker pickups that I have no idea about. The question is some humbucker pickups have two rows of round silver "pickups" and others have only one row of round silver "pickups" on their respective assemblies.
What's the difference and would I, as a novice to electric guitars, want one over the other?
Thanks in advance for information and or advice. |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | The quality of the pick-up and sound is more important than the style. Regardless of the style they operate on the same principle (opposite phasing to cancel noise). Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Gibson (57's) are quality pickups but you should shop by ear. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Edit. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I have almost no knowledge regarding electric guitars, but I thought the humbuckers were the ones with 2 rows and the ones with single rows were single coils. To me, the single coils seem to have a "twangier" sound than the humbuckers. 99% of the people on this board know more than I do about electric guitars, however.
Edit: While I was typing, one of those 99% posted something that proved my point that I don't know what I'm talking about.
Second edit: Then when I was typing my first edit, he deleted it. |
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January 2005
Posts: 161
Location: Atlanta GA | Since I don't know anything about playing an electric, I thought I would buy an inexpensive guitar and see if I could learn some licks. (I have always played acoustic mostly rythem) I have been looking at some lefty epiphone LPs on ebay. Some have the two rows and others have the single row pickups. I have a lefty epiphone PR5e that I play sometimes,although it doesn't sound or play nearly as nice as my O, it has been a good guitar and unless someone tells me there is a better lefty option out there for the price I think I will buy one soon.
P.S. I'm going for the two row model, two rows has to be twice as good a one row , right?) |
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March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I just googled electric guitar pickups and found a decent article by Helmuth Lemme that doesn't seem too complicated. It has some of the information Paul posted before he edited his post. Try that. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Simple thoughts for looking for an electric.
1. What do you want to play style-of-playing-wise?
2. What do you want it to sound like?
Actually that applies to any guitar purchase.
After you answer those questions, I think many of us can help you better.
One piece of advise I can share at this time, is "inexpensive" can be ok, but not "cheap." Back in the day, buying an inexpensive guitar meant you were probably buying a "cheap" guitar. That is no longer the rule. Most decent branded inexpensive guitars are rather nice.
Once you figure out what you want, buy the best guitar you can afford. Many of us, and many people in general started out with a piece of junk "just to learn on." That can be a miserable experience and in many cases is. And once you decide you can't stand that $175 guitar, it's also worthless and you wouldn't even want to give it away. Where, with some smart shopping, you can get a guitar in the $400-$600 range that is a nice instrument. Easy to play, easy to learn to play on. If you decide you don't like, you can probably get at least some of your money back, or donate it, or gift it, as it is still a nice instrument.
Just my 2 cents. |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | I like the Schecter electric guitars better than the Epiphone. One nice feature is that most Schecters have humbuckers with split coils. The tone pot pulls out and switches the humbucker to a single coil. It's not exactly the same as a single coil but it does a fairly good job of replicating single coil sound. It gives you more tone options. Personally I like the single coil sound in the neck p/u better than the humbucker. There are also lots of electric guitars with a humbucker in the bridge and single coil in the neck and middle positions. Also, some electrics have stacked humbuckers that look like single coil, but the second set of coils is under the first set inside the body of the guitar. The T5 Taylor is an example of this. There's also P-90 pick-ups which are single coil but have a "fatter" sound, somewhere in-between the humbucker and Fender-style single coils.
Are you confused enough? |
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April 2006
Posts: 1138
Location: CT | Single coil picups have the 'one row' of magnets surrounded by a coiled wire. Double coils have 2 of these wired together so that the 60 cycle hum is cancelled out (humbucker). Some humbucking pickups look to the eye to have only 1 row (a Gibson stacked P-100 is 2 coils 1 on top of the other instead of side-by-side, and looks identical to a single coil P-90. Also there are narrow pole or blade type humbuckers that fit in the same size cutout as a Strat sized single coil pickup). Some humbuckers have a metal cover on them, so they're fat, but you only see one of the rows of magnets on one side, not the other. In either case, single coil pickups sound very different than humbukers. Go to a shop and play some so you can hear the difference. |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Q What's the difference
A Single coil versus two coils
Q Would I, as a novice to electric guitars, want one over the other?
A It depends on the sound you want. Do you like the sound of a telecaster or a stratocaster, then go with single coils. If you like, the sould of a les paul or sg, then go with humbuckers (twin coils)
The only way to know, is to just buy one and try it. As I've gotten older, I'm liking hot humbuckers more. But we evolve.
Thanks in advance for information and or advice. |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | One additional thing for electric guitar advice. Get a tube amp. There's been a big re-emergence of tube amps lately and you can find a good new low-wattage tube amp for $200 or less. Play the guitar straight into the amp with no stomp box effects and learn how to use the controls on the guitar and the amp to get different sounds. If I were to buy a small tube amp today, I'd get the Peavey Valve King Royal 8 . It's the only inexpensive 5 watter that has gain and volume controls. |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 161
Location: Atlanta GA | Thanks for the advise and descriptions. Although more confused, I think I am better prepaired to do something. I am actually more concerned that I won't be able to play it than buying it. I learned my lesson on cheap guitars about 30 years ago and I will be careful not to buy something that can't be played. One issue is with us leftys is that it's hard to go by ear because there are usually not much selection of leftys and no one at the shops can play one if there is one. So you go onto the internet and do the best you can. I bought my Ovation Elite through the internet about 5 years ago and love it. I paid top dollar for it and then come here and found out what that funny little black sticker with the FRG printed ment and realized I got ripped off. I still love to play it but it chaps my A$$ knowing I paid twice too much for it. |
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January 2005
Posts: 161
Location: Atlanta GA | From an authorized dealer (in Oklahoma) no less! |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 161
Location: Atlanta GA | Another silly question... I can't play it through my Create Acoustic amp? It's got lots of effects built in. Other than not getting a proper sound would it hurt anything? |
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July 2002
Posts: 1900
| Watchme22, FRG guitars are considered on an individual basis. I bought an FRG 1758 12-string and it was primo. I couldn't find a scatch anywhere... nicest O' I had at the time. |
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June 2007
Posts: 270
Location: Yorkshire, England | Hi - Well put simply, a single coil pickup is a single magnet wound with wire, and a humbucking pickup is two magnets wound with wire put together. The single coil pickup produces a thinner/twangier tone and the humbucker gives a richer sound. Think for instance, Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster against a Gibson Les Paul. Single coils tend to produce feedback or hum when close to the amp, or played at loud volume, the humbuckers tend not to do this, as having two wound magnets, the polarity of one cancels out the other. Just a matter of choice really. |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 161
Location: Atlanta GA | Thanks Steve,
I love the guitar, it's the price I paid for it that bugs me. If I had known it was an FRG I might still have bought it. But I would have expected to not pay full retail of a non FRG guitar with a lifetime warranty. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Originally posted by Watchme22:
Another silly question... I can't play it through my Create Acoustic amp? It's got lots of effects built in. Other than not getting a proper sound would it hurt anything? An electric guitar plugged into an acoustic amp won't sound right but it will not damage the amp at all. |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I suppose if you put an overdrive pedal in front of it, or used a line 6 POD, it would work. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | And for even more variety, there the VXT with humbuckers that you can mix with the built in Piezo. With the right guitar and set-up, they all sound good. |
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Questions on Pickups
