Humbucker vs. Single-coil for a new player.

Jason Fredensborg · From: Zimmerman, Minnesota

Iâ€™m planning on finally getting my first PSG this year and am wondering if you kind folks can give me your opinions on what would be a good pickup to go with. Humbucker or single-coil? I have some experience with the differences between the two as I do play good old fashioned 6 string guitar...but I am wondering if there are any nuances to pickups as it relates to PSG that I should be aware of? Is there such thing as a coil-split for PSG like there is on electric guitar where you can pull a knob to split the signal of a humbucker and have the best of both worlds?

Gene Tani · From: Pac NW

I don't remember anybody on the forum talking about coil taps, splits, dummy coils etc but if you use the Search link above to read old threads, you'll find that some Forum members have opinions... ha

In here is links to listen to a few different ones, tho Truetones are getting hard to find https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=357072

To say something actually helpful, if you're going to buy new, most builders have one or a few pickups they prefer, if you're going to buy used, worry about getting a good builder's product in good shape with a nonweird copedent, .
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Ken Pippus · From: Langford, BC, Canada

Possibly the last detail you should worry about.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I didn't vote, as both have their uses. I would avoid single coil in case the first time you play out you find yourself in a venue with a lot of interference. You could find that distressing. I took my old D10 to a store to try out amplifiers and found I couldn't, the hum was so bad from the display lighting. It was fine at home.

Single coils are fine if you're chasing an antique sound in a controlled environment, but like Ken says, everything else is more important. Buy something you can sell - as with cars, you're first PSG won't be your last!
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Benjamin Davidson · Posted 8 May 2020 4:57 am

For the beginner, I wouldn't worry as much about the specific pickup. There is more differences in the guitar brands and mechanisims, and depending on the guitar you end up with will drastically change how a specific pickup is going to sound. I also would hold off chasing the pickup tone until you have a guitar you aren't going to outgrow.

Wallace True Tones were the leading single coil for the steel upto the owners passing a few months ago. Mullen steel guitars wind their own single coil, but other than that I'm not familiar with any other current production single coils out there.

There are a good selection of humbuckers currently in production, which can do the job. Mickey Adams has a couple of great you tube videos where he swaps pickups on his MSA Legend that I would recommend you watch. A quick youtube search will get you there.

As far as the humbuckers with a coil split, my BL 705 is a four conductor lead - so all those interesting choices are available. I haven't gotten into trying any of those out yet. So those options will be specific to the pickup in the guitar, as others are simple 2 wire connections.

In regards to single coils with a split (two winding values), they were available on certain vintage guitars. I have no experiance with how they sounded, and I am not aware of anyone currently winding a production pickup with that feature.
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Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

The Bill Lawrence XR16 allows for a switch to split the coils from humbucker to single coil. I put one in a Mullen I used to have. Best of both worlds.
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Ken Metcalf · From: San Antonio Texas USA

In the beginning you will likely struggle with getting good tone no matter which pickup you have.
It takes some time.
The 1st 10 years are the hardest. LOL
After that it is merely difficult. ^_^
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Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

I'll suggest humbuckers for one reason -- as stated above, getting good tone and good control of tone takes quite a while and during that time, pickup choice is pretty irrelevant. But if you tend to be bothered by 60 cycle hum, the humbucker will relieve you of that distraction.

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