humbucker

If you've ever thought about getting a guitar that features a humbucker/single-coil pickup setup (such as an HSS, HSH, etc.), you're not alone. A lot of players love the ability to switch between the two distinct tones with just one guitar. While a brand new electric using one of these pickup combinations is ensured to work well from the get-go, it's not as easy as just sticking any kind of single-coil and humbucker. It takes a lot of balance to create a good match. In today's article, we'll be looking the important factors that go into properly matching single-coils with humbuckers along with plenty of suggestions for popular pairings from our friends at Seymour Duncan.   Continue reading →

[caption id="attachment_2235" align="alignright" width="300"] SEYMOUR DUNCAN SHPR-1s P-Rails - Neck and Bridge Pickup Set - White[/caption] Hard rock seems to get most of the attention when it comes to shredding solos and being the atypical music star, but that doesn’t mean blues guitarists can’t melt faces with the best of them! Today, we're selecting our top five picks for that good ol’ American sound. It does come to mind that pickups aren’t made to fit on all guitars, so we’ll do our best to get a little variety in there as far as featured guitar bodies go. Well then, read on and check out our list for the top pickups for blues!     Blues Pickups for Stratocaster and Stratocaster-styled Guitars One of the most popular guitar bodies ever produced is that of the Fender Stratocaster. There are innumerable clones of varying quality and even a diverse model assortment of the real thing, and while certain aspects may be different from one to the other, one thing that you can always count on is the uniformity of the pickup slot sizes, letting your Fernandes Strat don the pickups of the real thing. The Stratocaster and their clones use three single-coiled pickups with only very few exceptions in the case of special models, but for all intents and purposes, these are for your standard Strat pickup configuration.   Continue reading →

[caption id="attachment_3113" align="alignright" width="173"] Lindy Fralin Pure P.A.F. Set[/caption] Soon after the advent of the electric pickup, manufacturers were working hard to create a design that would cancel out one of it's inherent problems: the dreaded 60-cycle hum. The answer came in the form of the humbucker, a dual-coil design that was able to cancel out the hum -- but it didn't end there. Over the years, manufacturers developed different takes on the humbucker design, some of which are still popular to this day. Today, we're taking a look at some of the most notable designs, from the Gibson P.A.F. to the modern active humbucker. Continue reading →

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1 Bridge Humbucker Zebra @ $94.95 Q: "I recently bought a new Seymour Duncan SH-PG1 bridge humbucker for my HSS Stratocaster and even though it fits perfectly, I noticed that the poles aren’t lining up right with the strings. Did I do something wrong? Aren’t all humbuckers the same size?" A: Even if they might look similar...

[caption id="attachment_2928" align="alignright" width="192"] Check out our entire selection of humbucker pickups right here.[/caption] The perfect pickup can go a long way in creating awesome tone which is why we like to give our readers a bit of insight from time to time into some of our personal favorites just in case they need a solid recommendation. In previous articles, we listed what we feel are worthy replacements for both Telecaster and Stratocaster electrics and so today we're giving similar treatment to the humbucking pickup. Known for its signature hum cancelling ability, thicker tone and larger size compared to a single coil, the humbucker has been a staple of guitarists for decades. While there are numerous top quality pickups out there, here are a few of our favorites. Continue reading →