Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: fatbob on December 07, 2005, 10:04:30 AM
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I've just been reading a thread in 'time out' about players using "unlikely" guitars. Got me thinking, do BKP make or have any plans on making singlecoil sized HBs. If not, are there reasons, ie. they sound rubbish, difficult to make etc.
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Tim believes they sound like neither single coils nor like real humbuckers.
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P90's?
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I'm not a fan of single coil size humbuckers. The Hotrails being the worst of the lot!! I guess they fit if yo don't want to hack a guitar up. But why not go for a Sinner for more drive?
The one thing that does work are the humbucker sized P90s - they sound great!
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I put a set of SD Hotrails in my son's Strat about a couple of years ago. (This was before I was aware of BKPs!). I was not impressed - you loose all the benefits of a single coil Strat sound but don't get a good humbucker sound - 'uninspiring' would how I would describe it. I don't think my son was impressed either - he has bought and SG since (which is going to be fitted with a Nailbomb soon) and hardly ever picks up the Strat. Definitely would not recommend the Hotrails.
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Tim believes they sound like neither single coils nor like real humbuckers.
he's right- IMO, they're ok (not great, though) if you take them as is- but if you want a humbucker sound, you're going to be disappointed
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Agreed (with all the detractors of the lousy halfway house bits of junk)
But what about 2 wired in series :twisted: :twisted: :lol:
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I've found single-coil-size 'buckers to be a bit "fizzy", IMO. I guess that means the frequencies spike unpleasantly around the high mids or something--I'm not sure exactly.
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I hated the lil'59 in my tele and swapped it out for a vintage Broadcaster, which I just replaced with a Piledriver. I would say go with the Piledriver for the extra output but keeping the single coil vibe. The lil'59 was neither one thing nor another, I tired it in series and parallel and it had 2 sounds, one was 'cr' and the other 'ap'. If you want a small humbucker, go with the mini-mule, that is what I have in the neck of the tele and it works really nicely.
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'Just sold a Strat with DiMarzio YJM stacked single coil sized humbuckers. All you can say about them is that they don't hum.
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I put a set of SD Hotrails in my son's Strat about a couple of years ago. (This was before I was aware of BKPs!). I was not impressed - you loose all the benefits of a single coil Strat sound but don't get a good humbucker sound - 'uninspiring' would how I would describe it. I don't think my son was impressed either - he has bought and SG since (which is going to be fitted with a Nailbomb soon) and hardly ever picks up the Strat. Definitely would not recommend the Hotrails.
Interested in selling that strat anytime soon :lol: ?
I have a DiMarzio "Chopper" in the bridge position of my strat copy. I dont actually mind it that much but it doesnt sound like a proper humbucker or a sc as allready mentioned.. but its not unbearable to be honest *runs and hides for cover* :P
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Interested in selling that strat anytime soon :lol: ?
Sorry Tom :cry: - I lust after it myself ! Might make him an offer he can't refuse when he's short of money :wink: (which is often). It's a US Sunburst in A1 condition - would really take a set of BKPs well. (I've got a Squier Strat with a set of Kinman Blues pups).
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So what about this then? The swampcaster by Bill Lawrence with L250 pickups?
(I still have a soft spot for the L500XL)
(http://www.guitarvalue.com/auctions/images/blsktf.jpg)
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Nice looking guitar RR:)
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Nice looking guitar RR:)
Only $450.- @ www.guitarvalue.com
The pickups are interesting, tho.
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The day I hear a useable single coil size humbucker I'll be interested but I don't ever see that day coming.
The moment you change the coil shape of a pickup, ie reduce two coils into the space of one,however you do it-side by side, stacked etc, you're compromising.The strings see a different shape underneath them and the single coil size picks up up tone from a more focused area.
You'll never get a single coil to sound like a humbucker and vice versa...............likewise, remove the hum from a single coil(Strat,Tele, P90 etc) and you'll lose the tone.Not only do the frequencies that carry hum get cancelled but also some of the higher frequencies too that contribute to the tone.Hence why all the noiseless single coils sound so flat and lifeless and...........nothing like the real deal.
If tone is the ultimate goal, which it generally is for all of us, don't compromise.You want humbucking tone, fit a humbucker, you want single coil tone, fit a single coil!