Single Coils & Player Age

[Brow]

From when I started playing at 14 up until I was about 20, I just couldn't get into the single coil sound or play a strat (the middle pickup always got in the way :lol:), but I used a friends Mexi Strat as a backup once and really got into them after a while and some work.

I've not really got too much experience with P90s, apart from the MQ in the neck of my V, but Teles have been the main guitar I've really had to work with to make work with me.

Listening to the tone I get when I play a Tele doesn't sound anything like when other people play Teles or what I'd generally refer to as the 'classic' Tele tone, but that's probably mroe down to me than a problem with the guitars  :lol:

[hunter]

me nolikey thinle coils  :(

[gordiji]

single coils forever,think sweet home alabama, pure zing thing!for rock tones ritchie blackmore has always influenced me towards s.c. and then country spank (google doug seven and listen him)oh man i love fenders.
but what about gary m and carlos, good tone is good tone but comes in flavours, guess i'm sc flavour

[Stevepage]

Always liked single coils for cleans. But used to prefer high out put humbuckers for anything with gain.

But over the past few weeks I've been more into single coils. Having a Sinner put in my Strat started it off, realising that I like the sound of a single coil in the bridge for metal as well.

Seem to be going through a slight transformation with my playing recently, prefering less gain, using my volume control to go from clean, rhythm to high gain leads.

[tomjackson]

If I hear a Strat player on the radio, with a few notes I can usually tell who they are.

Humbucker Players take a lot longer.  When I hear Joe Bonamassa for example I have to wait until the singing starts or the end of the song to hear it was him.  Good playing but the tone does not have a personal signature.

I think single coils are generally much more personal although I think the distinction was less back in the day when humbuckers were a lot lower output.  Peter Green, BB King, Paul Kossoff etc played with great personal tones.

So I prefer SC's generally but love HB's as well and to rock out they are great.  I have to have at least one HB guitar.

[Fourth Feline]

I think single coils are generally much more personal although I think the distinction was less back in the day when humbuckers were a lot lower output.  Peter Green, BB King, Paul Kossoff etc played with great personal tones.

Very good point Tom .  That certainly underlines why my chosen H.Bs are Stormies and Mules, to hear the 'air' in an otherwise warm and capable 'bucker . 

[Mr. Air]

I have almost interely been a humbucker guy, but mostly due to lack of knowledge and interest in gear and only owing one electric guitar (with humbuckers). A couple of years back my interest in different guitars and their respective sounds was awoken and since then I've become more fond of singlecoils. I now own four electric guitars, but just one of them have "propper" single coils (I got one with MQs too).

Next buy on my list is a Tele, but it will have to wait a while 

[dheim]

my first guitar was a "proper" fender stratocaster, S-S-S. i liked very much neck, middle and mixed positions, but always found the bridge SC "wrong". after i sold it my only surviving SC is the middle pickup in my Ibanez S470... honestly i don't use it much - except for relaxed playing at home.