Humbucker help

[adrianlee]

So, I have a small dilemma. I'm not sure if I just really hate humbuckers or if I'm doing something wrong. I've swapped pups in my sg a few times, from stock, to p90s, to humbuckers. I currently have an SD vintage blues set in it. They're low output, I think somewhere between 7-8k.

I hate the way they work with all my fuzzes. From fuzz faces, to muffs to benders, to whatevers, I just don't like it.

How can you help me like them? What are some tricks to make a single coil guy like me like them? Should I lower the pickups? Upgrade the pots to 500k? I don't think I can split them unless I'm wrong--pretty sure they're two conductor. I REALLY want to play this guitar. It plays so nicely.

HALP

[MEC]

What don't you like about them?

Also, if you plug a humbucker guitar into a rig that was built around and dialed in with
a single coil guitar you might have to make some major adjustments.

[adrianlee]

What don't you like about them?

Also, if you plug a humbucker guitar into a rig that was built around and dialed in with
a single coil guitar you might have to make some major adjustments.

You know... I NEVER even took that into account. I feel dumb.

But, things I don't like, they're just much louder, bassist, feedback more, don't seem to play well with fuzzes. Seem a bit muddy, and, the difference between bridge and neck is so much larger than that of my single coiled guitars.

Forgive my kindergarten-esque knowledge on this. And my complete lack of respect toward EQIng differently. Thought never crossed my mind.

[MEC]

Yeah, try the EQing and see if that helps.

For height adjustment I always set the toggle to the Bridge position and raise or
lower that pickup until it has the desired output that I'm looking for and then switch to
the Neck position and raise or lower it to match the output of the bridge. It usually ends
up being that the Bridge pickup is set higher and closer to the strings than the Neck.

The lower you set the pickups the less output and feedback you'll get. You can also raise
one side of the pickup more than the other to help even things out. Mine are usually set
a little closer to the skinny strings than they are to the thicker strings.

If you go through all this and you're still not digging it than you'll probably want to swap out
the cap and pot.

Or try something like this: http://www.kleinpickups.com/p-268-humbucker-sized-single-coil.aspx

[Achtane]

500k or die.
Don't like it, turn the toan knob down some.

[adrianlee]

500k or die.
Don't like it, turn the toan knob down some.

Do they make that much of a difference?

[dubkitty]

Yeah, try the EQing and see if that helps.

For height adjustment I always set the toggle to the Bridge position and raise or
lower that pickup until it has the desired output that I'm looking for and then switch to
the Neck position and raise or lower it to match the output of the bridge. It usually ends
up being that the Bridge pickup is set higher and closer to the strings than the Neck.

The lower you set the pickups the less output and feedback you'll get. You can also raise
one side of the pickup more than the other to help even things out. Mine are usually set
a little closer to the skinny strings than they are to the thicker strings.

this, pretty much exactly. i then fine tune the string-to-string output by raising/lowering the individual polepieces. often the neck PU on my humbucker guitars is set so low that the top of the PU is level with or only slightly above the pickup ring. as the bridge PU gets closer to the strings, it gets fatter-sounding; as the neck PU gets farther away from the strings, it gets cooler and less bassy. my D string pole is usually higher than the G and my high E higher than the B; this balances between the heavier/higher output unwound strings and the lower output E and D.

i suspect that like other folks have said, EQ is a big part of the dilemma...if your setup is optimized for single-coil guitars with fuzz, i.e. to tame an EXTREMELY treble-heavy sound created with relatively low-output single-coil PUs, it's likely to make a humbucker guitar sound like there's a concrete block between you and the speaker.

[Ancient Astronaught]

So, I have a small dilemma. I'm not sure if I just really hate humbuckers or if I'm doing something wrong. I've swapped pups in my sg a few times, from stock, to p90s, to humbuckers. I currently have an SD vintage blues set in it. They're low output, I think somewhere between 7-8k.

I hate the way they work with all my fuzzes. From fuzz faces, to muffs to benders, to whatevers, I just don't like it.

How can you help me like them? What are some tricks to make a single coil guy like me like them? Should I lower the pickups? Upgrade the pots to 500k? I don't think I can split them unless I'm wrong--pretty sure they're two conductor. I REALLY want to play this guitar. It plays so nicely.

HALP

If your running humbuckers in an SG you should have 500k pots in it (that's waht it comes with stock, as do most humbucker equipped guitars), if you currently have 250k's then you have even more treble taken off in comparison to single coils. It would be extremely bass heavy and missing alot of clarity. If your going to upgrade the pots and want to have some high end comparable to single coils then upgrade the pots to 1meg pots, that will allow the naturally dark humbuckers to lose less treble and have more high end like a single coil, making it easier to switch between a single coil equipped guitar and your sg without having to re-EQ everything.

[adrianlee]

So, I have a small dilemma. I'm not sure if I just really hate humbuckers or if I'm doing something wrong. I've swapped pups in my sg a few times, from stock, to p90s, to humbuckers. I currently have an SD vintage blues set in it. They're low output, I think somewhere between 7-8k.

I hate the way they work with all my fuzzes. From fuzz faces, to muffs to benders, to whatevers, I just don't like it.

How can you help me like them? What are some tricks to make a single coil guy like me like them? Should I lower the pickups? Upgrade the pots to 500k? I don't think I can split them unless I'm wrong--pretty sure they're two conductor. I REALLY want to play this guitar. It plays so nicely.

HALP

If your running humbuckers in an SG you should have 500k pots in it (that's waht it comes with stock, as do most humbucker equipped guitars), if you currently have 250k's then you have even more treble taken off in comparison to single coils. It would be extremely bass heavy and missing alot of clarity. If your going to upgrade the pots and want to have some high end comparable to single coils then upgrade the pots to 1meg pots, that will allow the naturally dark humbuckers to lose less treble and have more high end like a single coil, making it easier to switch between a single coil equipped guitar and your sg without having to re-EQ everything.

Ah, good info. I'll be working on this guitar tomorrow and working with some EQing stuff. 1meg pots seem interesting. I'll have to check those out. Any preference on brand?

[Ancient Astronaught]

I've used Alpha's and CTS's with the same pickups (gibson iommi's) but different guitars (an epi V and a gibson V) and they both sounded identical, alpha's are cheaper but cts's build quality is better. So no real preference just what ever is more important to you saving a lil cash or better build quality.

[Holy Schnikes]

Coil tap or series/parallel options are the key with HBs imo. TONS of variety that way.

Also, could just be the guitar. I had an SG years ago and that thin, lightweight body did not jive with any pickup I tried, just dead sounding due to total lack of resonance but I loved how it looked and played. Had to sell in the end sadly.

[WayToHip]

It has been said before, but adjusting your EQ does wonders. I switch between a LP copy and a jaguar every other day and I find that the LP needs more mids and the Jaguar needs more bass.
Experimentation is key.