difference between a split hum, and a true single..

[gemini8026]

Just kind of curious hear about some stuff. Im reading that guys say "a split hum just isnt as good as a true single"

So if you coil tap a humbucker, what exactly is the difference? Are you essentially just "lowering the volume" or is theiur a reason why singles might have a different tonal quality?

Can anyone shed any light on the matter?

[Newc]

Where's Ace? He took that course at MI and learned how to wind pickups, he could probably give a better explanation.

IMO, "just as good as" and "sounds close enough to" are the same thing. While you may not be able to get any quack out of one (unless you're using H-S-H) it's good enough to get you through any part of a song where you want a single-coil sound but also want to be able to go back to a humbucker tone without changing guitars.

I think a large part of it is also the fact that Fender singles are usually wired to a 250K volume, and 'buckers get 500K pots.

[Dave L]

I´ve always liked actual singlecoils better than split humbuckers... I cant´give you any specifics as to why, really, but that´s how I feel. But then again the "singlecoil tone" is a big part of my sound, since I do alot of clean stuff and use them quite a bit for leads as well... so I might look at it a bit different than someone who wants the possibility to do an occasional bit with a singlecoil-ish tone.

I guess most manufacturers focus on getting a humbucker to sound great as a humbucker, not wanting to compromise too much in construction to also get a great singlecoil-sound out of the split mode. I´m just guessing here, but one half of a regular high output humbucker probably differs a bit in spec from your average singlecoil.

[dg]

Yep, some hums sound pretty good split, but many sound like ass. You can get added versatility for sure, but it's a compromise as far as the quality of the tone vs. a true sc, imo.

One other quick note. WRT to the term "coil tapping", people use it to describe coil splitting, but coil tapping originally meant wiring a pickup (usually a single coil) in such a way that you can flip a switch to run the signal through more or fewer windings to change the output. Nowadays, it is almost always used to refer to splitting a hum.

http://www.answers.com/topic/coil-tap

[Dave L]

Yeah, that´s absolutely true. Soon you won´t be able to describe the actual tapping of a pickup with the term tapping anymore. But to be honest, it feels like it´s been a long time since I saw actual tapping listed as a feature. Maybe it´s going out of style because people don´t know what it is anymore.

[toejam]

I´m just guessing here, but one half of a regular high output humbucker probably differs a bit in spec from your average singlecoil.

Pretty much. If you want a truer single coil sound out of a split humbucker, you're gonna need something really high output like an X2N.

[jackson1]

Pretty much. If you want a truer single coil sound out of a split humbucker, you're gonna need something really high output like an X2N.

Sorry Joe, but that sounds wrong, unless I misunderstood you..?

Put very simple:

Humbucker (typical)
lots of copper wire (many windings) = high DC resistance (Kilo ohm) = high output, fat sound, reduced high end and dynamics (low resonant peak).

Single coil (typical, true)
shorter copper wires (fewer windings) = low DC resistance = low output, bright and clear sound, lots of sparkle and dynamics, quack! (high resonant peak).

It's a trade off. Bright sparkly sound (high freq) is lost in the typical high output humbucker due to the long wire used.

There's a lot of other factors involved, the above is just the most significant regarding frequency response.

[Chad]

Sorry Joe, but that sounds wrong, unless I misunderstood you..?

Put very simple:

Humbucker (typical)
lots of copper wire (many windings) = high DC resistance (Kilo ohm) = high output, fat sound, reduced high end and dynamics (low resonant peak).

Single coil (typical, true)
shorter copper wires (fewer windings) = low DC resistance = low output, bright and clear sound, lots of sparkle and dynamics, quack! (high resonant peak).

It's a trade off. Bright sparkly sound (high freq) is lost in the typical high output humbucker due to the long wire used.

There's a lot of other factors involved, the above is just the most significant regarding frequency response.

You're exactly right. And half of a high output pickup is getting in the range of where single coils are.

[toejam]

It's true about humbuckers... the higher output a humbucker is, the better single coil sound you'll get from it when split. Get an X2N and split it, you'll get a better, truer single coil sound from it when it's split than a humbucker that's got less output and is also split. It still won't be totally like a single coil, but it will be closer. I read that somewhere once.

[Newc]

One other quick note. WRT to the term "coil tapping", people use it to describe coil splitting, but coil tapping originally meant wiring a pickup (usually a single coil) in such a way that you can flip a switch to run the signal through more or fewer windings to change the output. Nowadays, it is almost always used to refer to splitting a hum.

http://www.answers.com/topic/coil-tap

I still don't see a difference. Either way, you're electronically deactivating one of the 2 coils of a humbucker so that only one is active. This changes the number of windings that the signal is going through.

Even if tapping was originally used for (and somehow "reserved for use only with regards to") single coils, there still have to be physical points inside the pickup coil where the tap begins and ends. If so, it's still "splitting" the windings. It may not be a 50/50 split, but a split is a split.

[Wayniac]

I also think that the difference is you get loss of frequencies around 60hz in a split HB (hum cancelling), while a single coil has no drop out/cancellation - hence the comparative noisieness of them..

[Newc]

It's true about humbuckers... the higher output a humbucker is, the better single coil sound you'll get from it when split. Get an X2N and split it, you'll get a better, truer single coil sound from it when it's split than a humbucker that's got less output and is also split. It still won't be totally like a single coil, but it will be closer. I read that somewhere once.

I've split Duncan Distortions, JBs, Customs, and Jazzes. The split Distortion and JB were not good for cleans, but the Jazz and Custom had very nice tones with distinct changes to their normal tonal characteristics. The Jazz gets more of a jangly tone - lots of high end sparkle. The Custom sounds more like a single coil IMO - the spongy, bubbly tone.

[Chad]

I can vouch that the Custom sounds great when coil tapped.

[siggy14]

I have a x2n setup for three way switching, goes between parallel, series and single coil, it comes close to a single coil, but not as much quack like people said. If i want a true single coil i will pick up a strat style guitar.

[dg]

I still don't see a difference. Either way, you're electronically deactivating one of the 2 coils of a humbucker so that only one is active. This changes the number of windings that the signal is going through.

Even if tapping was originally used for (and somehow "reserved for use only with regards to") single coils, there still have to be physical points inside the pickup coil where the tap begins and ends. If so, it's still "splitting" the windings. It may not be a 50/50 split, but a split is a split.

You make an interesting point, but I disagree. You are absolutely right that splitting & tapping both reduce output in the same way by reducing the number of windings, but tapping doesn't change the number of coils while splitting does, by definition. You could tap (using the correct definition of "tap") one or both of the coils of a humbucker to reduce the output, but still maintain the hum-cancellation and all the other tonal characteristics that make a hum different from a single. Splitting is splitting. You take a humbucker and turn it into a single coil.