do filtertron pickups hum?

[appar111]

Just wondering if Filtertrons have the standard 60-cycle hum that single coil pickups do? I don't know alot about the design of the filtertrons (whether it's tv jones or gretsch), but watched a youtube vid of the cabronita especial played by Mike Eldred from the custom shop, and there's a part on it where it's humming like a hornet's nest with the gain up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyFRiiZCniU

[SteveGangi]

Originally Posted by appar111

Just wondering if Filtertrons have the standard 60-cycle hum that single coil pickups do? I don't know alot about the design of the filtertrons (whether it's tv jones or gretsch), but watched a youtube vid of the cabronita especial played by Mike Eldred from the custom shop, and there's a part on it where it's humming like a hornet's nest with the gain up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyFRiiZCniU

No they don't hum. Ages ago, I had a Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gent with Filtertrons in it. They are humbuckers, so they tend to reject hum (hence the name). ... At least mine was quiet.

[scatterwinder]

Yep, Filtertrons are humbuckers, so they shouldn't hum. Humbuckers can hum though if one coil has more windings than the other. If the coil windings are mismatched enough, then a humbucker will hum like a single coil. Mismatched coil buckers do sound good though, maybe he has custom wound pickups.

[jefrs]

A normal single-coil pickup should not actually hum unless it is subjected to an electromagnetic radiation field (EMF), which unfortunately valve amps can supply in plenty. Amps can be noisy by themself. There are essentially two types of noise in a valve amp: the mains; the noise floor - white noise. If the gain is cranked up then the white noise floor gets amplified along with the guitar signal. If it is a low-A hum (which is 55Hz) then it's mains-hum and the amp needs sorting. Suggest the clip was of a particularly nasty amp.