Which Neck Humbucker or Split Single?

nikko · February 5th, 2006, 04:32 PM

I have an American Ash 'Tele, which I absolutely love, but I'm finding that I really don't use the neck pickup at all. It sounds great on its own, but when I'm playing with a full band and I switch into neck position (or even neck/bridge), my sound just seems to disappear. It's lower output than the bridge pickup and the sound just doesn't have enough body.

I'm thinking of maybe routing it for a neck position humbucker. My thinking is that would give me a bit more output as well as a bit more midrange bite than the current neck pickup. And it would look very cool. :) I play country-ish rock (think Stones meets Steve Earle).

So, can anyone recommend something to me? There don't seem to be that many choices out there. I've tried the pickups in the current MIM Deluxes, and those seem decent, but is there something better I should be considering?

eryque · February 5th, 2006, 05:45 PM

There's a couple of things you might try before you go for a humbucker (though I gotta say that I'm a big fan of neckbuckers in a tele).

First, try balancing the output of your pickups. Raise the neck and lower the bridge and see if you can get it to sound right. Cost = $0.00 and ten minutes of your time.

Second, see if a different tone cap helps out. I think standard tele neck pickups sound muffled with the stock .047 cap. You can try .022 or .033 uf. If you think the bridge sounds too bright, you can keep the .047 uf on the bridge and use .022uf on the neck if you wire it the way Jim Collins describes in this thread: http://www.tdpri.com/viewtopic.php?t=6860
Cost = $1.00 and thirty minutes of your time.

If you decide that you really want a humbucker after all there's lots of good options. I'm a fan of the Duncan '59. It's a really nice & open-sounding humbucker and not especially high output. Not muddy at all and will match well with your bridge pickup. I'd still do the trick with the tone caps, though.

There's lots of good options for single-coil neck pickups as well. The stock pickups you have aren't especially known for sounding all that great.

And should you think about using a splitable humbucker to get that single coil sound when you want it, I have this advice: don't. Split humbuckers usually sound lifeless, worse than what you have in there now.

Telenator · February 5th, 2006, 05:50 PM

+1 eryque.

I would try to first retain the original p'up. A Tele neck p'up is goping to be a lot more cutting than a humbucker. To my ears, single coils just have a more focused sound than buckers.

February 5th, 2006, 04:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
nikko NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 7	Which Neck Humbucker or Split Single? I have an American Ash 'Tele, which I absolutely love, but I'm finding that I really don't use the neck pickup at all. It sounds great on its own, but when I'm playing with a full band and I switch into neck position (or even neck/bridge), my sound just seems to disappear. It's lower output than the bridge pickup and the sound just doesn't have enough body. I'm thinking of maybe routing it for a neck position humbucker. My thinking is that would give me a bit more output as well as a bit more midrange bite than the current neck pickup. And it would look very cool. :) I play country-ish rock (think Stones meets Steve Earle). So, can anyone recommend something to me? There don't seem to be that many choices out there. I've tried the pickups in the current MIM Deluxes, and those seem decent, but is there something better I should be considering?

February 5th, 2006, 05:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,127 44 Photos	There's a couple of things you might try before you go for a humbucker (though I gotta say that I'm a big fan of neckbuckers in a tele). First, try balancing the output of your pickups. Raise the neck and lower the bridge and see if you can get it to sound right. Cost = $0.00 and ten minutes of your time. Second, see if a different tone cap helps out. I think standard tele neck pickups sound muffled with the stock .047 cap. You can try .022 or .033 uf. If you think the bridge sounds too bright, you can keep the .047 uf on the bridge and use .022uf on the neck if you wire it the way Jim Collins describes in this thread: http://www.tdpri.com/viewtopic.php?t=6860 Cost = $1.00 and thirty minutes of your time. If you decide that you really want a humbucker after all there's lots of good options. I'm a fan of the Duncan '59. It's a really nice & open-sounding humbucker and not especially high output. Not muddy at all and will match well with your bridge pickup. I'd still do the trick with the tone caps, though. There's lots of good options for single-coil neck pickups as well. The stock pickups you have aren't especially known for sounding all that great. And should you think about using a splitable humbucker to get that single coil sound when you want it, I have this advice: don't. Split humbuckers usually sound lifeless, worse than what you have in there now. __________________ my blog: eryque.blogspot.com Updated 9.17.08! Subscribe_____________________

February 5th, 2006, 05:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
Telenator Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 4,674	+1 eryque. I would try to first retain the original p'up. A Tele neck p'up is goping to be a lot more cutting than a humbucker. To my ears, single coils just have a more focused sound than buckers. __________________ Dogs have the right idea!