humbucker v. Single coil Strat

[RJAchurch]

I am not a guitarist but have been given the task of buying a guitar for my church. We have a few kids who play at different levels but no one knowledgeable to help me pick one out.

I did a little research and ended up buying a Mexican Stratocaster.

While in the store, I did see the HSS Stratocaster with the Humbucker but thought it would be more for playing heavy rock and not church.

As I read more, I’m beginning to think that I should have gone with the humbucker as it give me more options regarding styles of music. On the other hand, this guitar will only be used to play in church (gospel, contemporary Christian music.)

My questions are:

1. All things being equal will I miss out not getting the humbucker version?

2. What do I gain my having the standard strat v. the humbucker?

Any replies would be welcome. Thanks.

[PraiseCaster]

Well, the all single coil guitar might make the "yungins" adopt a different style of playing (especially if they're normally playing in drop D or drop C# {nu-metal, heavy metal}). So this could be good, because single coils dont sound as good in the drop tunings, heavy OD/Distortion.

Now, a more schooled, or mature guitarist will play the part that the song needs, not try to jack-hammer his/her style into the song, and a more versatile guitar would fit them better..

I think that single coils sound really well for 95% plus of P&W music for today, so I think you got a good guitar.

[telecaster1987]

I'm the lead player in our worship band, and my main guitar is an '85 Japanese HSS Telecaster. The main difference in pups (pickups) is that HBs are mellower sounding and noise canceling, where SCs are treblier. The "hard rock" concern has more to do with the effects boxes, amp settings, and the guitar player, like Praisecaster said. You can play either type "clean" or distorted.

IMHO, the only thing you may have "lost" buying a non HB guitar is tonal flexibility.

[Beerts]

I'm sure that the guitar you bought will serve you well but why is it that churches ask people to do things that they aren't really equipped to do. my church seems to always ask the person with the least experience in any given field to do things. I'm willing to bet that someone in your church organization actually plays guitar!

just a short little rant...............sorry

[RJAchurch]

Thanks for the replies. It gives me peace of mind to know I'm on the right track. I will keep you posted on how things progress.

I'm enjoying learning about the different types of guitars and music styles and might even start taking lessons myself!

God Bless.

[guitarzan13]

You can always get a singlecoil size humbucker to fit in there if needed. I play two Strats at Church ALL the time. Both are loaded with Seymour Duncans single sized buckers in the bridge position. One has a Little 59 and the other has a hotter JB Jr. You did fine.

[guitarzan13]

Originally Posted by Beerts

I'm sure that the guitar you bought will serve you well but why is it that churches ask people to do things that they aren't really equipped to do. my church seems to always ask the person with the least experience in any given field to do things. I'm willing to bet that someone in your church organization actually plays guitar!

just a short little rant...............sorry

Not short enough IMO

[GoldieLocks]

I use my single coil Tele in Church almost always. I have a hardtime getting my humbucker guitars to chime with those open chords. THey sound okay but the single coils on my tele are alot more versatile. But every pick-up is different, so if you don't like the guitar you can always swap out whats in it for something that'll do exactly what you want. (but then you'll get 1000 opinions about what pick-up to use)

[giantslayer]

A generalization is that single coil pickups have a thinner, more dynamic (less compressed) tone. Humbuckers have a thicker, more compressed tone. Clean, single coils can get a great jangly clean tone and the dynamics are closer to an acoustic than humbuckers. Playing overdriven chords, single coils sound weaker and looser than humbuckers, which can sound tight and punchy.

As it was already said, humbuckers can be used for a lot more than heavy rock. They work well for a lot of stuff.

[bek]

You picked a guitar that is very easy to modify to taste, and extremely versatile. If you folks need more "beef," and even more versatility, the cheapest way to get it is via the Deaf-Eddie Fat-O-Caster switch. Certainly, pickup swaps will work, but too much of that is done. First, learn to adjust pickup heights and see how that affects tone -- Strats are extremely sensitive to pickup-height adjustments. You may well have everything you need already. Don't be afraid to leave one end of the pickup higher than the other; sometimes that's best.

[Jenix]

You can always make a single coil guitar get distorted with pedals and such but its a little more complicated getting a humbucker to clean up. I sold a Gibson SG and bought a Tele for that and a few other reasons.

[TxTeleMan]

I've played my Tele in church for the last six years. We have a normal contemporary worship band -piano, bass, drums, guitar, and singers. We don't do the wall of sound thing; it's more like a regular band. One of my buddies had a Strat that I played a few times.

What I have found is that I had issues in our small church with 60-cycle hum, so I changed to Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups with good results. Secondly, I find myself using either the neck pickup alone, or the bridge and neck together when I need a little more 'ching', and often roll off the treble a little bit. I even run my Princeton with the treble on 4 and the bass on 8. There are only a few occasions when the sound of the Tele lead pickup 'fits'.

For our situation, I think humbuckers are a better solution for what actually works, because they give a 'warmer' sound and don't hum. I have always only played Fenders and love the way they sound and play. (I'm not sure that a Les Paul is really a guitar. lol)

[robt57]

Just put in 4 wire HBs 10-12k and the ability to split [shunt] the coils.
At least for the neck PUP I say. ;)

[Madhatter]

Originally Posted by TxTeleMan

I've played my Tele in church for the last six years. We have a normal contemporary worship band -piano, bass, drums, guitar, and singers. We don't do the wall of sound thing; it's more like a regular band. One of my buddies had a Strat that I played a few times.

What I have found is that I had issues in our small church with 60-cycle hum, so I changed to Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups with good results. Secondly, I find myself using either the neck pickup alone, or the bridge and neck together when I need a little more 'ching', and often roll off the treble a little bit. I even run my Princeton with the treble on 4 and the bass on 8. There are only a few occasions when the sound of the Tele lead pickup 'fits'.

For our situation, I think humbuckers are a better solution for what actually works, because they give a 'warmer' sound and don't hum. I have always only played Fenders and love the way they sound and play. (I'm not sure that a Les Paul is really a guitar. lol)

lol.... that last statement... thems fighting words...

I played a strat for years at church, then I bought a les paul with the new burst buckers in it... and I was blown away at how versatile they are...
this is the only guitar I play at church now...

[golfnut]

God hates a humbucker