What's your opinion on split humbuckers?

[john b]

I have two guitars that I set up to split the humbuckers. I always think that this will be cool to have the option of the split. The fact is, every time I'm playing and split the humbucker, it sounds like crap and I go right back to the full pickup. I'm talking about good pickups here too - Lollars and Holmes.

What do you all think about split humbuckers? Is it worth the effort? I'm about to put a pair in another guitar and am questioning if I should do the whole push/pull pot thing or, just put the pickups in straight. Now, I'm not really a single coil fan to begin with but, is there something about a split humbucker that is just weak in comparison to a regular single coil? Or, is it just me?!

[Bryan T]

I've never heard a split bucker that I thought sounded really good.

[gkoelling]

IMO, split HB's don't sound like real single coils and a single coil sized HB doesn't quite sound like a full sized HB.

You have a 2x10 Gries???? I bet he didn't make more than a couple. Sorry for the OT comment, I'm a huge Gries fan.

[Stadler Guitars]

You're right, split humbuckers don't sound as good as a real single coil.

Put a capacitor on the split to ground. Both coils will still be working canceling hum and putting out a powerful signal, but one will have the highs grounded out to leave all of the bright overtones coming from one pickup. Its even louder than when wired normally. Try different caps, but start at .005-.002 mf.

[suhrbrutal]

I like the tones of the split hums in my Suhr, but do agree they are not 100% the same. They work really well for me.

[john b]

Originally Posted by gkoelling

IMO, split HB's don't sound like real single coils and a single coil sized HB doesn't quite sound like a full sized HB.

You have a 2x10 Gries???? I bet he didn't make more than a couple. Sorry for the OT comment, I'm a huge Gries fan.

Yeah, I agree with you. It seems like when one type of pickup tries to act like another, it never really works out.

I picked up the Gries 20 here about two months ago. I threw some of those THD 10" speakers in it. Wow, what a great amp. The 5 smokes too but the 20 is just on a different level. That one isn't going anywhere for a long time.

Stadler Guitars - thanks for the suggestion. That sounds like an interesting option to check out.

[gkoelling]

I've had a 35 for four years and it's staying put too.

[john b]

Another thing I was wondering is, is there any sonic difference between a two conductor or four conductor pickup? I'd guess the same pickup wired each way should sound the same?

gkoelling - hold onto that 35, sounds like Dave is not too interested in getting back into the business.

[scriptphase]

With 4-conductor wiring, I much prefer series/parallel to a split. It's rare that I like a split humbucker on its own, but a split can yield some cool sounds when you mix a split neck HB and a split bridge HB.

[Quarter]

Some HB's split well, but too many times you just end up with an uninspiring weaker / thinner result. For the most part, I'd rather have a parallel option than a split.

[scriptphase]

Originally Posted by john b

Another thing I was wondering is, is there any sonic difference between a two conductor or four conductor pickup? I'd guess the same pickup wired each way should sound the same?

No sonic difference. Dimarzio's Super Distortion and Dual Sound pickups are the same, just the Dual Sound is 4-conductor.

[Jef Bardsley]

In my experience, overwound humbuckers with powerful magnets do okay split, but PAF clones don't.

Tom's suggestion about the cap is a good one, and it works with the Spin-a-Split idea, as well.

[Go Cat Go!!]

I never liked them either. I have had better results using a Superswitch from Stew-mac and wiring my two HB guitars like PRS. I have 2 guitars wired up this way and they almost sound like a quacking strat in pos 2 and 4.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...er_Switch.html

I just noticed they have Mega Switches that make the wiring easier.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...h_P-Model.html

[cowboytim]

I like the versatility of the split HB. I split a “bets set” from WCR and like the clean jazz sound. It’s NOTHING like a P90 but I can have fun running it through the ZVEX “box of rock” Boost when the mood strikes me.
On another note I got to hang out with Carlos Santana last night before a small gig at a 300 seat venue I’m associated with in Mill Valley Ca. Last year he attended same Christmas party and decided to play last minute. The stage manager asked me to find him a guitar, I produced a Strat that he tore up. He handed it back and said “That guitar had NEVER been played like that before” and handed it back with a smile. This year a tech showed up with his regular PRS rig.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by scriptphase

With 4-conductor wiring, I much prefer series/parallel to a split. It's rare that I like a split humbucker on its own, but a split can yield some cool sounds when you mix a split neck HB and a split bridge HB.

i do the series/parallel thing as well. and i love the tones when running the neck pup in series with the bridge in parallel.