Single coil output..I'm I right in thinking?

[razorblade_beat]

Hey guys. Stupid question but the higher the output on a single coil the more Hum it will produce? Yeah? No? I've got a set of high output bareknuckle trilogies in my strat which are high output (15.5k in the bridge). Hum like mad with gain....so I'm thinking of going more vintage output to reduce this....maybe a set of lollar dirty blondes I'm thinking.....any help or advice will be great!

 

[razorblade_beat]

Anyone?

 

[Crimson Queen]

I think that higher pickups have more windings and that concentrates the resonnant frequencies in the midrange more, which accentuates the hum frequency. Higher output passive pickups have less bass and trebble, and more mids. I may be wrong though.

 

[Quantum Cat]

The output of a pickup is a function of the inductance and the strength of the magnetic field. Hum would be a function of inductance.

 

[razorblade_beat]

So does having lower output mean lower hum? Because if it doesn't its not worth changing them right?

 

[Keyser Soze]

More winds equals a bigger antennae. Bigger antennae are more sensitive to any noise present.

But, unless you are talking about what you hear strictly when the strings are muted, what you hear is more complex than that, and will involve the pickup's sensitivity to the strings, resulting in an overall signal to noise level ratio.

Then you need to consider construction issues and shielding. Even if the pickup itself does not have shielding, if you end up placing your new 'hotter' pickup lower in the pick guard then it might be better shielded.

So it is possible that going to a hotter pickup means hearing more noise, but going to a lower output pickup might also mean more perceived noise.

 

[Zexcoil]

The output of a pickup is a function of the inductance and the strength of the magnetic field. Hum would be a function of inductance.

This is the best answer.

The inductance of a pickup is going to drive its efficiency at picking up 60 cycle hum.

While winds do correlate to inductance, all other things being equal, other things come into it as well.

For instance, take the same coil with and without polepieces. The hum will be dramatically higher with pole pieces. It will also be dramatically higher with steel pole pieces versus AlNiCo.

 

[razorblade_beat]

So do you guys think moving to say a set of vintage output lollars would be more quiet than the 15.5k trilogy?

 

[aT19er]

I've had the BKP's Trilogy Suite bridge and I didn't notice any more hum than usual.

 

[razorblade_beat]

I've never been bothered by hum before until I've install these pups...I previously had a set of don mare josie/Vaughan's in and it's never bothered me no matter how much gain I've used whether it be little or a lot....

 

[Zexcoil]

So do you guys think moving to say a set of vintage output lollars would be more quiet than the 15.5k trilogy?

Most likely, yes.

You also have to differentiate between the sources of noise.

"Hum" is magnetic in nature. Pickups sense it the same way they sense the string vibrations and it can only only be reduced with hum canceling pickups or some other reverse polarity hum collection device (dummy coil, Ilitch/Suhr system). The type of shielding that you can effectively do in a guitar does nothing against hum.

Other sources of electronic noise can be shielded against. If your noise signal goes through dramatic highs and lows when you rotate your body (i.e. you can find that "dead spot" where you are relatively quiet), you're dealing mostly with hum.

 

[Amplite]

If you can live with noiseless pups your problem is solved. Many good choices out there!

 

[razorblade_beat]

Thanks for all the input guys!