True Single Coil UNDER a humbucker cover?

[imguitardan]

Has anyone ever put a Tele bridge pup under a humbucker cover (so it would look like a normal humbucker)? Would that work? I really want to keep the '59 LP look but want a Fender type sound.

 

[el cosaco]

As far as I understand, EBMM Valentine features a single-coil bridge pickup like that, so it's surely possible

 

[cam.man67]

Well, you're not going to get any sort of Fender type sound with a 24.75" LP. Scale length plays a huge role in overall guitar tone. That being said, providing you can get the pole spacing to line up with a HB cover, yes it's possible. P90 in an HB enclosure would be abetter fit for an LP.

 

[Red Planet]

I took the neck pickup out of a Gibson Les Paul once. It was a two wire pickup Burstbucker. I took the pickup apart and rewired to only have one coil (screw coil) and put it back together then reinstalled it. So it was permanently a single coil pickup. Sounded great.

 

[Adagietto]

The GFS Dream 90s look like Strat pickups under the covers. To me, they sound more Stratty than P90-ish, and I really liked them in the guitar I first put them in. They're waiting to go into a much better Gibson-scale guitar now. They're quite clear, and pretty quiet for single-coils.

I doubt that Dream 90s (or perhaps any) pickups will make an LP sound much like a Fender. I wouldn't hesitate to try them in an LP that I was trying to take in that direction, though. Since they're single-coils, they don't look exactly like humbuckers.


Don't let the price scare you too much.

 

[thrashmetl]

Roadhouse pickups has a few. The uglier one with the screw in the middle of the cover can be made without if I recall correctly.

http://www.roadhousepickups.com/pickups/

 

[nl128]

I believe the old airline and supro guitars had single coils with paf style covers on top of them.

From what I remember they had a kinda strat/tele mixed sound to them.

 

[Mpcoluv]

Lollar makes what you are looking for. A tele pickup in a humbuckers mount. It's called the Novel T

 

[Grap]

My old Eros Les Paul copy back in the 70's had pickups like that

This was not a good thing!

 

[Whiskeyrebel]

Just remove the polepiece screws from the pickup that's on it and see how you like the sound. If you don't like it, put them back. I'm totally serious.

 

[Neo]

Well, you're not going to get any sort of Fender type sound with a 24.75" LP. Scale length plays a huge role in overall guitar tone.

I used to think so too, until I heard a 24" scale Fender Jaguar, which to my ears sounds just as thin as a Strat, perhaps even thinner.YMMV

 

[Guitarworks]

You have lots of good options, as people here have mentioned. A lot of the cheaper old Japanese Les Paul copies made in the 70s had single coils disguised as humbuckers - just a hollow humbucker cover with a little single coil held in by screw polepieces in the holes.

 

[Rumble]

Dimarzio has the "Humbucker From Hell" (DP-156). That's what I was using for a while in my old Tele partscaster. The HFH has single-coil, Strat-like sound while maintaining humbucker quietness. They also can be had with F-spacing, and optional covers.

 

[jzgtrguy]

Lollar makes what you are looking for. A tele pickup in a humbuckers mount. It's called the Novel T

This is probably exactly what you are looking for.

If you are looking for a great single coil in an HB rout you might check out the Harmonic Design Z-90's

 

[madryan]

The Duncan custom shop will house any of their singles in a Nickel enclosure. It's a true strat single, not a P90.

 

[swiveltung]

Sure it will work. BTW: At one point I had 3 Fender SC's in my LP clone. It still sounded much more like a LP than a fender. Wood doesn't matter? haha that's funny.

 

[Adagietto]

Just remove the polepiece screws from the pickup that's on it and see how you like the sound. If you don't like it, put them back. I'm totally serious.

This is an great suggestion. I've done this before. In my case, it was an improvement and gave a taste of what I was after.

 

[Adagietto]

Sure it will work. BTW: At one point I had 3 Fender SC's in my LP clone. It still sounded much more like a LP than a fender. Wood doesn't matter? haha that's funny.

Agreed, especially if we add construction to the mix. From the opposite angle, I have an '04 MIM Toronado, which has a 24.75" scale, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard, and humbuckers. It sounds like a Fender to me.