The neck H on 2 pick up versions of these basses fattens up the bass response and with the coil selection provided enables the pick ups to be selected in single coil mode. They totally sink any preconception that humbuckers create a muddy sound. The humbucker(s) on 4 string Stingrays are wired in parallel and combined with the active pre amp create a crystal clear, and probably one of the best slap sounds, similar for pick style and a low mid heavy finger style bass sound. Probably the most famous humbuckers on basses are the Gibson (sometimes called mud bucker owing to bridge position - I don't know whether this is justified or not having no experience of them - two of the great players of all time used them.) and Musicman, originally Leo Fender's company (starting with the Stingray in 1976). Some interesting posts in this thread, which seem to be almost entirely Fender orientated. Lots of bass frequencies, with just the right amount of mid and treble to cut through the mix Thats' why the 'Fender Bass' sound is on so very many records (even if it wasn't an actual Fender) - it just works in the mix. the Precision bass configuration is essentially just the mid pickup, and again, just plug it in and away you go. The Jazz bass configuration (bridge and Mid pickup position) is so very popular because it's the simplest set up (I.E plug in and play) and instantly gives a variety of useable tones. Although I can get a sound that my Jazz/Precision cannot come close to.Īnd there it is really. I find myself EQ'ing in a lot more mid than I would for a Jazz bass which I can pretty much run flat through my amp of choice. The same can be said for my current main bass, the Lakland Decade. Now, I quite like the tone of a neck pickup with lots of mid and treble EQ'd in (think Rickenbacker), but unless you play with a pick it easily becomes quite undefined and as a result it's usual to blend in a bit of the bridge pickup to get that attack. Great for certain types of music, but on the whole, more mid is required. you can't tell what note is being played very easily. The result is that whilst you get a lovely deep rich sound solo'ed, in a band setting it turns into an indiscernable mush - i.e. the pickup on the end of the neck is missing because for most people it's quite muddy with little to offer in the top end. Re: pickup position, theres actually a huge variety of tone between the pickups even close together and I think it is more noticable on a bass - due to being an octave down, the harmonics extend way out of hearing range on both so you have another octave of audible harmonic content.Ĭomparing a Jazz bass to a Stratocaster guitar for example you have the bridge and mid pickups.
SINGLE COIL VS HUMBUCKER PICKUPS UPGRADE
better to get the body and neck you want and upgrade pickups than to buy a guitar with the pickup configuration you want but which has bad tone and/or playability.Aside from the noise cancelling properties of a humbucker, they tend to produce a much thicker (some say muddier) tone.įor those who like a lot of treble (pickers, slappers etc.) single coil pickups provide a better attack that can punch through the sound of a full band.
if the SSS sounds and plays better but you want a humbucker (or vice versa) you can always look at upgrading the pickups later on. Someone already gave some good advice - play them both and get the one you like best. What sort of music do you play? I play alot of rock where I prefer a bridge humbucker for overdriven sounds and use the neck and middle single coils for cleaner parts, making HSS perfect for me. some (me) regard them as a best of both worlds pickup.
If you go with HSS and decide at any point decide you want a change from the humbucker you can put a humbucker sized P90 in the H position which will give you a fatter more powerful singlecoil sound without being a full blown humbucker.
I have a HSS strat which I love to death. I hate the sound of weak, thin bridge pickups for the style of music I play which involves alot of mid to heavy overdrive sounds.
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