Single coil or Split.

[bubinga5]

Im wondering what other peoples experiences are with these two types of pickups. Im talking of Jazz type pickups of course. Every time I have a split (hum cancelling) set in a jazz bass they seem to sound a little dull. Im aware of why but my ears may be different to others.

I had an MIJ Fender jazz with a pair of single coils and it sounded amazing. Im not sure I like the hum cancelling sound of hum free Jazz pickups, they seem to lack something like the sparkle, blah blah.  Im literally about to pull the trigger on some Aguilar AG 4J 70s pickups. Everything Aguilar I've owned ive loved.  Any experience/thoughts would be welcome on these pickups or general. Any other pickups I should consider.?

 

BTW. The bass is a Jazz bass with pickups in the 70's position..  

[ahpook]

I've got a pair of Catswhisker humbucking single coils in my Geddy Lee - no real loss of top end that I've noticed.

 

[Cuzzie]

This is a really difficult topic as its your ears that will completely govern this one.

I agree for sure on those Aggie pick ups and they seem to suit you from what you say.

Maybe look at how pick ups are potted or not is something that may have an effect.

Possibly you just like that rawness

[CameronJ]

FWIW I bought an Xotic XJ1T 5er a couple of months ago and it has true single coils, but Xotic offer their HRI (Hum Reduction Inductor) which fits in a little prerouted slot under the pickguard - I’m very tempted to buy one and have it fitted.

Word on the street is it doesn’t affect the single coil tone as much as Humbucking J pups do.

[Cato]

I've got some Aguilar 70s pickups in a Squier Jazz.

Absolutely love them. They're not hum cancelling, but they're certainly no noisier than you'd expect a single coil J pickup to be.

[TrevorR]

5 hours ago, ahpook said:

I've got a pair of Catswhisker humbucking single coils in my Geddy Lee - no real loss of top end that I've noticed.

 

Ooooh, tell me more! Been thinking of putting some jazz ‘buckers in my Frankenjazz for a while.

[Dan Dare]

I prefer single coils in a J bass. They just have "that" sound. You can do quite a lot to get rid of hum and buzz with good shielding.

[ahpook]

1 hour ago, TrevorR said:

Ooooh, tell me more! Been thinking of putting some jazz ‘buckers in my Frankenjazz for a while.

Well, I got them second-hand, but the chap at Catswhisker was very helpful.

What can I say, they sound really good, totally hum cancelling and I'm going to get another pair for one of my other jazzes soon.

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

I prefer single coils in a J bass. They just have "that" sound. You can do quite a lot to get rid of hum and buzz with good shielding.

Mine was silent with stock pickups and careful copper shielding

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Get a set of DiMarzio Ultra-Jazz & wire them in parallel.

The default wiring configuration is series, but that is where the top-end gets lost, because the coils in series will increase the Inductance, which lowers the resonant peak of the system.

Inductance is summed just like Resistance:

2 + 2 in series = 4

2 + 2 in parallel = 1

Inductance will pass low frequencies & block high frequencies

Capacitance will block low frequencies (DC) & pass high frequencies

the Resonant Peak is where those two meet for the highest output

A parallel split-coil humbucker will get you to 90% of the single-coil sound, & TBH in a band setting, no one will be able to hear that additional 10% the single-coils give you.

 

TBH I'm struggling with this dilemma here at home now & will spent a fair bit of time this weekend experimenting with stainless DR Lo-Riders on single-coils & split-coil humbuckers.

 

[Hellzero]

First fast answer is that a split coil Jazz Bass humbucker is a P-Bass pickup in conception, so reminiscent of this type of sound, especially typically wired in series.

@Killed_by_Death answer is complete enough to understand the principles.

And here is the complement that you can find in this amazing thread :

 

So for those not wanting to read all the pages, here it is :

So to maintain the typical raw and powerful full frequency of a single coil without the hum, the only solution is the dummy coil à la Alembic.

A stacked humbucker will always be the closest to a pure single coil, but not exactly the same.

[ped]

I didn’t even realise the J pickups in my Celinder were hum cancelling until recently! I think the pickups are specifically designed to work with the preamp

[Killed_by_Death]

 

Music Man does the phantom coil thing on some models, when you switch to single, it's really in parallel with a phantom coil.

I think most people who have tried phantom coils (including stacked) have agreed that they are anemic in comparison to split-coil humbuckers.

The downside of a parallel-wired split-coil is that the output is 33% less than wired in series, but it does get closer to that single-coil sound.

The Nordstrand Big-Splits in my Ergonomic Headless Ibanez are damn close to single-coil sound, but they're wired in series, parallel would take them over the edge.

 

[itu]

I had a bartolini MBDE pickup in my Quantum 5. It was a three coil pickup, the third was a dummy coil for single coil sound.

[TrevorR]

On 21/02/2021 at 00:03, Killed_by_Death said:

 

Get a set of DiMarzio Ultra-Jazz & wire them in parallel.

The default wiring configuration is series, but that is where the top-end gets lost, because the coils in series will increase the Inductance, which lowers the resonant peak of the system.

Inductance is summed just like Resistance:

2 + 2 in series = 4

2 + 2 in parallel = 1

Inductance will pass low frequencies & block high frequencies

Capacitance will block low frequencies (DC) & pass high frequencies

the Resonant Peak is where those two meet for the highest output

A parallel split-coil humbucker will get you to 90% of the single-coil sound, & TBH in a band setting, no one will be able to hear that additional 10% the single-coils give you.

 

TBH I'm struggling with this dilemma here at home now & will spent a fair bit of time this weekend experimenting with stainless DR Lo-Riders on single-coils & split-coil humbuckers.

 

Interesting- I’ve been thinking about a darker sounding pickup for the Frankenjazz (especially on the bridge - I know, sacrelidge!). It actually looks like the downsides of the split J bucker might actually be an upside for me!!!

[bubinga5]

The lovely guys at Bass Direct installed some Aguilar single coils in the Suhr. 

When you have an instrument with split coil pickups,(imho) you get used to the sound of them, and a single coil just opens up the sound. imo.

Like I said single coils really open up the sound of this Jazz bass and I'm sure they do to other jazz basses. . I played the Suhr through a Benz MagaIlan and 2 Genz 210s at Bass Direct if I remember.. I was worried about the hum from single coils but there is nothing, not a sniff of a hum.  I would probably say that Suhr made sure the bass would not hum as its paint shielded throughout..

I initially went in looking for 70's wound pickups. I spoke to Will Ganner and he recommended 60's wind as the 70's might sound too much for a jazz that has 70's spacing. . I will never know what the 70's pickups sounded like but he was correct in saying they will sound good. It sounds like a really heavy weight 70's jazz bass.. I would recommend single coil pickups to anyone who has a Jazz Bass. 

 

any ways some pointless Suhr porn. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by bubinga5

[Geek99]

Screen wipe please 🤭

[JeezyMcNuggles]

On 20/02/2021 at 07:48, bubinga5 said:

Im wondering what other peoples experiences are with these two types of pickups. Im talking of Jazz type pickups of course. Every time I have a split (hum cancelling) set in a jazz bass they seem to sound a little dull. Im aware of why but my ears may be different to others.

I had an MIJ Fender jazz with a pair of single coils and it sounded amazing. Im not sure I like the hum cancelling sound of hum free Jazz pickups, they seem to lack something like the sparkle, blah blah.  Im literally about to pull the trigger on some Aguilar AG 4J 70s pickups. Everything Aguilar I've owned ive loved.  Any experience/thoughts would be welcome on these pickups or general. Any other pickups I should consider.?

 

BTW. The bass is a Jazz bass with pickups in the 70's position..  

Splits are dull. Well, in the top end at least. They are much more full of life in all other aspects though. But, my experience is that a jazz is n I t a jazz without singles. Anything else can go any way. You can not ever get a jazz bass sound without 2 specifically placed single coil pickups.

[EMG456]

Interesting wee thread and I'm still amazed at how hung up on the detail folks can get.

Maybe I'm not so fussy- after all every time I record it just sounds like me playing a bass. Sure, there are subtle differences but in the end even I can't tell sometimes which instrument I was playing. 

I know that I do like a Dimarzio Model J in the bridge position of a Jazz and I also know that I like EMGs on a Jazz and I like single coils on a Jazz! Choices! They still all mostly sound like me playing a Jazz Bass.

On the other hand - nice Suhr - mmm... didn't fancy cream or white pickup covers though?

I'll get my coat...

[BoomTing]

On 20/02/2021 at 16:40, CameronJ said:

FWIW I bought an Xotic XJ1T 5er a couple of months ago and it has true single coils, but Xotic offer their HRI (Hum Reduction Inductor) which fits in a little prerouted slot under the pickguard - I’m very tempted to buy one and have it fitted.

Word on the street is it doesn’t affect the single coil tone as much as Humbucking J pups do.

Isn't that a bit like how Alembic Dummy PUs work?

I have basses with single coil &  Humbuckers, but overall I think I prefer Singles. Like to try an Xotic

[CameronJ]

1 hour ago, BoomTing said:

Isn't that a bit like how Alembic Dummy PUs work?

I have basses with single coil &  Humbuckers, but overall I think I prefer Singles. Like to try an Xotic

It would seem that the two systems are similar, yes. Still haven’t taken the plunge with buying an HRI system for my Xotic but when I do I’m sure I’ll post a thread here with the results.