Are there any humbuckers that sound nice clean?

[Re-Pete]

I must have accidentally wired the old one in a parallel setup as it sounds rather jangly - somewhere between a Gretsch Filtertron & Rickenbacker toaster pickup tonally - in sound when the tone is boosted.

I don't think it's possible to "accidentally" wire a humbucker in parallel. 

OK here's what I think happened.    [I'm happy with the sound I'm getting btw, so if it's a goofup on my part then it's staying as it is...]

You have four wires from the pickup. Two are supposed to be tied together to make a series connection between the two bobbins.

I think what I did, was tie up the wrong two wires & somehow achieved a halving of the power output by placing the bobbins side by side to each other [parallel], instead of joining the bobbins end on end to double the power [series].  :icon_scratch:  :dontknow:

In my defence, your Honour, I submit that 2 pickups from 30 years apart can possibly have different colour codings for their pickups. I used the current codings from the Wilde site & got both pickups working first try. That was good enough for me & the extra flexibility of the jangly neck pickup was a pleasant surprise.

Late Edit:
Check out this switching arrangement of four conductor wired humbucker pickups... Parallel or Series. All I have probably done is permanently wired in the parallel arrangement without any switch..
http://duhvoodooman.com/musical/humbucker_mods/series-parallel_switch.gif

Darnit, now I have an idea to add 2 switches to switch out each pickup into either parallel or series.... Must resist, must resist....there's enough complexity on this guitar as it is.... must resist...  :help:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Unless you have two of the wires grounded, and two of them connected to hot, then no, you haven't wired the humbucker in parallel.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Unless you have two of the wires grounded, and two of them connected to hot, then no, you haven't wired the humbucker in parallel.

That's what I was thinking.

In any case, it's great that he's happy with the sound.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I was sharing this topic with a non-forumite friend (I broke the first rule of fight club) . Without hesitation, "Jerry Garcia's neck humbucker tone was pretty clean. "

 

[Re-Pete]

I was sharing this topic with a non-forumite friend (I broke the first rule of fight club) . Without hesitation, "Jerry Garcia's neck humbucker tone was pretty clean. "

Jerry changed pickups around a fair bit. He also had an eclectic guitar rig and backline that was high end expensive custom gear that could be classed as 'unobtanium'.  :laughing7: But the DiMarzio Super 2 was linked to him at one stage.

 

[Re-Pete]

Unless you have two of the wires grounded, and two of them connected to hot, then no, you haven't wired the humbucker in parallel.

That's what I was thinking.

In any case, it's great that he's happy with the sound.

Thanx for the info guys, I appreciate it.

I really do not know what I've done with the neck pickup & am only guessing based upon the tone I am getting from it & it's noiseless sound. To me it's not a single coil only in operation, as it's relatively noiseless.

The sound is reminiscent of a Gretsch Filtertron and also close to a Rickenbacker Toaster pickup. I'm not sure of these two pickups specific designs. But I thought the Filtertron was a humbucker type pickup (2 opposing coils to cancel hum) but wired in parallel?

Bear in mind, too, that both the pickups on this guitar are going through a buffered active blend pot (EMG ABC Blend Control).  It might well be that the blend control buffer is causing some signal colouration (and maybe even some loss of signal power through an aggressive filter perhaps?) but the other pickup sounds as it did passively....

Getting details off EMG about the workings of their circuits is like pulling teeth. The impression I got from them via emails was that they would rather these products marketed as Bass Guitar accessories than Guitar.

I'm now half tempted to pop the hood and have a look underneath. But it's a spaghetti mess underneath & with all the troubles I've had with this guitar over the years I'd be tempted to leave it as is & not upset the mojo...  :evil4:

I had to mod the pickup wire connections to the EMG solderless plugs and had to choose two wires to run into the plug and solder the remaining two together for the humbucker connection of the two coils.

 

[stratamania]

Perhaps the wiring of the humbucker mentioned has its coils joined out of phase. Seems the most likely explanation.

 

[gjacob]

It doesn't sound like a single coil, but the DiMarzio Air Classic has an awesome clean sound.  Combine that with a Tone Zone in the bridge and you got my favorite setup.

 

[Snake]

Lots of humbuckers sound great clean. My favorite clean humbucker is the Seymour Duncan Jazz, this thing shines for cleans.

 

[ChristopherG]

Well, since someone else already necroed this thread, I will put in my two cents.

If the problem of the OP is that there are guitars that he loves except for the humbuckers, there are lots of solutions that don't involve the search for the perfect--for him--humbucker. There are P90s in humbucker housings, single coils in humbucker housings and adapter rings to put single coils in humbucker routes.

Lots of ways to use single coils and get the humbucking benefits. Several of the Lace singles are well into the overwound humbucking territory power wise. The reds, blues, hot golds. And they are every bit as hum free.

 

[fdesalvo]

Bare Knuckle VHII, Mule, Stormy Monday..

 

[JD0x0]

Wilde L-90's especially the lower inductance models.

Also pretty much any low inductance TV Jones pickup.

 

[KaiserSoze]

Wilde L-90's especially the lower inductance models.

Also pretty much any low inductance TV Jones pickup.

This.  I have an old L90 2.0 that I picked up a long time ago and its a fantastic pickup for cleans.  Its lower output but so clean and clear that it presents as loud.  It fits great with vintage output strat pickups.  I use it in an HSS setup with some Roadhouse 65s.

That said, I just put together a strat with just a BK Mule in the bridge and only a volume control.  I wish I'd done this before.  The simple setup sounds fantastic and I'm amazed at how many tones I get out of that pickup by just riding the volume.  It sounds awesome clean, with a thick, middy tone but still retains great brightness.  I found this one used at a reasonable cost but it sounds so great I may try some other BKs in that spot also.

 

[Surf n Music n Ski n Bike]

I got a Jazz Seymour Duncan in the neck of my surfgreen strat and love it. Clean to my ears  .

 

[frown]

Another vote for the Seymour Duncan Jazz, and one for the '59, for cleans in the neck.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I hate to be piling on the bandwagon here, but I have to say the Duncan Jazz in the neck position is my personal "gold standard" for clean humbucker tones. It really is a phenomenal pickup.

 

[Cagey]

I'll pile on as well. The SD "hot-rodded humbucker" set comprised of the Jazz (SH-2) at the neck and the JB (SH-4) at the bridge have been a best-seller for 40+ years for a reason. They just sound fantastic.

 

[KaiserSoze]

I can put in a vote for the Jazz.  I had one in a Heritage for years that was good enough that I never replaced it.  The JB wasn't my cup of tea though.  If only there were more than a couple choices for humbuckers out there…..sigh

 

[frown]

I forgot to mention that my Joe Barden Two/Tone Humbuckers are also pretty damn nice clean in both positions, fairly neutral and not favouring any particular frequency [e.g. middly or scooped], just nice and evenly balanced.

I think it also makes a difference depending on the amp used, how much volume is rolled up etc as to what you call 'clean'... For example, I have a couple of 50w solid state Yamaha SR50-112 amps that are clean as can be, but could be considered a bit 'sterile', especially in comparison to my Mesa Lone Star Classic with loadsa headroom. Context is everything. Hell, even my EMGs sounded great clean - SLV or 85 models in particular.