Humbuckers not cutting through like single coils?

[Bill McCloskey]

I have 2 Mullen G2's. An SD10 with 705's and a D10 with single coils

I find when I go to band rehearsal, the single coils seem to really cut through the rather loud band I'm playing with, but the 705's get lost in the mix. I love the sound of the 705's when I'm at home playing by myself, but they don't seem to cut it in a loud band environment.

Is this other people's experience? I'm thinking of swapping out the 705's

[Roger Crawford]

I’ve tried a couple of Humbuckers in my G2, but always go back to the single coils. Like you said, they cut through the mix better. Just me maybe, but my ears like the tone of the single coils better, too.

[Bill McCloskey]

Have you had issues with hum in a live setting, Roger. The only thing keeping me from swapping them out is the fear I might need the humbuckers down the road when I start playing live.

[Richard Sinkler]

I had Mullen Royal Precision with the stock single coil. I loved the sound of the single coil, but one of the dives I was playing at the time had incredible hum/buzz issues. The buzz was as loud as the signal. Even the guitar player and bass players had the same issues with their single coils. Unplugging the neon beer signs and repositioning on stage did nothing. So, I put a Bill Lawrence XR-16 in and wired in the switch to make it either humbucker or single coil. Works great. I no longer have that guitar, but I have XR-16 pickups on both necks in my Carter D10 with a switch to change them between single coil and humbucker.

Since I prefer the single coil, and sometimes I get a little hum, I have a noise gate on my pedal board if I need it.

[Bill McCloskey]

would something like a Humdebugger pedal worked in that situation Richard?

[James Woodall]

Hum debugger works great

[Cappone dAngelo]

Yes - all other things being equal, a humbucker will inherently have less treble and more midrange than a single coil.

[Roger Crawford]

Bill, to answer your question, I haven’t had any issues with hum. I do, however, plug everything into a Hum X. Not sure it’s necessary everywhere, but it can’t hurt.

[Bill McCloskey]

Okay, that sounds perfect.

I think I'll swap out my 705 for a Mullen single coil then and get the Hum X as insurance.

[Jerry Overstreet]

I don't really do studio work so I guess that's a concern, but in all the years of playing out, I've never had anyone say that my guitar wasn't cutting through.

Neither have I had a situation where hum was so severe as to not be usable and I've played all the rat holes around here. Even places with an extension cord plugged into an adapter in a ceiling light fixture or just a keyless.

I've owned 3 or 4 Mullen PRPs with my favorite p/up, factory Mullen pickups, a Push Pull Emmons, a Williams and probably others that don't immediately come to mind with s/c's.

I've also owned several guitars with humbuckers. MCI, Lamar with 10-1s, those HB'ers not for me.

I also played a Derby with E66s, I'd be very surprised if that guitar with those pickups didn't cut.

It probably also depends on other electronics, speakers and gadgets, how loud you play and your attack.

I understand that each individual and each situation is different though.

[Richard Sinkler]

would something like a Humdebugger pedal worked in that situation Richard?

Possibly. I tried a friend's pedal once, and didn't like it.

[Richard Sinkler]

Okay, that sounds perfect.

I think I'll swap out my 705 for a Mullen single coil then and get the Hum X as insurance.

The Hum-X and Hum Debugger are not the same thing. The Hum Debugger is a pedal. The Hum-X is a wal-wart looking thing that plugs into an electrical outlet and lifts the ground. Commonly used when using 2 amps to stop ground loop hum. You plug one of the amps into it. It has no effect on single coil hum.

[Bill McCloskey]

Okay, good to know. It is a moot point at this point because Mullen doesn't have any single coils and doesn't expect to have any for the foreseeable future. one of the side effects of Mike's passing.

[Dave Morrison]

I have a Mullen PRP that I’ve lost count of all the pickups I’ve tried but I have been using Steetronics pickups for a few years now and love them. I have a set of single coils and a set of humbuckers that Scott made me and for this guitar they work very well.

[Pete Bailey]

So, I put a Bill Lawrence XR-16 in and wired in the switch to make it either humbucker or single coil.

I've been thinking about doing this with my XR-16 pickups too. But I'm worried about screwing it up. Any chance you could do a little write-up detailing the switch type and the wiring? Thanks in advance!

[Richard Sinkler]

So, I put a Bill Lawrence XR-16 in and wired in the switch to make it either humbucker or single coil.

I've been thinking about doing this with my XR-16 pickups too. But I'm worried about screwing it up. Any chance you could do a little write-up detailing the switch type and the wiring? Thanks in advance!

For a single XR-16, you need a single pole, single throw switch (SPST). The red wire from the pickup gets wired to one side of the switch. The other side of the switch goes to ground. The ground lug on the output jack works. As the switches on my Carter are mounted inside the neck, and it's major surgery to remove the neck, i put a little brass angle bracket under the guitar to hold the switch. Micro switches work great.

For two XR-16s in a double neck, use a double pole, single throw switch. wire one pickup to one side of the switch and the other pickup to the other side of the switch.

[Richard Sinkler]

Just an FYI, the XR-16 in single coil mode yields about half the signal (think volume) than it being in humbucker mode. I had the XR-16 in my E9 neck and a BL710 (not coil splittable) in my C6. When switching between them, the C6 was always way too loud. I used either my Source Audio programmable 7 band EQ and had a program that raised the volume, so I would turn it on when using E9 and off for C6, or a clean boost pedal for E9 playing. I ultimately put an XR-16 in my C6 neck too..

[Jim Pitman]

I played a specific club once a month for years that had a standing magnetic wave from a large transformer positioned just outside the stage wall. The hum was unbearable especially on my side of the stage. I had to switch to a humbucker.
It is possible to make a humbucker with an equivalent frequency response as a single coil. The inductance is key. The mass of the pole pieces and the total number of turns directly affect the the inductance value.

[Dave Stagner]

I was having problems with hum with my Excel in the nightmarish electrical environment of our practice space. I got a Steeltronics SW12 (really an SW11, a custom wind he did for me), which uses two side-wound coils and a single row of pole pieces, and it absolutely did the trick! No more hum, and it's as good as, if not better than the original Excel single coil. Highly recommended!

[Bob Snelgrove]

I've noticed that Tommy has 705's on his D&V show Mullen and Single coils on the Opry stage!?