Can YOU Hear the Difference??? | Single-Coil Pick-Ups VS Coil Split

Welcome back to another "Can YOU Hear the Difference???". Today we see if "Coil Split" style guitars can accurately mimic a TRUE single coil guitar. For this I have the ARCHETYPE of both. A Fender Strat VS the IBANEZ AZ2402. let me know if you can tell the difference!
#ibanezaz #fenderstrat #workingclassmusician

[@jimmyfranklin]

WHATS UP!!! WELCOME BACK!! Let me know below how you did and if you have either of these! Also... do you have guitar history to share?? do it all below!

[@SnapCracklePop-dd7di]

Jimmy I love your work, but the 1st track split coil sounded like warmed up vommit. But there must be a humbucker out there that has an authentic single coil split tone. I wonder what a "Sentient" split would be like with its articulation. The real issue is you need that single coil on the HB on the outside, right next to the neck, to even get close. Or you could just put EMG 57/66TW in and that has a real non active single coil on the outside of the neck 66. They are the most organic sounding actives Im aware of, possibly due to using passive pup technology with an active coil plus the TW real full featured single coil. Beats Fishmans imo.

[@399pi]

Great video! Just wanted to add some further information for anyone interested. Many people say that a coil split humbucker sounds thin in comparison to a true single coil. This is for a couple reasons. Indeed, a split coil will be a bit quieter as there are now fewer windings total in the pickup. But there are some interesting things going on with pickups' frequency response here too. The tone of a pickup can be almost entirely described by its resonant frequency, and how sharp a peak ("Q factor") it has. Of course, there is a lot of variation, but humbuckers will tend to peak in the 2.5 to 3.4khz range. Single coils tend to peak above this, ranging from around 3.5khz to 4.5khz, explaining the brighter tone single coils have, on average. Splitting a humbucker increases its resonant frequency by a factor of the square root of 2, or around 1.4, shifting the range of a split coil to 3.5 - 5khz. This means any bright humbucker, when split, will be noticeably more zingy than a single coil. This zing can be tamed by using a small capacitor in parallel with the split pickup around the value of .5 - 1nf, reducing the resonant frequency, and making a coil split humbucker sound very close to a true single coil. Here is a great resource for learning more about pickup resonance: www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/

[@TheLowest]

It's pretty obvious the difference, but I personally love the sound of split coils, its that glassy funk sound of the 2nd and 4th pos on a strat, but with a lot more girth and weight. Honestly I spent ages trying and failing to figure out how to get that exact tone out of a single coil until I stumbled on coil splitting

[@eleanmendoza]

Wow I was totally surprised and guess wrong. The coil split humbucker sounded better to me than the real single coil. I didn't expect that at all. Thanks for doing this!

[@jimmyfranklin]

I haven’t done one in a while. I should do a few more!

[@Ashfold_Eberesche]

Track One was the only one where I felt there was a really appreciable difference in that I could pick a favourite and I liked the Coil Split a lot. The next two, I guess because of the higher levels of gain etc I found they weren't super duper different and both sounded good. I'm currently overhauling a certain infamous Affinity Squier and I've put an MJ wound Screamin' Demon in the bridge. It's just got a single volume knob but I'm going to redo the electronics anyway so I'm thinking of doing a push/pull coil split since I figure it'd add a little bit of versatility to what would otherwise be a fairly inflexible sounding guitar (1 Humbucker, 1 Volume - not many options, but I think a Split could help with that) and it doesn't seem like it'd be particularly challenging to wire it up that way as opposed to just standard. My only concern is the potentially large volume drop from essentially cutting out half of the output - do you find this to be a problem or do you just compensate on your amp side?

[@Arwndr]

You can reduce volume drop from coil splitting by adding resistor in series on ground side of your splitted coil. You can find some videos on youtube about. Recommendation to use 1.2 / 2.2 kOm resistors. But it depends from your guitar and your coil. You can try 3 / 6 / 10 kOm or so, somewhere in this range area, to find your best sound for your guitar. That is individual for each guitar and preferences of person. As much more resistance you add - as much louder sound will be. In exchange of lowering your frequency "EQ". You can try this solution.

[@Ashfold_Eberesche]

@@Arwndr Hey man, thanks for the reply. Yeah I have considered a partial split with a resistor, sort of like PRS do right? But atm what I'm leaning towards is doing a series/parallel push/pull - it seems to give enough of that single coil quackyness without sacrificing volume. And honestly, I'm mostly just looking for SOME kind of variety since the guitar is a sibgle humbucker with volume, no tone control. I'll probably end up getting 2x push/pull pots and a couple resistors anyway so if I don't love the series/parallel or just get bored then I can swap it out.

[@Arwndr]

​@@Ashfold_Eberesche Nice 👍🏻 Welcome ✌️✨

[@Rehmoss]

Recently got a Strandberg Standard 6 Trem-partly thanks to your review- and I must say I love the HSS configuration. Best of both worlds!

[@jimmyfranklin]

Dude. What finish did you get it in?? Really amazing guitar right???

[@Rehmoss]

@@jimmyfranklin it was a difficult decision! I went for the Bengal burst in the end. Absolutely love the guitar!!

[@jimmyfranklin]

@@Rehmoss YESSSS! i almost went bengal but i have so many sunburst guitars... i figure blue would be cool!

[@cheenu711]

Great comparison. On an unrelated note I use 500k pots and humbuckers because I love what that does to a marshall with my strat and superstrat. On my strat I have a Seymour Duncan jazz and that thing actually does a really good neck pickup sound which I absolutely adore. The JB on the bridge also has a very bright SSL 5 kinda thing going where you get a lot more bite and mid range than you're supposed to.

[@jimsup5086]

Your 'hiss face'...priceless! Thanks for schooling us on the genesis of the pick-up. To my ears/playing style, I prefer the sound of the "Coil Split". I may also be a bit biased as I'm sure due to my poor technique, the middle pickup "gets in the way" of my picking. My HSS guitar has the middle pickup set it a bit low so not to hit it, which I'm sure loses much of it's tone. With my coil split guitar, I still get that sound I'm looking for without the frustration of hitting that middle pick-up. So until I improve, this is where I'm at, which isn't really that bad. Another great comparison.

[@jimmyfranklin]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AS ALWAYS!! its not uncommon to deal with the coil split issue like that! what kind of guitar do you have with the split??

[@jimsup5086]

@@jimmyfranklin I have the PRS Mark Holcomb SVN.

[@jimmyfranklin]

@@jimsup5086 AAAHHHH thats nice! what color??

[@jimsup5086]

@@jimmyfranklin I have the Holcomb Burst finish. The wife digs it so it made for an easier purchase LOL

[@TheAmateursOriginalMusic]

Great stuff dude👍 have you reviewed the Fender Classic Vibe 50’s Telecaster? Interested to know what you think, they are slightly cheaper than a Mex Tele and ive heard they are pretty good✌🏻✌🏻

[@jimmyfranklin]

I haven’t done one yet! I gotta get my hands on one! What’s the price range of those???

[@TheAmateursOriginalMusic]

@@jimmyfranklin around 3-£400 i think

[@dphipps3631]

I got that that totally wrong Great demo man. Please help me. My spit coil volume drops right off when I use it . Do I need another pot and could you recommend one.😢

[@jimmyfranklin]

What guitar are you splitting coils on?? New guitars are better at splits than older ones. Splitting coils ALWAYS results in lower volume. The new guitars have tricks to keeping the volume higher. What I used to do was push the gain with an MXR micro amp when I would split.

[@TheKlaun9]

Having played both, this was easy. I'm actually surprised how big the difference was. As pointed out in the video though, the split coils have their own unique sound. Since I don't play funk, blues or pop, I actaully prefer the split sound, especially if you have a guitar that can put neck and bridge together. It's so inspiring and you haven't heard it a million times already. If you wanna sound like the masters of old, go single coil. If you want to create your own music, go with humbuckers that can split. Easy decision: You get the humbucker sound on top of that, giving you way more options.

[@bigjaygrizzly2389]

The begging of this video is the best thing ever. Reminded me of that line in Crossroads where we found out how Muddy Waters invented electricity.

[@jimmyfranklin]

Well. You can’t argue facts! Am I right??

[@subrochakraborty137]

I managed to easily distinguished between single coil and split.. in test 1 it was so obvious but was pretty close in test 2 and test 3.I love the sound of single coil. Good video 🙂

[@bluwng]

He lied about the results.

[@srfrodoxd]

You can't compare both single coils and split coils using overdrive or distortion channels because you take away all the sparkliness of the single coils due to overdrive is basically a massive compressor and both signals get even and become harder to notice which is which🤔 That's my opinion

[@Arwndr]

And anyway I for example clearly hear a difference and 100% correctly "guess" who was who. Any one can do this with a little bit of experience and by knowing to what exactly to listen in comparison.

[@deanmccaskill5495]

I was right but really I was guessing. I’ve got a couple split coil guitars and mine are no where near that close. Great playing man

[@18allthaway]

The jabbering stops @ 4:44

[@nopessssks1894]

Great vid, thanks for making it……but it was so clear as day which track was the single coil. And I’m a dummy that gets half of these blindfold pickup test videos wrong.! Again, thanks for the video. I’ve. Been mulling around with the idea of coil-splitting a pair of greenybuckers in my Les Paul (to get even more versatile tones) but I’m not doing it after hearing all of the different coil sitting vids on KZbin.

[@calumrife]

I never really liked single coils because of the way you have to play a strat to not knock the pickup switch accidentally, strike the pole pieces on the middle pickup, the hum, and the general way the bridge and springs change the tension on the inital strike. Fingerstyle or pick. Now that I'm an older, experienced musician who owns a strat, I really dig the single coil sound on a ton of stuff, and usually liked. I now could actually tell the difference on a pretty good hunch after experimenting with several guitars electronics mods. Super cool video, thank you.

[@sashabagdasarow497]

Guessed correctly each, listening from my phone. The coil split wasn't that bright, more like something underwater, duller.

[@renesis6355]

Was ibanez actually split on “Power Tap”?

[@Kevin-nr9lj]

Did you use the inner coil or the outer coil ?

[@elbeto_sg7403]

bro you need to try the fishman fluence specially the Tosin Abasi set

[@jimmyfranklin]

Ok. So I tried them and they are incredible. The only thing they are failing to do is feel “human” to me. They are perfect but I like old school pickups a lot still!

[@RobTackettCovers]

Test 1... Track 1...strat...track 2...Ibanez....Test II ....1 Strat...2...Ibanez....Test III ...1....Ibanez...2 ...Strat....hahaha! Got them all right...what I was hoping for was an example of the 2 position on the strat verses I think it's the 4 position on the Ibanez...some songs require that quack, and I think the Ibanez does it in the 4 position when it's the bottom coil of the neck pickup and the coil furthest away from the bridge on the bridge pickup, using those two coils in combination...thanks for the video...regardless, they both sound good. Thanks for the drill, and hope you and yours are doing great.

[@RanzatoFlaminio]

Thank you very much for your video, I won on all tracks guessing the right one and this is just a sign that you can't emulate a single coil with electronics even if split is a welcome add-on...

[@jimmyfranklin]

Splits are WONDERFUL and I’ll never down play how important that are. And more importantly, they have a sound of their own some times. But for a classic single sound, nothing will beat the strat or tele pick up set up

[@bluwng]

In a mix no one will notice or care

[@SergeiVlassov]

I failed and I prefered the split tone

[@Aldsomegaming]

its always the start that has the more brighter tone or clarity character

[@skkim2630]

I think the difference in preference between the original single and the split single is limited to the front pickup. fender The Stratocaster front pickup is located in the center of the string's vibration compared to the Super Strat, so the output is higher. The Stratocaster has this effect to a greater extent when playing the center-high frets, resulting in a muddier, more compressed sound. Even the treble tone of the single pickup itself is added, resulting in a more balanced and unique sound. Such an iconic tone is difficult to expect from the split single pickup installed on the Super Strat.

[@nathanielg.m.888]

Was the AZ on power tap (pos 5 with switch) on normal split (pos 4 with switch)?

[@mike42356]

I guessed #1 but failed for #2 and #3. This gives me reasons to find the Strat pickups superior to the split of this Ibanez. That is because, the Strat was more chimey on cleans, but more meaty and less fizzy at higher gain, way I heard the Ibanez, believing those were most likely the single coils of the Strat...

[@bluwng]

You could hear the single coil hum at the end

[@rorymon1132]

I somehow got them all right but probably a fluke the coil split is so good

[@mvyper]

OK, the single coil sounded def better. Beefier on the big chords and more precise on the shred. That said, I'm just done putting up my last guitar kit build with my dad, and we put Seymour Duncan's Nazgul and Sentient in a PRS style guitar. We coil split them and it worked at the first try. I'm so frigging happy and the commodity of having all of that at the tip of my fingers in a single movement of a push pull pot is just that awesome. The only thing better would be a HSH guitar, but that's for the next time. 😁

[@bluwng]

It’s good enough to play live any genre.

[@jimmyfranklin]

I think so!!

[@bluwng]

Thanks for the old school Iron Maiden.

[@aleksandr8809]

AZs don’t split coils, afaik. They connect two coils in parallel. Probably that’s why they sounded more massive than single coil.

[@jimmyfranklin]

thats not entirely correct... you can split the coils with the pick up selector, but the alter switch does what you are talking about.. the guitar has both... i honestly forget which i did... if i used the alter switch then they certainly will be more punchy

[@sedisvacantia8581]

I strongly disliked the sound of the coil split on all three (and yes, I identified them correctly from the muddy and bottom-heavy sound). To be fair, that's also how the 2 and 4 positions sound to me on a regular 5 way Ibanez. So, is this a fair comparison, if you don't do it with two similar guitars?

[@Vantavimeow]

Single coil sounded significantly better to me still, humbucker sounded flat but saturated to my ears.

[@italianbaboon9970]

whats your take on Fishman fluence classic pick ups ?

[@jimmyfranklin]

Have you seen my video about chinese fake guitars?? With the fake Strandberg??

[@italianbaboon9970]

@@jimmyfranklin just did but those are Fishman morderns . the classics have the 3 voices , PAF, hot rod & single coil

[@jimmyfranklin]

@@italianbaboon9970 OH OH OH!! i actually havent tried them yet! sorry about that... what are you looking to put them in??

[@mailvilla]

10/23/2021: I have been wondering if I purchased an H-H setup with a 3-way switch, could I split both humbuckers and get a quacky twangy country sound in the middle position of the selector switch? You know, just like a Telecaster can do.

[@benjaminkrutledge7425]

Yes, the middle position on an HH guitar with both humbuckers split gives a nice telecaster like sound. If I'm not mistaken though the twangy country sound on a telecaster is the bridge pickup, usually the mid on telecaster is good for sparkling cleans like in mathrock and Midwest emo music. It is worth noting difference in scale length however- coil splitting a Les Paul will give it different tonal characteristics because the pickups are in a different position in the strings' phase. Ibanez superstrats seem to get the most convincing coil split sounds in my opinion which is likely because they usually use a fender scale length or at least close to it. I very much like the coil split sound with both scale lengths but they are different.

[@redsurgeon6360]

what is it model name which have single coil electro guitar

[@emptyloopz_]

The AZ has a bit more high end but its crazy how similar they sound

[@gururajchadaga]

There's nothing better to test single coil than a strat. Meanwhile Suhr: hold my guitar

[@jamesmcgrath1952]

Got all three right, and I have a high-pitched hearing loss.

[@V1BE127]

True SC gets that biting attack , fast decay. Coil Spilt just sounds muffled. My 2 cents

[@c.stoddard313]

Gotcha, so the coil split offers a wider dimension of sound - this kind of explains itself just by looking at the pickups.

[@kristofkolosnagy9152]

The single coil sounds much better, it is a lot more balanced. Humbucker coil split always sounds too thins and shrill to me somehow. If I want single coil-is sounds out of a humbucker I would go with parallel switching, sounds so much better.

[@mikemattingly5825]

Dang i liked 112, sounds like i know what to get next.

[@angrytroll27]

Playing starts at 4:44

[@Yeon8888]

There r still big obvious differences. Track 2 fooled me though. Other than that, especially track 3 , the true single coil killed it ! The spilt Couldn’t mimic exactly. I’m sad. I’m still looking for a solution. I’m still in love with my p90s.

[@kagenotatsumaki]

Got track 2 and 3 right. Pretty surprised by track 1 honestly.

[@necurrence1776]

As always, Fenders sound better on cleans while Ibanez sound better on high gain.

[@strange_jason]

Dude hyped up how good the iba coil split is but pretty much sounded like a bucker in each test. Way too high powered to be a good pickup to split. Best splitting pickups are low to medium powered pickup.

[@samtfaulkner]

1, strat, 2 IB 3, ib

[@tonvks]

2/3 correct 😂 they're pretty close to one another

[@jland12]

Both sounded pretty horrible. It would be easier to tell with a clean glassy tone and a lighter touch on the strings. Too hard to tell when it's hard strummed or with the gain cranked up

[@wallacewinston3627]

4:43

[@davidsheehan5191]

4:44 5:11

[@iwannabeadored69420]

4:45