SINGLE COIL vs COIL SPLITTING || Which is right for YOU?

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Leave YOUR thoughts on single coils and coil splitting/tapping below!

[@danielmiller2886]

You know, when referring to a performance, I don't ever recall anyone commenting on someone's guitar lacking in tone, but rather I hear a lot of commenting about someone's playing if it is good. I personally think that it only makes a significant difference in the studio when recording. People notice skilled playing far more than small tone differences (in general).

[@ZackSeifMusic]

This is a great point Daniel! Totally agree with you.

[@Tiger1016.]

Agree for the most part but there are limitations. Musicians are interactive with their instrument and you can give the same musician many different guitars and they'll still sound very much like themselves. However, there are certain options that will be more natural and free flowing, which impacts the performance. Yeah, you can still play funk on a Les Paul, but it will leave you trying a lot harder and not focusing as much on naturally vibing like you might if you had a strat or tele. Or playing metal on a tele is possible, but I bet you would be more into the performance if you had a more properly equipped humbucker guitar. And the fit of the amp can be a big factor between genres. But beyond these bigger picture, different tools for different jobs, you really do get to the law of diminishing returns and it reaply comes down to the performance, from the listeners perspective.

[@Tsudkyk]

I agree, if the player needs tonal diversity live a split coil is a great way to get it without bringing another instrument. Adding a boost pedal and shaping the tone a little can help make a convincing single coil sound live… but then again, who’s going to even notice?

[@jr4233]

Wrong

[@DavidGarcia-wn6ie]

La forma de tocar influye , pero en concepto de banda estás muy confundido , lo más importante es el sonido , que tu equipo , guitarra, efectos, amplificadores suenen y digas wow… da igual que lo que toques sea fácil o difícil lo importante es la canción , y que todos los miembros suenen compactos y con buen sonido . Y hacerlo bien , pero no necesariamente tocar maravillosamente bien para un tema que no requiere eso . Amigo . Después de mil conciertos lo que se suele decir es que bien suena ,,. Por supuesto que hay que tocar bien , pero ya te digo yo que la obsesión de cualquier músico es conseguir su sonido

[@ImJackLand]

Your way of comparing different guitars is admirable.. a little explanation, playing the same notes, in the same positions and a quick final comparison between all of them, straight to the point... I'll sub right away!

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Many thanks! Appreciate the support.

[@fkkkkkenig]

Thanks for the video, this confirmed to me that there's really no substitute for a true single coil if the bright chime is desired, at least for the player. That has to be weighed against the versatility offered by splits/taps. Every pickup type has its place it seems

[@ZackSeifMusic]

I definitely agree that every pickup and combination has its place. Thanks for watching!!

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Nothing like a true single-coil neck pickup = hypnotizing tone's.

[@DylanWOWilliams]

My favorite is a Jazzmaster, but I do love a fat humbucker with coil splits.

[@planetside11]

I love your explanation, Zack. I've always wondered if there was a difference between split vs tap vs true single coil. And I, too, have a PRS 24-08 (mine is an SE version) which, as you say, is very convincing. And when you're playing live or even in the studio, nobody is really going to know or even care. Thank you again, Zack.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

You're very welcome!! Thanks for checking out the channel.

[@oldasrocks9121]

The Tele is a "special case" as the bridge is a lap steel pickup. 75 years of redesign has peeled a bit of that nature off. The original Broadcaster bridge was around a 9.2-9.4K winding, way hot compared to most aftermarket "vintage" winds. PRS splits can have resistors between the grounded coil (almost always the inner coils) at ground, typically 1.1K at the neck and 2.2K at the bridge. A higher resistance results in a stronger signal.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

This is great information! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

[@CloudfeatherRusticWorks]

Doing this on a custom build. But with a 1K and 2K resistor, as the pickups are a bit hotter. We'll see how it goes

[@dave7922]

@@CloudfeatherRusticWorkswhat were the results?

[@UncleTodMusic]

Wow, what a great job you did here. From a cogent explanation, to picking a single riff to make comparison easy, and picking a riff that really highlighted the differences.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Thank you so much!!

[@MarkSchuster-ym3iy]

I’m a small local Wisconsin luthier, over the years I’ve had most major brands including T heavy priced PRS Custom 24, to this day that was my favorite. I created 4 clones of a PRs 24 and they were magnificent. My second favorite id]d a very close cousin the Gibson Les Paul Double Cut Standard with exabition grade quilted maple hand carved topsepele body and neck, slight body chamber. I purchased a used PRs custom 24 rotary switch, all the coil cuts and polarity are all controlled inside, some people complain they are slow, don’t bother me. Nice guitars

[@DennyBob521]

Full disclosure: I'm a PRS fanboy. The PRS sounded almost identical to the real single-coil. I have a Core SinglCut 594 and it has taps in the knob pull switches (to my knowledge). It's hard to get a straight answer because even professional reviewers, stores and even manufacturer demos use "Split" and "Tap" interchangeably. I actually had a guy at Guitar Center argue with me when I asked which a particular guitar had. He said there was no difference and . . . no sale, have a nice day! Rule#1 of Sales, never correct the customer unless it's something that could come back to disappoint them. I probably should call PRS and get a build sheet from my guitar. Either way, I'm keeping it, it has a very usable neck single tone. Not 100% Stratocaster like I'd want, but I have a Stratocaster if I really want authentic.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

It sounds really great in single coil mode especially live.

[@Case_]

The Core SingleCut 594 uses the standard PRS coil split wiring, which is what is usually referred to as partial coil split. It is close to the standard humbucker coil split, except when you activate the coil split, one of the coils is not shorted out (sent to ground) completely as it would be with regular coil split, but instead there is a resistor so that part of the signal from that coil is still "mixed in". This makes the coil split sound a bit "fuller" compared to a traditional coil split (which can often sound a bit thin compared even to real single coil), and also (to an extent) solves the issue of the volume drop in split coil mode, while also preserving some of the humbucking capability of the pickup. PRS use a 1.1k resistor for the neck pickup, while the bridge pickup uses a 2.2k one. (The resistor values in partial split can be experimented with for different results and a capacitor might be included to further tweak the sound, but this is what PRS use.) And as for "coil split" vs "coil tap", it's almost always meant as "coil split". Actual coil taps are very rare (due to the fact the pickup has to be designed specifically with a coil tap in mind, and almost none of the pickups are).

[@edew3493]

I only HH guitar with coil tap switch. Thanks for your comparing. And I knew I need a new one Telecaster now 🤣

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Hard to beat a telecaster!!

[@5StarAlcatraz]

They all sound great but the tele is the best--especially the middle position.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Hard to beat!!

[@MarkSchuster-ym3iy]

That first tele is classic perfect.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

It really is

[@dogguitarbluesman]

Great video. Thorough and articulate. Thank You.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Many thanks for your kind words.

[@fabieneldridge3414]

Nothing sounds like the tele but the PRS is a winner . It’s close enough. PRS did a Great job ! 👍🇺🇸

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Agreed!!

[@MarkSchuster-ym3iy]

I used to have a PRS CE that looked exactly like yours, it came with a bolt on neck, I set the neck wish I kept it.

[@timrault]

I love the true single coil and the PRS coil splitting ! Not a huge fan of regular coil splitting though

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Every company handles splits and taps differently for sure!!

[@GinoYambao]

THIS is the video ❤comparison i have been looking for!!

[@ZackSeifMusic]

You're very welcome! Glad to have helped.

[@williamferguson1671]

I’ve been searching for a side by side comparison of out of phase (jimmy page style vs Peter green style). One is electrically out of phase, one is magnetically out of phase. You should try it out, it would be interesting/ cool

[@ZackSeifMusic]

That's a great idea!

[@JayDoge]

Demo starts at 2:50. Back to back at 6:05

[@michaelgrahamwongacutemadness]

I’d say neither after recently discovering the hassle yet beauty of humbuckers with adjustable poles for each coil because you can get closer to equal volume per string that way without eq, compression, or overall pickup height

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Never thought about this!

[@darkestfugue]

the PRS is amazing. i want one

[@ZackSeifMusic]

It's a great guitar. Very versatile. Just be aware the 2019-today models are Nitro finished and not poly.

[@darkestfugue]

@@ZackSeifMusic im eyeing one up on thomann, it has the same switching as yours, which i need, but i may buy a ce instead which is a hell of a lot cheaper and still has the coil splits, is there much of a difference in sound, cant be too much since they have the same pickups, the nitro finish i can deal with

[@MarkSchuster-ym3iy]

Is that a modeler or amp copier next to you. I have a helix flagship, just because I’ve already have years of the line 6 family and it works quite well together, I’m about to install a set of Seymour Duncan’s JB JRs in one of my Variax standards . I have 2 of them love them they have come a long way no digital hiss, it does so much tons of different tunings, plus anyway, if you’ve got wiring diagrams for an on/on/on set of toggles so I can get everything out if these. I only heard thr bridge pickup when I installed it in a c,iamts Strat, had the bridge pup on turned on just 1 line 6 DT 50 on the ultra high gain setting. Wow nlpwn away,

[@harbonip]

Thank you for the education, SMH 😎👍🏽 . I'm looking for my first guitar . I'm trying to get the best of both worlds . That PRS was sweet . I can't afford that yet, so I was thinking about the Epiphone muse or maybe Epiphone es 335 . Please I value your opinion . 😎👍🏽

[@ZackSeifMusic]

It really depends on what sound you're going for. A 335 is a great guitar. I don't know much about the Muse model so I can't comment on that.

[@harbonip]

@@ZackSeifMusic thanks

[@Swanlord05]

The Tele slayed all

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Tele is the goat

[@Casey3-P-O]

I think the ultimate pickup combo is probably HSH with coil splitting for the Humbuckers. Also, i think it would be cool to have the 5 way switch, along with an option to have the neck and bridge pickups on together, full humbucker and split. Im pretty sure that would give you every single tone you'd need. Personally, i play a strat with a hot rail in the bridge position and two single coils for neck and middle and its awesome. My strat also has a pull up option on my bridge pickup tone knob, that way i can have all 3 pickups on, or just the neck and bridge pickup together. So that's like 7 pickup options/combos. Im considering splitting my hot rail eventually, which would essentially give me 10 pickup options/combos.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

I love my Suhr Strat with Lollar Dirty Blonde's ( got the extra Bite in the Bridge ) = less ice-picky too.

[@LottimusMaximus]

What I got from this is if you want to sound like a telecaster, buy a telecaster. Lol. But a live workhorse with tons a variations, the prs seems to get close and do a bit of everything well :)

[@ZackSeifMusic]

My Musicman Valentine gets SUPER close as well! Definitely a case of: if you want a tele, buy a tele, but if you only need it sometimes, you can get by with other stuff. Or buy 2 guitars 😁

[@LottimusMaximus]

@@ZackSeifMusic Those are sweet. I found a used one in Seattle for a crazy deal and I regret not getting it. Chasing the sound is so addictive, but oh so satisfying when you hit a chord and it rings out with beautiful goodness :)

[@ZackSeifMusic]

@@LottimusMaximus it’s currently the loudest guitar I own in terms of acoustic volume. It’s very light and resonant. Great guitars for sure!

[@fabieneldridge3414]

That’s right !

[@Case_]

Most single coils have six magnets (well, six string guitars singles, anyway), and most humbuckers have one ;) It's best to not overthink this and/or try to describe it in other words, because single coils are exactly what it says on the tin - they have a single *coil* wound around multiple magnetic pole pieces. Humbuckers, on the other hand, have *two* coils, wrapped around multiple non-magnetic (as in on their own). The humbucker pole pieces are then made magnetic by a single large bar magnet inserted underneath. This difference also means that when it comes to magnetic polarity, single coil pickups have (for example) north magnetic pole on the top (string side) and south magnetic pole on the bottom (inside the guitar), whereas with humbuckers, one row of pole pieces (for one of the coils) has north magnetic polarity, while the other row has south magnetic polarity. This all affects the difference in tone both in full humbucker mode or when coil split. (You probably know all this, I'm just posting it for accuracy's sake, because the unfortunate mention of the number of "magnets" triggers me ;) )

[@gabriel.andreato]

Amazing content !

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Thank you so much!!!

[@pipotherium]

Great review - there is a difference but the real difference is how you play the guitar and make music with it :)

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Definitely agree!!

[@robertsmith8376]

Love the Tele

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Great guitar for sure!!

[@samtfaulkner]

Nice video and good comparisons. What is the foamy thing around your headstocks for? Im trying out coil tapping (I mean splitting) on Epiphone Les Paul - and dropping the volume pot resistance to 250K with the same switch which Im hoping will do the trick with volume when in split coil mode.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Thanks Sam! Those are GruvGear fret wraps. I used to use them for killing extraneous noise past the nut that is audible while recording.

[@LeMans512]

An EQ pedal can bring things closer to the desired sound.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

EQ is a very underrated tool for sure.

[@filtermat]

Very good review

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Many thanks for watching!

[@Thrashmetalman]

I have that exact same prs. Love the tones I can get out of it

[@oLyel25]

Great info! Are there any other guitar/brand that has the same feature like the prs? Where theres switch from humbucker to full single coil?

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Yes there are a few. It comes down to the pickup manufacturer making a 4 wire pickup vs 2 so that the coils can be properly split. Musicman and LsL do this on most guitars, just have to look into the guitar you want and make sure it says Coil Split and not Coil Tap. They are different!

[@Leone2399]

Try to search for humbucker in series and parelle, thats the connection that prs use

[@nickelcreed4421]

Number of frets is very important, you showed singles with 22 and split coil with 24 fret guitars. This changes the pickup placement, and alters the tone drastically, not to say that there isn't a difference between split and true single coil pickups, I personally like both equally but hate humbuckers (and I play metal!)

[@Joshua-by4dc]

Just for curiosity, why do you hate humbuckers?

[@nickelcreed4421]

@@Joshua-by4dc Lack of clarity and pick response compared to single or split. Even when I play Van Halen songs I will use single coil.

[@precobaixoaz3119]

Interesting. How do you deal with the "hum" of the single coils when you play metal?

[@nickelcreed4421]

@@precobaixoaz3119 It's funny how opinions can change in such a short amount of time, I learnt to like humbuckers after messing around with my tone (Kemper). When playing gigs the feeback is a lot, even with humbuckers I have to control it by using my hands and good muting technique, as noise gates set too strong kill the sound of a good lead guitar imo.

[@Tiger1016.]

​@Nickel Creed You might want to check out the Fishman Fluence Greg Koch P90s. They are noiseless yet still have all of the attack and clarity that makes single coils so great. Also, the hotter voice 2 goes toe to toe with the girth and push of humbuckers (talking medium output though). And then the other voices, vintage output P90 and true single coil, are awesome for the added versatility. The Reverend Jetstream and Charger are some worthy options for loading these into and so is the older PRS soapbar options.

[@bolodmata]

I really want a majesty now!!!!

[@ZackSeifMusic]

I’ve had a Majesty in my arsenal since 2017 and will always have one with me!

[@zonakmahanta]

I think you should have used guitar with same scale length, as long scale makes the guitar brighter than the short...

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Unfortunately these guitars aren't all made with the same scale, woods, pickups etc. but this is a Real World demo where all factors can be considered.

[@rodionevseev]

Awesome guitars!

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Many thanks!!

[@chrisbardolph]

I thought the PRS dominated. Just the most alive sounding out of the bunch.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

It's a killer guitar!

[@DoubleSixx]

I really wanted to hear the comparison from humbucker to split, not just split

[@ZackSeifMusic]

I have a full separate review for each guitar in this video on my channel for you to hear those differences!

[@JBAikensMusic]

The only way to truly do this test is to install all the different pick ups in the same guitar Two of the same guitars each having the same pickup configuration can sound radically different from each other I'm switching guitars and pick up types, etc. offers no way to objectively discern what's going on Otherwise, cool video And great job explaining things

[@pdub2762]

Nice

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Thanks!!

[@unhookedunhooked3219]

Tried the PRS for a covers band twice and the coil tap is significantly quieter.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

Adding a compressor helps for sure! I don't notice a difference as I always split for cleans so my clean tone is louder to compensate.

[@bluwng]

The PRS was impressive and I am not a fan of PRS, I need their Humbucker now. Cutlass was a dud.

[@bluwng]

I would argue best of both worlds is a series/parallel Humbucker not a humbucker/ split.

[@adamgalambos8137]

why do you call it 60-cycle hum? because most of the world use 50 Hz system

[@ZackSeifMusic]

I'm in the USA 😄 it's 60Hz here

[@adamgalambos8137]

@@ZackSeifMusic yeah, and as you know , usa is the middle of the existing multiverse

[@johnterpack3940]

@@adamgalambos8137 Seriously? Might as well ask why he did the video in English when most of the world doesn't speak English. If you can't grasp that a person is going to talk about details relative to where they live, maybe it's you who has the problem.

[@steveopenshaw1219]

Moral of the story, buy a Tele and just play the damned thing. 😄

[@ZackSeifMusic]

A good Tele is all ya need unless it's downtuned metal. Super versatile and sound amazing.

[@davidsheehan5191]

4:03 5:11

[@dshredmusic]

Imma steal the Charmander. K, thx.

[@ZackSeifMusic]

But he protects the tone😬