Single Coil vs P90 vs Tele vs Filtertron vs Humbucker Pickups Compared. Demo Video by Shawn Tubbs

In this video, we're going to check out some iconic types of pickups. The strat single coil, the tele single coil, the P90, the Filtertron and lastly the humbucker. We'll be listening in the bridge position only for this demo.
Signal chain:
Suhr Hedgehog amp into UA OX load box. Overdrive is from a Rockett Pedals Majestic Overdrive.
www.suhr.com/electronics/ampl...
www.uaudio.com/hardware/ox.html
rockettpedals.com/product/maj...
www.suhr.com/pickups/single-c...
www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-s...
tvjones.com/collections/guita...
www.throbak.com/paf-pickups-t...
friedmanamplification.com/pic...

[@ShawnTubbs]

Shawn Tubbs "Demolition" album. A collection of short but sweet guitar jams. shawntubbs.bandcamp.com/releases

[@jodysanders1111]

Yeah! That's what's up! I listened to that demo from the link. That's some real good stuff.

[@remingtonnathaniel6730]

you all prolly dont care at all but does anybody know a way to get back into an instagram account?? I stupidly forgot the password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me!

[@scottjeremy7598]

@Remington Nathaniel instablaster :)

[@remingtonnathaniel6730]

@Scott Jeremy thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and Im in the hacking process atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@remingtonnathaniel6730]

@Scott Jeremy It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thanks so much, you really help me out!

[@donharrold1375]

Filtertrons sound absolutely brilliant! Can’t understand why they aren’t more popular in the rock world. They give a really ballsy tone but with a bit of brightness.

[@TeleCaster66]

Ive tried playing them several times over the years and can never get what I want out of them, that said I hate playing Les Paul's too lol. I like hearing other people play them but I can't bond with them.

[@Mikey__R]

@@TeleCaster66 I struggled a little with the narrower string spacing at first, but I'm starting to get used to my LP Studio. That said, there are so many ways to customize a Tele, if they suit you then you can modify them to do whatever you want!

[@ed.t.hansen6499]

rock is distored; fuzz. filtertrons would show the inability to play !

[@craig.encinitas]

@@ed.t.hansen6499 I’ve experienced this. As a beginner, the Strat is mainly what I practice with. My special guitar is a Gretsch with Tim Shaw Full-Trons. The sustain of the semi-hollow combined with the clarity of those filter-trons exposes all my beginning mistakes. Working on it! 🤨

[@kenracaza6496]

But its more popular in worship music.

[@J_C838]

I definetly loved hearing the difference in all these pickups. Those filtertron pickups are soooo cool! Thanks for another informative video Shawn. I look forward to the next one!

[@ShiningEyeBrigade]

Always wanted to hear these in pickups in just this way, so I can tell the fundamental difference in tonal balance. This brings it all together for me, thank you!

[@patrickcallies6451]

Great comparisons Shawn. Loved all the sounds. I've started to enjoy my filter-trons more lately. So dynamic!

[@masque1313]

man where has your channel been all my life? discovered it a few days ago and can't get enough. love your videos! this one was fantastic as well.

[@jerrymckenzie6205]

All the guitars sounded great, but I especially liked the Filtertron Tele. I'm also enjoying you letting your personality come through more in your videos. It lets us all get to know you better!

[@Grant_Ferstat]

the Suhr with the TV Jones..... I started to drool a little.

[@bunk-bn9eo]

I know, right?!

[@jodysanders1111]

That really opened my ears to some different options. All the pickups sound great in their own way. Thanks for sharing some good information. Killer licks by the way.

[@Ianmcguire1993]

This video was an excellent idea! Big fan of your playing and tone. Keep up the good work

[@bpdarragh]

Bravo Mr Tubbs, THE definitive pickup comparison video

[@chriswilliams4866]

Loving these videos demonstrating your guitars and studio, not just new products (though I love these too). Agree with previous comments that I'd love to see some lesson type videos. Keep up the great work

[@kenmcf]

Nice demo covered about all bases...opened my eyes to the filtertrons.

[@musicmann1967]

The Tele and the Filtertron do it for me! Thanks for the video!

[@NielsBeier]

Great video, Shawn! Just what I needed!

[@cleanmike7312]

You have Really nice guitars!! I played about an hour today and was really fighting my tone. I’m trying to get used to p90’s after playing humbuckers for years. You just helped me realize I need to try backing off the volume some. Thank you!!

[@sheltoncampbell]

This video was great, you're killer, tone is spectacular! What more can we ask!? Keep it up Shawn!

[@marcofioravanti4176]

For decades we were staring on Angus with his Humbuckers, but Malcolms Filtertron got our heads banging... ;-) Or in other words: Iconic AC / DC Hard Rock guitar sound is minimum 50 % Filtertron. (Apart from zillions of other aspects, that made them fantastic rockers, I know.). Cheers, Marco

[@PatrickJWenzel]

Thank you for pointing this out!

[@JasonHobbsGuitarist]

Great pickup/ guitar comparison! I own the same classic T Antique with the roasted maple board, I love it. The filtertron pickup sounds awesome as well! Cheers

[@brucemarie3059]

what I got from it is that you like the tele shape :-) awesome vid man, to the point, no fluff no hufff, no puff, juts sounds for us to pare well done

[@pacodude65]

Excellent comparisons. Thank you

[@markinthemix6055]

Thanks so much for answering the question. Blessings to ya 😉

[@1loop1take90]

How on earth does he have only 16k subs.. been loving the content lately (out of the traditional reviews)! Awesome playing, as always! 👌🏻

[@gentlewolf1279]

Totally agree

[@bunk-bn9eo]

It makes listening to reviews actually informative!

[@thelonetwangster]

I love the way you mix musical genres - hat-tipping in every direction without using clichés - if that makes any sense to you. Back to the subject at hand, I'm a big P90 fan, but I'm also someone who loves a Tele neck pick-up ( yeah, really...never understood the hate they get...) but I think the Filtertron was my favourite here. Enjoying you videos immensely, keep 'em coming.

[@andersonlong7709]

Great comparisons!

[@TremorBear]

Amazing playing - great insight- thank you for sharing!

[@ryan.1357]

It's great that you're doing videos with your own content lately. Ever consider taking some of your demo songs and breaking down the playing at less-than-lightning speeds in lesson-like format? I can't imagine there aren't people out there (other than me) who wouldn't gobble that up.

[@2tallB]

Shift and < on your keyboard will slow a YT to 0.75x or 0.50x

[@humanthehuman]

Strat 2:33 Tele 4:39 P90 6:32 Filtertron 8:39 PAF 10:35

[@NoahNCopeland]

this should've all been back to back in the video, thank you

[@flatbill2]

Thanks for the video! I've played nothing but telly and humbucker pickups so far... Finally figured out what I really don't like about the humbucker tones thanks to your video. Filtertron or p90 seems to be my sound.

[@bzen_music4823]

great vid and loved your playing.

[@MrCemcuk]

This is awesome. I really need the neck position version 🙏

[@jonahbeverley5127]

Dude my man your tone is on point

[@gioelevio1626]

Great video! Love this kind of content!!

[@desmo999]

Faaantastic played and great different sounds!!! Faaantastic phrasing!!!

[@dkelley9661]

Sweet playing, really nice. Thanks

[@tonyaguon2559]

Thanks for the insight. My favorite was the single coil Dirty Blonde at the start.

[@bunk-bn9eo]

Totally agree. Instantly caught my attention.

[@chrismundayguitar]

Loved the video Shaun... I have a Tele with t.v jones powertrons in it which I love to death but those classic filtertrons sounded amazing! But now I really need a P90 Tele like that Friedman of yours... what killer guitar!

[@spraudoggy]

Thanks. Good way to do this kind of comparison.

[@timnoble4137]

Super-useful. THX Shawn.

[@DenisAhmet]

Well done. Very useful comparison. They all have their place, this demo helps you pick the right one. If you do another say on the neck position, can you sum up with short clips at the end of each pickup? For me that would define them more. Thank you so much for this video👍

[@fraterfraxinus6293]

They all sound really good.

[@heycaptjack]

Here we have a real pro demonstrating his craft for our edification and there’s always one clown who snubs the artist with a “thumbs down.” Really? Another great video Shawn. Thanks for your expert time! Cheers!

[@wayne5354]

This is what exactly I’m looking for. I’m thinking to buy a regular tele or a tele with some blacktop filtertron pickups. Your video is very useful. Thank you

[@k8923]

Great vid. Liked both the Suhr Tele and the Suhr Filtertrons...but preferred the Tele. They seem to keep the sound of the strings more up front but with good dynamic range.

[@felipesouza515]

Cool review friend

[@chrislestermusic]

I am also a fan of your Suhr tele with the TV Jones. It has so much definition and unique as well. I have a tele with mini humbuckers that have similarities.

[@malone.j293]

demonstration riffs are usually boring but yours are a blast to listen to

[@ChristopherFreedom]

Great Demo! Subscribed.

[@ShawnTubbs]

Thanks very much for subscribing!!

[@sooparticular]

that ruby red collings!!! wonderful

[@marksystemed4678]

I have a strat, tele with humbucker neck, Aria pro ll semi hollow and a Revstar RSS02T. I am happy with all of them, they all make me play differently.

[@edmoss2020]

Man every time I watch to this video... that strat bridge pick up sounds amazing..all of them sound great tho.

[@nazmoking3171]

Goodness, you have quite the eclectic guitar collection. Surprised me how much I liked the clarity of the TV Jones set. I tend to tell people P90's are my favorite. I could be swayed😂.

[@TaxExemptBinge]

Love it... entertaining as always... keep it up please.

[@bunk-bn9eo]

Man, I'm digging the grooves! Thanks for the informative video! "Learned much I did." - Yoda's ghost. 👻 Wouldn't mind hearing any of those pups with a blues drive/ tube screamer.

[@tommc49]

Well done, appreciate you holding all other parameters static. Next chapter - same guitars - neck pickups?

[@adamcaveproject8299]

Thanks for the comparison Shawn. I have a Suhr JM Pro with SSV's and I just love it, but I'm GASing for the JM with S90 (their version of P90).

[@Firebrandrock]

As always, killer.....smoking riffs......👍

[@TheDmonet]

Great comparison. Of course the scientific method of really comparing them would be to have them all in the same guitar same bridge configuration same wood same type of neck joint, etc. could probably most easily do this with a HSS strat or tele deluxe by just swapping pickguards out. In this comparison the strat trem and set neck/tune o-matic bridge hollow body shorter scale gibson throw a lot of things into the equation that could affect tone. The pickup is the single biggest factor so you are 90% of the way there with this video. All sound good and all have their uses.

[@Abravenewfear]

Very cool! Thanks

[@michaelw6277]

I love love love Filtertrons. I wish more guitars used them.

[@jeremiechastel]

Love that tone at 04:22

[@evanward4303]

Pt 2:Neck Position?

[@jerrymckenzie6205]

I concour - we need the sequel!

[@gustavoazevedo9736]

please, neck clean sounds =)

[@javiceres]

Up!

[@WibblyWobblyBob]

Yeah neck pickups show up the tonal differences much more.

[@victorrocchio2657]

Very cool !

[@jakollee]

"Seductive guitar on the beach, brought to you by Seamus Longpier" - thanks for giving me a good laugh!

[@jeffjdgraham6580]

I found the pickups sounded more similar than I expected

[@brucenlittlepictures]

The amp and the player are much more important than the pickups for overall tone. 🤘🏻

[@MrDrTheJniac]

They are devices that use the same basic technology to do the same task. They sound quite similar because they are quite similar.

[@NotThatKraken]

The differences are more noticeable with clean sounds. Overdriven amps dominate the pickup voice.

[@nigel_tufnell]

whoah, that intro... so damn cool :D

[@stevenqirkle]

I liked the strat. And that’s without even getting into the neck position!

[@gelatosamurai]

Your LsL Goldie and your PRS (the gold DC) are the top of your heap. Xx

[@tjnugent62]

TV Jones Classic pickups are great and so are the Powertron's. The Filtertron style pickups that Fender makes are called Fidelitron, and they don't hold a candle to TV Jones or Lollartron's.

[@Mikey__R]

Interesting! Could the Tele with the P90s be EQ'd to sound like the Tele with the Filtertrons? I'm building a baritone Tele with a humbucker in the bridge and a stacked P90 in the neck, but I'd always like to keep options open.

[@oldguysguitarvlog183]

Awesome demo!! Have you ever tried the Fishman Fluence line of active pickups? If so, any thoughts? I' also love to hear your thoughts on the Railhammer pickups in Reverend guitars if you've had the chance to play them.

[@ShawnTubbs]

The Fishman Fluence and the Railhammer pickups are new to me. I've not played the Fluence pickups but I've heard them and the sound nice to me.

[@elynnshiflett]

Man, you have some nice guitars. Expensive ones too.

[@ShawnTubbs]

I've been very lucky over the years. Thanks for watching.

[@fatherjacques]

Great video. It would be interesting to hear the guitar in the type of music you would choose for them...

[@giorgiomaggiore9773]

Great comparison! It would be even greater if you have added a Firebird pickups set in a T-style platform ;)

[@frantisca]

Thanks Shawn: what great tones ! IMO just too bad the amp was cranked just a tad too much, as all pickups had quite a close breakup sound when wide open. Ideally, it would have been nice to hear a clean sound kinda pure and use the overdrive to hear some crunch... but alright, always nice to hear you and watch those beauties produce such nice tones :) Keep em' coming !

[@ShawnTubbs]

Yeah, that was a tough one because I wanted to keep all the settings static. I set it up to be clean with the strat and go from there. Thanks for watching!

[@adamcaveproject8299]

Yo Shawn, I did it! I found a Trans white classic t with roasted maple neck and it's on it's way. I've been wanting that guitar longer than I've known about your channel, but every time I see you playing yours, I get so jealous!! Anyways, we should be BFF's now right? LOL, totally kidding of course....Anyways, stoked to get the new axe next week I hope. Jam on!

[@ShawnTubbs]

Congrats man! Yeah, they're great guitars for sure.

[@tjnugent62]

The Friedman guitars are designed and made by Grover Jackson built to Dave's specs. Dave knows what is good in so many departments.

[@ENSOTAVES]

great idea to try just bridge position, simplify tone.

[@Desmondsound]

The conclusion I have come to is I want them all 🤣

[@ArtLogins]

The classic formula works for me. Strat for clean tones and Humbucker for overdriven sound.......

[@Rabozzotti]

All of them are a little hotter than a normal one?? Haha Nice vid man!

[@ShawnTubbs]

Yes they are all slightly overwound or hotter. Thanks for watching!

[@HansJohansson]

Hi! What are the settings on your hedgehog? Are you using the dumble cab in the ox? Great demo!!!!

[@ShawnTubbs]

I've already moved the settings on the Hedgehog but I think I had the bass on 4, mid 5, treble 6, volume 5 and master level on 5. No panel switches engaged. I used the 4x12 punch cab on the OX. Thanks for watching!

[@jseiver]

Suhr with TV the best. thanks for comparing

[@YMESYDT]

So say you get a gig or session, is it assumed you bring all these options or do you just bring a couple and work from there or do they ask you for specific sounds?

[@ShawnTubbs]

For a session, I always bring everything I have. You never know what the producer is going for.

[@Csar-wj3od]

Hey Shawn! Keep getting loser and loser... the more you are yourself the more enjoyable It gets watching your videos :). I've been a fan ... and now I can't wait for more videos!P.S.: I would totally purchase a Shawn Tubbs's Licks Tutorial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have a very unique totally original way to phrase.... Love It!

[@L.Scott_Music]

Been waiting my whole guitar playing life for a video like this from a guy like you. I have a Gibson SG that came with Burstbuckers and as with most cases I find a neck humbucker to be too dull so I replaced it with a Gibson P94 to get a bit brighter. I was going for a more blues and rock choice of tones. Do you have/like a similar combo? Filtertrons with HB? What is your favorite combo of PU types?

[@chipsterb4946]

Funny I found this video while daydreaming about a P-90 bridge and Filtertron neck for a 335 takeoff.

[@bobj8186]

Nice showdown of these pickups...perhaps information on the amp and overdrive pedal could be added here. Thanks.

[@superflysoulbrother]

6:14 Shawn and Michael Angelo Batio have the same sense of humor.

[@kimwirzenius9955]

What's your take on using guitars that have different output on a gig? When playing with a medium overdrive sound it's all good, you just get different amounts of gain with roughly the same volume. It's the clean sound that is often problematic, because with hotter pickup it obviously is much louder in volume, which will cause problems balance vise. There's of course a volume pot in every guitar, but very often (at least for me) the sound and part has to change so quick that I don't have the time to adjust my volume every time I kick an overdrive pedal off. I've been thinking that if I want the most out of my guitars, excluding a couple special use instruments I should just use pickups that are in the same ballpark regarding output. Right now I sort of have pairs of guitars with the same kind of output, that I know I can switch during a gig knowing it doesn't cause imbalance with the clean sound.

[@ShawnTubbs]

Yes, that's a booger of an issue. In general, I try to choose lower output humbuckers and slightly higher output singles. For instance, if I was taking a strat and an LP I'd go with Lollar Drty blonde single coils for the strat and Lollar imperial low winds for the LP.

[@kimwirzenius9955]

@@ShawnTubbs Yeah, that's the only good solution I've found. I tried using a pedal to even out the levels of different guitars but found I didn't like the sound of many guitars when tampered down (or up). Shame, because although lower output pickups generally sound better, there are few high output pickups that are stunning, for example the Wolfgang bridge pickup. :-/

[@stroopwafel6141]

Thanks very much, now I'm a jealous guy. Five super guitars which I all would like to own. But I am a sucker for tele's. The white Suhr single coil tele sounds freaking good. It's fat and snappy at the same time. Sounds amazing (in your hands, but what does not...).

[@kernjames]

They all sound great in their own way. I don't get the comparisons other than someone's personal choice for his or her particular sound that they want to express. On the other hand, if I could only have one of these guitars and pickups, I would go with the P-90s. But that doesn't mean the other ones are inferior. P-90s are just "my" favorite. That is why I like to own more than one guitar and have them all having different types of pickups, and "sounds." A color palette of quality guitars and quality pickups are just great when recording on a personal DAW, such as Protools.

[@anthonydavella8350]

Sir, can I watch your place when you go on vacation this year?

[@tuberockero]

Hey Shawn was the bridge pickup on the black Strat wide open as well??

[@ShawnTubbs]

Yes.

[@Uptown59]

The Strat's pickups definitely sound hotter than typical Strat pickups.

[@Cinnemax77]

Im curious- i love the demos- you actually got me into suhr guitars- i actually purchased a modern HSH & its a different world of playing- but what about Suhr amps? I see the heads behind you..curious. Thx Bill

[@davixgt]

Hi Shawnn...do you use any guitar with active pickups?? Pros?? Cons??

[@ShawnTubbs]

I'm not a big fan of active pickups but I've heard players get some super legit tones out of them.

[@PhilAlbinus]

Nice bend, Shawn. LOL

[@gorank.3634]

I am toying with the idea of putting a TV Jones classic in the bridge position of an HSS strat type guitar.I was wondering though how does it sound in combination with the middle position single coil,like position 2 on a five way switch?

[@ShawnTubbs]

I think it sounds great in that position. Maybe a little fatter. I would stick with the classic output and not overwound.

[@RCGC01]

Banning filtertron are fabulous....hand wound chime goodness

[@Dj2Splash]

Great vid as always. Why don’t we hear any 60 cycle hum on the pickups?

[@ShawnTubbs]

Thanks for watching. The noise is there on the singles. I just try my best to turn out of it.