Why Single Pickup Guitars Sound Better!

[@PMTVUK]

Watch us TEST THIS - Check out our in-depth A/B test to see if 1 pickup does actually sound better here! - bit.ly/3vcMIpw

[@hangingchad_]

Holy shlt! I never believed this made enough of a difference to give up the middle position and neck pickup sounds... I just watched the comparison video, and I think you just convinced me to buy a Les Paul Jr, so thanks... I think...

[@JohnSmith-ki2eq]

No wonder my spongebob guitar sounds so good!

[@JerryWhite-ee5hy]

I love single pup axes. It's all I own.

[@adiohead]

So logically, a guitar with zero pickups will sounds the best!

[@chrollo0427]

acoustic players rise up

[@carlbaumeister3439]

Ha!

[@kingzuna8007]

@@chrollo0427 that’s exactly what I was thinking 😂I guess acoustic is superior

[@drakejdf]

If the player sucks yes.

[@PMTVUK]

🤣👏

[@trickybeatle2189]

Metalheads taking about the purest tone from a pickup while they are plugging into 3 Metal Zones

[@JeanMarceaux]

You would pluck the sweetest smelling roses to turn them into rose absolu, would you not?

[@asukalangleysoryu6695]

ALL THE GAIN!!!

[@wingnutmcspazatron3957]

Rofl

[@wingnutmcspazatron3957]

@@JeanMarceaux Hahahabaha

[@haydendillon-lloyd9304]

Yet metal is completely about tone….

[@ashuzguitar]

When your store owner tells you to sell single pickup guitars or be fired 🤣

[@JamForThought]

😂😂😂😂

[@dylanjosh2550]

💀

[@willflores4370]

And if anyone can do it it’s this guy lolll

[@guyincognito320]

Theyre legit good. Less magnet pull that reduces sustain and can increase fret buzz. Also tonal restriction forced creativity

[@guyincognito320]

@skywalker3975 Every little thing matters. But each thing on its own can be eclipsed by other things. Basswood has agreeably plainer tone than ash, but upgrading the block and the inserts more than cancels oit the tonewood downgrade, so I'd always take the lighter basswood. One pup means less string pull so should mean more sustain, but then low action can negate the sustain boost. I'm convinced string pull increases fret buzz which is why pure nickel wraps always seem to buzz less for me on the same setup. Nitro is unsuitable as a finish imo, as it doesn't cure, so I don't want it, no matter how it contributes to tone. All this stuff is just for personal enjoyment of the guitar. I now have the EVH bumblebee.. basswood and one pickup, and a bright quartersawn neck and

[@anca2348]

"Mom I want russel brand" "We have Russell brand at home"

[@vlntyntheband]

😂

[@mihailmilev9909]

Haha true

[@mihailmilev9909]

Fr

[@cleangoblin2021]

Russel Brand X

[@chasewinters7050]

Underrated comment

[@erickrohn2970]

Leslie West from Mountain jamed a les Paul single pickup on one of the all time famous Riffs. Mississippi Queen!

[@mayonaden]

Yeah, that's another one of those things guitarists deduce in their head, which may be true on paper, but I can confidently say that no one would be able to tell the difference in a blind test.

[@josschmitz9400]

You obviously don't know what you're talking about. Take a three pick-up guitar, a strat will do fine. Specially older ones from mid 70's. They are infamous for their string pull problem. Adjust the pick-ups close to the strings and you'll hear what is known under gitarists as 'string pull'. The magnets from the pick-ups are literally pulling on the metal strings, clearly influencing the vibration of the strings, especially the plain strings. It sounds really awfull. Only remedy is lowering one or two pick-ups substantially to eliminate the pull. But than you loose sustian on those pups. To be true, I never encountered the problem with Les Pauls or SG's with two humbuckers, but with strats... although I do have strats that don't have the problem, even with the pups adjusted closest to the strings as possible.

[@POOKIE5592]

@@josschmitz9400 Older ones from the mid-70's? Yeah, because the Strat has changed SOOOO much over the years.

[@mayonaden]

@@josschmitz9400 Yeah, until I see someone pass a blind test, I feel very confident in saying it's not a thing people can actually hear.

[@mayonaden]

@@josschmitz9400 Just to be clear, I'm not saying that string pull doesn't exist. I'm very clearly saying it does in my initial comment. I'm saying that you won't be able to hear the difference between the same strat pickup with one, two, or all three pickups present, on a properly set up strat.

[@josschmitz9400]

@@mayonaden String pull is caused by the influence of 3 pick-ups (magnets) pulling on a iron string. And you can defenitely hear it! Sounds awfull! Strangely, a guitar with two humbuckers (in fact 4 single coils atranged in pairs) or one with just 2 single coils, like older tele's, don't have the problem. It has nothing to do with 'correct' set-up.

[@nirvana613]

I seriously doubt that would make any noticeable difference

[@sssenatorarmstrong3280]

I mean, it does injure your sustain

[@yohanonshine4664]

Only to the guy that owns it. Let's see someone guess off a recording

[@hakancarlsson2881]

Yep that's BS. He just made up "tone magnets" 😁

[@chriskucholtz6967]

And yet it does.

[@matthewtucker1699]

It definitely doesn’t in tone or feel, completely psychosomatic

[@9hk38f]

Active pickups have entered the chat.

[@vonicrimson3619]

What I was thinking

[@marekw7562]

Actives are actually much better in this case. You see, most actives has much less wire and mostly weaker magnets. That should cause less electromagnetic resistance. Then they put this weak signal into amplifier. Which also filter low bass frequency.

[@9hk38f]

@@marekw7562 I enjoy certain passive’s. But overall, I think active sound better. Seymour Duncan, and DMT have some great passive ones though.

[@badius377]

I don't think Fishmans have any magnets??

[@badius377]

My bad I guess they do..

[@WarmProp]

That was some bro science if I ever heard one 😂

[@MrSchism]

It has more to do with the resistance of the additional pots that tend to come along with additional pickups.

[@Kungpaoshizzi]

I would wager you are correct

[@funkynelg]

Yessir

[@lostlothbrok7156]

RIP Alexi Laiho, his single pickup ESP signatures are still to this day one my absolute favorite guitars of all time

[@MrVersipellis]

Shit, I didn't know that he had died! RIP

[@jeffarab4947]

They are awesome axes. Yes I love single hums and yes tone is probably more direct and signal is better with single hum

[@michaelmyers7425]

I bought his signature V for $200 and later sold it for $300 Biggest mistake I ever made. The horns on the body were perfect, not a single chip. 🤦‍♂️

[@lostlothbrok7156]

@Michael Myers I understand how ya feel, I wish I never sold my 1st guitar, such a dumb mistake 💔

[@cedricjohnson97]

RiP Wayne Static

[@stevedunch581]

It’s so minimal that it’s negligible

[@noahtaylor2673]

Respect to people who get awesome tones from single pickup guitars (RIP Eddie), but I love the Slash-Steve Vai neck pickup sounds

[@topbreak38]

You do know they make single neck pup guitars, right?

[@DamianVega00]

Whole different lane man lol

[@supernothing77]

Eddie still a warm sound. It wasn't the overly shreecky treblely 80s tone.

[@mrbushwookie6051]

Chuck!

[@5roundsrapid263]

Eddie was the reason most Kramers only had one pickup. He wanted them to make the Frankenstein, but they thought it wouldn’t sell. They made a shiny one-pickup guitar as a compromise, the Beretta.

[@SIRONEDRAGON]

I played the 1954 Gibson Les Paul junior. So I think the single humbucker PAF. That's total sweetness.🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶😎

[@toemasmeems]

That Kramer is SO CLEAN

[@altrock86]

It’s also cool to just play. I used to have a guitar with so many different combinations I spent more time flipping switches then playing guitar.

[@glizzygoat]

That’s what I crave lol. Every pull and push pot, every spit coil every mod that adds switches. I crave it 😩

[@kelvinklauck]

@@glizzygoat imma get you a hardtail strat with one sigle coil and one volume

[@MrMd5555]

@@kelvinklauck get me one too while you're at it.

[@sanctummm3950]

@@glizzygoat i could easily spend $75or more on just pots and switches for a build where i have weird ass wiring, it’s an issue

[@beefnacos6258]

LMAO that's how I feel about the jazzmasters there's literally like 40 different selections it seems like you can do

[@S0UNDC1TY]

Pretty interesting for someone locking everything down with a Floyd and turning the gain to 11 lol

[@gonza.shreds]

Some people like the crisp tone of the floyds. I do, even if I won't use the whammy bar at all

[@naycnay]

@@gonza.shreds Crisp tone of a Floyd? They are notorious for dulling the sound a bit (when floating) because the bridge gives way just a little bit.

[@bigchiefsmackaho387]

​@@gonza.shreds wow, i never realized that the bridge was a tone filter! Learn something stupid every day I guess.

[@gonza.shreds]

@@bigchiefsmackaho387 No bro nothing else matters apart from amp for sure :)

[@gonza.shreds]

@@bigchiefsmackaho387 Go and listen to a les paul with a floyd rose but make sure you have cleaned your ears before

[@emptea4437]

I seriously doubt any part of this is true. I'd be surprised if the effect those magnets have on the vibration of the string was at all noticable without extremely high precision measuring equipment so if there really is a sound difference just based on the AMOUNT of pick ups that they have which i don't know if there is, it's probably not caused by the magnets. Would be interesting to see your sources on this

[@HipsterNgariman]

You won't hear a difference, but the magnets add a sort of tension to the strings that affects also things such as fret buzz. So it will play different, which makes you sound different, eventually (since your playing changes as you follow your kinetic inputs).

[@2ndPortal]

This was debunked by a guy who placed a huge powerful magnet to a guitar and still nothing noticeable happened

[@RichLunaMusic]

It’s a pretty good theory! But at the end of the day, you can always use your EQ and some editing magic if you have a DAW and probably works just as well. Sound is sound.

[@lecks101]

Agreed. This is all made up

[@geraldfriend256]

It is subtle but true. Especially a stock strat. The very end of a note loses sustain and goes a hair sharp. Why do different types of magnets sound different in pickups?And small details add up

[@ImagineRecordings]

Also, something a single pickup encourages a player to do is really understand and hone in on that particular guitar's sonic character via Tone and Volume knob adjustments for different songs/song sections. It also pushes a player to lean more into developing their playing technique, finding new and different voicings, and efficiently using the whole fretboard to create better tones/overtones, sustain, finding sweet spots on the instrument, developing confidence, etc. Of course, there's nothing at all wrong with multiple pickups or lots of tone options (knobs, switches, push-pull, pedals, amps, etc), but sometimes having less to work with concentrates your ears and fingers into getting the very best sound out of your "limited" options.

[@mr.mcmagpie6606]

I think having a pickup wired directly to the output make the most difference. Doesn't have to go through as many things and diminish your tone

[@calebdelfs1491]

That is the real difference. I've heard Nashville session guitarists tend to wire bridge pickup straight to output on teles for recording purposes.

[@matejcevnik7362]

Wha... i cant even try to begin explaining how wrong that is, tonewood for the win

[@calebdelfs1491]

@@matejcevnik7362 Come back and join the discussion when you're older and smarter.

[@matejcevnik7362]

@@calebdelfs1491 dude all your experience is just entrenching yourself in a myth that sounds good to you, id rather be inexperienced than experienced and wrong.

[@enriquenavarrete1810]

But whats the meaning of “more tone”? There is no “more or less” tone, just better or worst tone 🤣

[@jotheorange]

“The security guard is a different story altogether. We had to beat him to death with his own shoes…”

[@punkisinthedetails1470]

"It wequires 12 skins"

[@punkisinthedetails1470]

"Vewy foolish words my fwend"

[@KidSillyFresh]

"Who's the old lady?", "That's my old lady".

[@magyaradam8957]

Haha PARTY TIME, EXCELLENT!

[@bumblefritz]

"When did you become a nutbar?"

[@barretprivateer8768]

I remove the bridge and middle pickups from any guitars I own with pickgaurds, though not because of string pull - because those pickups are useless to me.

[@STORMBREAKER_250]

Based

[@topbreak38]

If you are worried about this you can always remove one of the pickups in your current guitar . . . Then you have a special Skittle compartment for snack time.

[@paulillingworth90]

Or you could put a little figure in the empty pickup spot. I forget what guitarist did that but I remember seeing it.

[@topbreak38]

@@paulillingworth90 Phil X is the man! Sadly, he said switching to the Spiderman didn't do anything.

[@paulillingworth90]

@@topbreak38 oh wait it was Phil ex with a Wolverine figure right? He was the guitarist I was thinking of I think lol

[@topbreak38]

@@paulillingworth90 Yes! I think he had one guitar with a Wolverine and one with a Spiderman. Can't exactly remember right now.

[@distortions7766]

Haha thanks this made me laugh 😅😂

[@redherring5532]

That Kramer is a badass

[@bluebloodgaming9013]

Alexi Laiho (RIP) had a single bridge pickup. One of my all-time favorite guitarists.

[@nilesanders5110]

It's the song, baby. No matter how great of tone or technique a player has, it's still the song. 3. Be the best player you can be. 2. Stay close to the songwriter. 1. Be the songwriter.

[@MosheAlvarez]

Total BS in my humble opinion!

[@18JR78]

Not BS because physics….but also not a deal/tone breaker.

[@XxHarounXx]

Just like tone wooda

[@Mark-sd7fc]

Dude, this guy is British! Just saying

[@Heartstrong_Productions]

@@18JR78 As someone who has looked into this extensively, yes, it is physics. However, the tension produced between the bridge and the tuning pieces has way more to do with it than anything else does. The magnetic pull pickups have is not meaningful enough for the majority of people to ever notice. Most professional studio musicians can't tell the difference for that matter.

[@robertkleinschmidt1029]

Adam D from killswitch caprison guitar agrees. His guitar is the "loudest" I've ever played. The most tone I've ever heard out of a guitar

[@4968ace]

Don’t be worrying about this, just play. If anyone tries to talk to you about the type of wood mattering for anything except cost and weight push them into a lake and keep practicing

[@cheenu711]

Preach, I like single pickup guitars because of the look. If somebody pulls up with a guitar with one pickup shit is about to go down.

[@Jufjuf01]

I have never once in my life thought “man this sounds great, a tone that good could only be from a single pickup guitar”

[@Augrills]

You’re not a punk rock fan, I take it

[@roebuckmckinney]

@@Augrillsno one has ever noticed the tone of a guitar in a punk song

[@Augrills]

@@roebuckmckinney yes, they have. A classic punk band is going to have a gnarly, oversaturated tone. Pickup dimed, tone dimed. Most kids who start a band are going to have that sound for awhile

[@mcclane8812]

That Kramer is gorgeous

[@davidvest7170]

I love how purposeful a single-humbucker build is, especially when you know your tone is always going to be at 10. But I also love the tone options we get with 2 and 3 pickup guitars! That's why guitar is so great: Even if you have an absolute favorite spec, there's a lot of good options worth exploring on the other side of the fence. Rock on, Dagan and peeps!

[@JV8901]

Why have a tone knob in the first place? Lol its never used in metal.

[@uncroppedsoop]

@@JV8901 nah man there's actually a huge variety of sounds used in metal, it's surprising as hell when you first hear it but then you find more and more of the like

[@ferox965]

I was in the market to get a Les Paul junior years ago. Discovered that I need the neck pickup too so I got a Special instead. Never looked back.

[@drewmadden3240]

From what I’ve heard, SRV lowered his pickups to allow for a fuller vibration of the strings. Which also gives the strings a longer sustain.

[@XChristianNoirX]

He was also using massive strings, so that might have something to do with it too.

[@righthandwolf306]

@@XChristianNoirX .013-.056, with a wound third. Lowered pickups, a massive neck, and a goofy thing I noticed in a rare picture from behind: SRV had 5 springs on the tremolo block, instead of the usual 3. Hmmmmm . . .

[@XChristianNoirX]

@@righthandwolf306 5 for making the bridge essentially a fixed bridge I assume...

[@righthandwolf306]

@@XChristianNoirX It does add some tension to the block, but the tremolo is still functional. I suspect the extra coiled mass helps with generating harmonic and subharmonic frequencies that can fatten the tone.

[@XChristianNoirX]

@@righthandwolf306 its still functional if you loosen the claw enough.. But it's usually used to make a fixed bridge out of a fender trem. Billy Corgan uses 5 springs to make his bridges fixed in his 57 strats. Did the same to mine years ago and it works. I never use a trem on a Strat unless it's locking trem like a Floyd. Regular Strat trems are too unreliable.

[@chickenmanstan]

The distance of the pickups from the string is key.

[@triton5342]

Screw the science behind it.. They just look so good! That Kramer is a beauty! :)

[@CURTEAR67]

I've had, and have been playing my Kramer Focus 1000 since 1984... 38 yrs later, it doesn't even think about going outta tune!! Plays like a hot knife thru butter! ✌🥴💨

[@ryderr7914]

Regardless of if you can hear the difference, a real difference is made by the electrical signal from the pickup traveling through the pots. The pots sap a bit of the “heat” of the pickup, lowering the overall output. The fewer pickups, pots, and overall wiring it has to travel through, the truer the signal

[@voiceofexperience]

Exactly. This is why an Esquire sounds different to a Telecaster. Nothing to do with that pissy little neck pup holding back the strings. The less shit the signal has to go through, the purer the tone.

[@DaisyHead666]

I once messed with one of my guitars wiring, basically turning it into a zero knob guitar with no tone or volume, just straight pickup to output jack, and it sounded cool but a vol knob is very important to me so i put it back on.

[@ryderr7914]

@@DaisyHead666 a really interesting guitar is the Music Man Stephen Egerton model. It has 1 pickup and nothing else at all.

[@jongbong1912]

Oh I thought it was the magic tonewood

[@chriskucholtz6967]

@@voiceofexperience its both.

[@jacksonhild2917]

You know? I just love every guitar so it doesn’t matter to me

[@gonza.shreds]

This is the right way! Everyone else going into a keyboard war 🤣

[@Pookanet]

These are the kinds of videos that keep Gibson and Fender happy.

[@AsIfItNeverWas]

Don't know if they sound better but V-shaped guitars with only one pickups like Alexi Laiho's signature look really sick.

[@PRINCEVIOLENT]

Alexi Laiho with his single pickup LTD has played some of the best pirate riff's ever so I support it, maybe it's the style of playing that blends better with one

[@athleticrealist9898]

Love one pickup electric guitars, my favorite

[@basshippy101]

Nice, already looking forward to the next episode of "bro science" lol

[@chocolatecookie8571]

“PUREST… vibration of the string” 😁😄

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

Yeah, that's ridiculous. Smh

[@scottmatznick3140]

@@majesticpbjcat7707 how

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

@@scottmatznick3140 because any difference between single pup or dual pup and how the sound reacts in regards to what he's talking about is completely negligible.

[@Motownisyourtown]

@@scottmatznick3140 it's pretty obvious that's just nonsense.

[@tristan_840]

I wondered why some people prefer to buy or mod their guitars with only one pick-up. Now I know why, thanks.

[@sEaNoYeAh]

The real advantage of single pickup guitars is they look awesome, and that will make you feel rock and roll and confident. Love how clean an Esquire looks in particular.

[@zqri]

I did this with my strat, took out the old ones and got a rly nice Seymour Duncan. Sounds awesome, plays awesome

[@blitzbenedikt1593]

I think more important than the pickup is your playing skills.

[@joeshoe6184]

Is that you Captain Obvious?

[@brandonharris9160]

One of the best guitars I had was the Chuck Schuldiner BC Rich Stealth, one X2N humbucker. The real reason why they sound good is because of how there isn't a huge chunk of wood missing

[@WearyKirin]

Wood has nothing to do with the tone of an electric guitar because it's not an acoustic instrument

[@chance2smoke]

@@WearyKirin wood has a lot to do with tone in an electric guitar.

[@WearyKirin]

@@chance2smoke is that why the only output on 99 percent of them is from magnetic pickups that only care what the string itself is doing?

[@chance2smoke]

@@WearyKirin ... And what affects the strings? Let me walk you into it. Wait. Let me brush those sticks and leaves out of the way sir. If you can improve how the strings resonate... Yadda yadda yadda bing bang boom. I don't know what to tell ya, guy. What are your opinions on bone nuts and those little string tree things?

[@WearyKirin]

@@chance2smoke unless if your guitars neck is literally flopping everytime you pluck a string the effect the wood has is neglible

[@angusorvid8840]

I've had this experience myself. I had a single bucker Charvel that came with an old JB, probably wound by hand in the 70s. The guitar sounded incredible no matter what bridge pup I had in, be it Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. Then I decided to have the ax routed for a single coil in the neck. It destroyed the tone. I tried many combinations of pickups including EMGs and could never get it to sound good again. If a guitar sounds good off the shelf with more than one pickup and that's what you want then buy it. But if you get a single bucker ax don't rout it for more pickups. It could ruin the tone.

[@elgrigorio]

Absolutely! I once owned 2 similar B.C. Rich models, a $800 Beast and a $300 Son of a Beast. The cheaper one had only one pickup and I found it to be waaaayyy better sounding and it was my workhorse for years, while I hardly ever used the other one! Thank you for your insight on this subject!

[@izikgarza1068]

I dont think anyone has ever wondered that 😂😂nor have i heard ANYone talk about that.

[@danielmiller2886]

I've actually heard a lot of discussion about it. My playing is nowhere near that level of playing, so I'll need my multiple pickup choices.

[@prohunter717]

This has come out a lot in a sustain related discussions. Don't believe the difference was significant enough in a lot of scientific and not "feel" related tests.

[@tonybhai2]

Nothing can satisfy a purist 😂😂

[@Mark-c5h3o]

I definitely agree. The best for me, was a guitar with one pick up. Sounds great. Plug it and straight to the point.

[@josephkunath4173]

I got a single pickup charvel model 1 San Dimas and I love it. Had it for 30 years still looks and plays fantastic.

[@8KilgoreTrout4]

You know I've never even held a guitar with one pickup before!

[@richardchaney7473]

Yes you have.

[@Max-rn3eb]

damn i remember when i first saw your videos when i was maybe 12. im an adult now and you seem to have aged too, time flies. good to see you're still guitaring :)

[@lucasseal1]

His mother's father was Russel Brand His father's father was Ronnie James Dio

[@fela001]

made me spit my coffee

[@SergeyPupkoMusic]

😂

[@spoonshouse9542]

His mother was Tony Iommi

[@randymiles-j1w]

Absolutely. If I have a guitar with tight “suspension” one of the things I check is if I can afford to lower one or both of the pups a bit. It makes a difference.

[@michaelhicks5150]

I personally like the sounds produced by a neck/middle blend or a bridge/middle blend. When you “rhythm” with one of those options and “rip” with a single pickup during a solo section, it provides a nice separation in the tones to individualize the guitar tone for each part of the song.

[@kingnick6260]

“Tone is in the hands” (ducks for cover to avoid objects thrown)

[@xcodychaosx]

Yeah I just dont like how they look though seems funky and for some reason single pickup guitars look like a beginner guitar to me just seems like those junior models. I mean it makes sense you've got more body thats not routed out plus the magnets aren't messing with the strings and I mostly just use the bridge pickup anyway but it just looks weird to me for a regular guitar but have been wanting one of those mini vox guitars just for something a little more portable and I believe those only have 1 pickup :b

[@TheFitnessTutor]

Yea but that’s just your ego brain because literally NOONE except a guitar player will look at your guitar in the studio or on stage and judge anything based on its pickups ….

[@kiezersosay49]

PFFT! When i hear someone say "why are the other PUs there anyways cuz you never use em..." i say GROW UP!

[@spittor47]

no

[@deeman524]

My very first guitar was one humbucker just like shown there and I love that sound was so clean and smooth

[@steventhornton630]

I think the additional wood has quite a bit to do with it as well. You’d be surprised at the tone difference if you started hollowing out pickup cavities. I love a nice heavy guitar. They call it Tone wood for a reason 😅

[@effyleven]

"More sweeter..." Oh no. And he's British.

[@daveman5860]

The sound is bigly,, 😆))

[@gerroldmayfield3346]

I caught that too.

[@LukaFelino]

😅 LOL I'm British, too! And yeah, we do say sweeter a lot! 😁👍

[@thesedarkthingsclone]

Nope... 😂

[@kaedeschulz5422]

From a physics standpoint it makes sense. More magnets of the same strength at the same distance stop vibrations of the strings more.

[@thesedarkthingsclone]

@@kaedeschulz5422 conceivable but not at all noticeable. Unless your pickup is way way too close already. The real reason to get one of these is because who doesn't lock it on the the bridge and chug like hell

[@kaedeschulz5422]

@@thesedarkthingsclone Just saying that physically it makes sense. Yea true it doesn't make enaugh of a difference with a proper setup.

[@TheMadTatter]

This guy has that "I had to beat them to death with their own shoes" vibe 😂

[@ayuimchen5088]

Thank u sooo much for the information ❤

[@casesoutherland4175]

That explains why on Johnny Cash's earliest records, Luther Perkins's guitar playing sounds so bright and clear! He played mostly Fender Esquires, which only has one pickup.

[@greghester2720]

Well suited as to rhythm guitars

[@Invocator756]

Agreed it’s logically so no worries for an extreme metal sounds..more effective for mainstream one! 🔥

[@anthonygriffin8421]

Even if what you were saying was true, which in the regard that the magnet produces an electrical pulse with the vibrations of the string, it doesn't pull anywhere near enough to affect the tone or vibrations of the string. Having the option to switch which part of the string is below the pickups or combine them is, would be well worth having extra "string pulling" pickups.

[@davidjohn6056]

Totally agree with everything you said

[@DeathTheKidFTW998]

Yeah I A’d B’d my single Humbucker Strat and my Les Paul with the exact same settings and the exact same riff. My Strat had a slightly better sound difference but I don’t think it had much to do with the lack of a second pickup

[@alexhamilton5792]

I saw a great video awhile back where a luthier tested this myth. He used a very strong magnet in the neck position of a single pickup guitar. There was only a slight difference between the sound when the magnet was installed and when he removed it. The time the notes rang out was also almost identical. A neck pickup wouldn’t even have a tenth of the magnetic pull, so obviously would have even less impact on tone/sustain. Now, back to shredding 🤘🏻

[@Angus_Macgregor]

... And Malcolm Young sounded great with one!

[@kennethdutton4153]

I had a single pickup SG (one hum bucker ) and it sounded badass

[@terrysbookandbiblereviews]

Great video!! 🎸

[@jeremyswalley8625]

I have to have a neck pickup!!! Love the bubbly triplets!! You’re tripping bro!!

[@RobSmith-rn3ie]

Its funny you mention Angus though because he was usually playing to a rhythm guitar with only one.

[@themadplotter]

There’s kinda sad interview with Peter greene from a few years ago where he says he doesn’t miss the legendary les Paul and now he only uses 1 pickup. “1 man 1 pick-up, 1 guitar” is along the lines of what he says.

[@earthsteward9]

I wish there was a guitar with a sliding pickup

[@steveclark9934]

This also results in lots more sustain!!! Without the extra magnets adding resistance. If you have more than one pickup you can still try this out for yourself by removing the other pickup/pickups or by lowering the others as low as possible. 😊

[@birdsteak9267]

This is right up the alley with why Les Paul did what he did, tried to capture a pure vibration, which leaded to the idea of an solid body to absorb/eliminate all vibrations from the strings to be transfered into the wood and resonate, like what an Acoustic Guitar requires but at the cost of a solid vibration of the strings itself, because he was obsessed with the search for the cleanest sound possible. Removing one pick-up surely is a microscopic pathway to a even cleaner and unaffected vibration and therefore sound. By microscopic i mean= It will still sound pretty darn clean with two pickups. Yes Wood on solid only matter based on density, the more solid it is, the better. Then again, it's microscopic unless the wood come from big trees, which have more space between the rings, like used on House-construction these days, that will absolutely be the most noticable different, because they will not absorb and eliminate the vibrations from the strings which will then be Microscopically transfered back up into the strings and disrupt vibration, leading to a bit more poor sustainability of each sound. But people can forget the belief that the science of the wood with Acoustic applies to Solid, it's rather reversed, the difference in wood-types used in 99% of all guitars is basically none-existent, their all quite dense. I say wood then matters the most based on the visual texture of the wood, which is what is pleasing to your eyes to look at. If you want best sound from your guitar? The speakers on the Amp, the Acoustic part of your setup, makes the biggest impact.

[@jordanshine3504]

Love that color 😍

[@ampillustrations]

I have an old cheap peavey guitar with one humbucker and no lie, it's one of the best sounding, easy fretting,lightweight guitars ive ever played.

[@Tranxhead]

There have been a few recent prog metal albums that riff on the neck pickup instead of the bridge and it absolutely slaps.

[@zsoltvaci1943]

I've seen guitars with one single humbucker gliding on rails that are built into the center of the body, so with that solution you can have both bridge and neck position and somewhere inbetween. That's just amazing imo.

[@Danksta02]

While the pickups do contain magnets and the magnets do create some pull on the strings, the difference in tone is due to the wiring. Compare a wiring diagram of a 3 pickup with 5-way switch…even throw in a S-1 config or some push/pull variation - to a 1 pickup setup with no tone knob. The answer will be clear to you.

[@whiteironmg]

I am a metal guitarist. I agree. One knob for volume. And one double coil pickup. Your effects board and head will take care of everything else

[@Slothretro]

Finally a good video. I have a 1983 japanese strat with only one humbucker pick up. I prefer it over 2 and 3 pick ups. But that's just my opinion

[@mitchluckersrightshoe]

Honestly I just think it looks awesome

[@Thindoublechin]

Less electronics = Less interfereance = Hotter pickups

[@nuclearwinter21]

That is why I only use an acoustic guitar and put a detachable pick-up on it. Sounds great! 💚

[@wesleyAlan9179]

This gives me an idea. What if you had 3 pickups, and when you only have one engaged, the other two would be down far enough to where it wouldn't affect the vibration of the strings. When you engage a different pickup, that pickup would come up and the previous one used would go down. That'd be neat. There would be some sort of mechanism inside that would allow that stuff to happen. The transaction wound be lightning fast, not slow.

[@jeremiahfiek5495]

If you fine tune the neck pickup's height & the individual pole piece heights you can get a boost of mids, clarity, punch & sustain from the Bridge pickup. If you go 1/8th turn too far it will be gone. Nobody seems to know this. The sweet spot is right in between where it goes from bright to muddy. Try it and pay close attention.

[@patricksochor8743]

This argument depends on whether or not the core of the pickups are just iron or if it is actually magnetic. If just iron, which I am inclined to believe, when not engaged, there is not much going on magnetically on its own. If the core is actually a static magnet, then he may have something. The greater effect is likely from magnetic induction between adjacent pickups. The selected pickup is likely inducing a field in the next pickup which will generate some force on the strings. All things considered, not sure there is going to be much more in the way of “sweetness” affected by this. It almost definitely has more to do with the variable circuit resistance and quality of components in the axe, cable and rig from one guitar to another.

[@thisguy2973]

It’s also due to the amount of wiring in the guitar. The less wiring, the better the overall signal. You could make this even better by wiring the bridge directly to the output jack.

[@zeuszoos8386]

Never thought about it. But as an electronics tech who began by learning theory first, I can say that what you're saying is theoretically possible. However, it would require careful measurements and off the top of my head, my guess would be that if as you said there's no current through the other pickup at the time, which would create the needed electromagnetic field, the magnets used would not, on their own, be strong enough to have any real or even noticeable effect on the vibration of the strings.