
Iron Maiden uses single coil Fender Strats, for instance, and while they’re not heavy in a modern sense, they do have a great guitar tone and always have. You can create metal guitar lines with type of pickup, including single coil. Tone is entirely subjective there are no hard and fast rules. Tom Morello, the dude from Rage Against The Machine, has used single coil pickups his entire career and no one would accuse that guy of not having a good tone. Metal Guitarists That Use Single Coil Pickups For faster, more complex stuff, single coil pickups – even if it is just to add texture or for lead guitar – work great when recording tracks.

Having said that, if you’re going for a twangy, more precise sound – especially when recording – a pair of single coil pickups can work wonders in a mix.
Single coil vs humbucker noise full#
Would it sound as good or as full as humbucker pickups? No – not even close. Could he do this with single coil pickups? Sure. He needs high output and uses an ungodly amount of distortion. Jim Root’s Signature Strat – It’s A Monster w/ Active EMGs (Check Latest Prices) This is why, again, when Jim Root designed his signature Fender Tele, he removed the single coil pickups and added in some humbuckers. Single coil pickups are great, and have been used by the greats for decades, but for metal players, a humbucker is just more appropriate. Humbuckers vs Single Coil Pickups – Which is Best For Metal?Īs you can see from the above comparison, if you want the highest possible output and you plan on using distortion, you’re going to be much better off with a guitar that runs humbucker pickups. And quite a few doom bands have used P90 pickups to create big sounds with plenty of feedback, so, yeah, P90 pickups, while not traditionally cannon in the metal scene, do have a place in their own right. If you want to play blues and rock, a guitar with P90 pickups will more than get the job done. With tone, you get a “fatter” sound from P90 pickups than you do single coil pickups, but humbucker-style pickups still have the P90 beat when it comes to overall output and depth of tone. P90’s have a higher output that single coil pickups, but they lack the sheer gutsiness of humbucker pickups. The last option of the major players in the pickup world are P90 pickups, and these pickups are kind of a happy-medium that sit somewhere between a single coil pickup and a humbucker. If you want to play metal, use lots of distortion, and you want a “big” sound, you’ll want to be using humbucker pickups.

This is why many players, from Melvins to Josh Homme use humbucker pickups in their guitars. The end result is a warmer, deeper sound which lends itself perfectly to heavier tones (meaning tones drenched in distortion). Humbucker pickups are essentially two single coil pickups working together in unison. Humbuckersįor bigger, heavier sounds you’ll want to use humbuckers. This is also why Jim Root’s Signature Fender Telecaster has humbuckers fitted to it. Single Coil pickups are extremely popular you’ll find them on a Fender Stratocaster, for instance, and they produce a beautiful, bright tone that lends itself perfectly to everything from pop music to surfer rock (the Beach Boys) and rock music like Jimi Hendrix and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, for example.įor metal, yeah, they work, but single coil pickups aren’t great with loads of distortion which is why you don’t see many “metal” bands using guitars with single coil pickups.

If that’s correct, it is probably worthwhile covering off a few things before we get into the differences between humbuckers and single pickups. If you’re not sure about the difference between humbuckers and single coil pickups, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re relatively new to guitar.
