Humbucker Vs Single Coil on Identical STRATOCASTERS!

We compare two Fender Player Series Stratocasters who are identical except for the bridge pickup. So we have a great opportunity to compare humbucker to single coil. The guitars are played clean though a 1971 Fender Twin Reverb with JBL D120F Speakers.

[bradleymorgan]

I'm glad they're both yellow.. blue guitars sound totally different to me

[patrickgesner]

Finally someone does it right! Same necks, same body woods, same strings, same amp settings. Probably the best demo of Humbucker vs Single coil bridge pickup on the internet.

[HollowGuy]

as a guy who plays both funk and metal, I feel like a humbucker bridge on a strat is the most versatile guitar for my taste.

[corypeltier]

Probably one the best comparison videos on youtube, I swear some people talk for hours about the history of guitars as a whole and once they finally get to the true comparison they do a horrible job at representation.

[michaelplaysbass]

Thought I was gonna enjoy the humbucker more than I did in this one... Even in a maple-necked Strat, it still sounds muddy in almost every instance. Single coil all the way, for me!

[northwest]

I love what a humbucker can achieve with distortion, but if I could only have one stratocaster, it would be the single coil. Thank you for making it so easy to decide.

[calenmoerman]

I watched a few videos for this exact comparison but they seldom would let you hear the pickups right against each other. This video was exactly what I hoped to find - listening to the two pickups back to back over and over again. THANKS for doing it best.

[aleilricciolo]

Humbucker is really really perfect for me. I bought a player series strat HSS and i am really enjoying it!

[vincenzoerriquenz]

I' m pleasantly surprised how good the bridge humbucker sounds on this strat, the sound Is obviously rounder and fatter than the single coil but still chimy!!! Cheers Johan!

[johncarpenter]

I think I liked the humbucker better in most of the comparison. But there were definitely times the single coil sounded better and the humbucker just sounded muffled. Thanks for the demo.

Another great comparison would be the new HSS Strat (the American Performer I think) that has the double tap humbucker in it. When you push down the S-1 switch, it is supposed to sound more like a single coil than a standard split because the second coil partially tapped is included in the signal.

I remember trying to look for comparisons and being pretty disappointed with the results, despite both the guitar and the aftermarket pickup being available for almost a year now.

[sanjograi]

Wow you just saved me from a massive regret. I was going for the HSS configuration but this video proves that we don't need to mess with the classic SSS. And of course I am gonna get the BCR!

[chrisfusion]

I like both, but feel like both would be better in different areas. I love the fullness of humbuckers, especially on single notes, but for chords the humbuckers sound a bit too... "watery?" I suppose that's how I'd put it, but that's no a problem at all on the single coils where chords are much clearer, but on single coils I feel single notes are actually too bright for my tastes. But then again, I'm sure proper amp settings could fix all of these minor issues. So overall, I'm gonna say I prefer the HSS configuration

[mr.anderson]

The masochist in me wants this to be a test of the neck pickup only.

[CharlesWillisBonsai]

Wow. I'm surprised how much more I liked the sound of the single coil bridge pickup in every scenario.

[terrygore]

I have the humbucker version players series in Capri orange. Love how the tone control on the bridge humbucker just rolls the highs off.

[VultCult]

The single-note playing sounded nice with the single coils.

[vespass]

I would acttually have been more interested in a comparison of bridge single vs humbucker crunch/overdrive sound into a classic Marshall rig

[mrg]

This is the best comparison showing the difference. Thank you! Some higher-end amps can brighten the humbucker if needed (SLO-100 for example) or alnico-5 humbuckers are brighter.

[ER-yqlc]

After 30+ years of playing strats and never being 100% happy with the bridge pickup, I finally found one I like, a split super distortion!

[TheCsabi]

I like the sound of single-coils much better in this comparsion, they're brighter and more crisp. I miss the hard metal distortion, but I guess the humbucker would kick the ass. :)