A conventional humbucker (or Humbucking pickup) is a type of electric guitar pickup that uses two coils, both generating string signal. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar Humbuckers have high output since both coils are in series and because the magnetic circuit is low loss. Since the two coils are of reversed polarity and reverse-wound and connected in series, noise and interference is significantly reduced via common-mode rejection. The common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR of a differential amplifier (or other device measures the tendency of the device to reject input signals common to both input leads They get their name because they cancel out a large portion of the interference (they "buck the hum") induced by alternating current sources normally experienced with single coil pickups. An alternating current ( AC) is an Electric current whose direction reverses cyclically as opposed to Direct current, whose direction remains constant A single coil pickup is a type of magnetic Transducer for the Electric guitar and the electric bass.
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History
This first "humbucker" or humbucking pickup was the so-called PAF (literally "Patent Applied For") invented by Seth Lover, a Gibson employee, in 1957. PAF or just PAF is the world's first Humbucker Guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson and began Seth Lover ( January 1 1910 in Kalamazoo Michigan &ndash January 31 1997 in Garden Grove California) is most famous for The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Because of this, and because of its use on the Gibson Les Paul guitar, the humbucker is strongly associated with Gibson, although humbuckers have been used in many different guitar designs by many different manufacturers. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s Humbuckers are also known as dual-coil, double-coil, or hum-canceling pickups. Rickenbacker offered dual coil pickups arranged in a humbucking pattern beginning in late 1953 but dropped the design in 1954 due to the perceived distorted sound. For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. The Gibson Les Paul was the first guitar to use humbuckers in substantial production, but since then, even some models of Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters, traditionally fitted with single-coil pickups, are factory-equipped with humbuckers. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. Stratocasters fitted with one humbucker in the bridge position, resulting in a pickup configuration noted as H-S-S (starting at bridge pickup: H for humbucker, S for single coil) are referred to as "Fat Strats", because of the "fatter", "rounder" tone offered by the humbucker pickup. A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar A Fat Strat is a name for a design of electric guitars that are based on the Fender Stratocaster, but have a Humbucking pickup at the bridge position instead of a
How humbuckers work
In any magnetic pickup, a vibrating soft-magnetic guitar string induces an alternating current in its coil(s). However, magnetic coils also make excellent antennas and are therefore sensitive to electromagnetic interference caused by mains wiring (mains hum) and electrical appliances like transformers, motors, and computer screens. An antenna is a Transducer designed to transmit or Receive electromagnetic waves In other words antennas convert electromagnetic waves into Electric hum, Mains hum, or power line hum is an audible oscillation at the frequency of the Mains Alternating current A visual display unit, often called simply a monitor or display, is a piece of Electrical equipment which displays images generated from the Video Guitar pickups pick up this noise, which can be quite audible, sounding like a constant hum or buzz.
A humbucker has two coils with opposing windings and polarities. The string motion induces current in both coils in the same direction. Electromagnetic interference, on the other hand, induces current in opposing directions in each coil because of the reversed winding and polarity. When the signals from both pickups are summed together, the noise is cancelled due to destructive interference, while the actual signal is increased due to constructive interference, thus dramatically improving the signal-to-noise ratio. In physics interference is the addition ( superposition) of two or more Waves that result in a new wave pattern In physics interference is the addition ( superposition) of two or more Waves that result in a new wave pattern Signal-to-noise ratio (often abbreviated SNR or S/N) is an Electrical engineering concept also used in other fields (such as scientific Measurements This technique is called common-mode rejection by electrical engineers, and is also used in balanced lines in audio recording. The common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR of a differential amplifier (or other device measures the tendency of the device to reject input signals common to both input leads
Sound
Using two coils also changes the tone of the pickup. The humbucking pickup produces a "warm" and "fat" tone that has been popularly associated with Les Pauls and SGs, in contrast to the "bright" or "clear" tone of the single coil pickups that are typically used on Fender guitars such as the Stratocaster and Telecaster. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied Electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s A single coil pickup is a type of magnetic Transducer for the Electric guitar and the electric bass. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Quincy Illinois is a manufacturer of stringed instruments such as solid-body Electric guitars including the The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. However, there are humbucking pickups that have a bright tone, similar to that of single-coil pickups.
It is a common misconception that because the coils are at slightly different positions along the string some of the higher-frequency harmonics are diminished or cancelled out, thus producing this warmer sound. This is only true if the pickup's coils are in reversed phase, (i. e. , a phase switch on Vol/tone). The main reason humbuckers sound different is that the two coils resonate at different frequencies causing a broad resonant peak in frequency response, a characteristic of the original Gibson humbuckers, and because any two pickups wired in series will attenuate some of the higher frequencies due to the summed impedance. In fact, not all humbuckers have two separate full-size coils with two separate rows of magnetic pole pieces facing the strings; see the paragraphs below about "stacked" and "rail" designs. The "stack" and "rail" pickups can still produce the "warm" and "fat" tone, in spite of sensing only a small section of the string, just like single-coil pickups. Humbucker pickups are also available in single coil size.
Usually, those who prefer the brighter sound of single-coil pickups had to simply live with the extra hum and buzz in order to get the tone they prefer, although technologies designed to preserve the tones exist.
Alternative humbucker designs
Stacked humbuckers
Solid body guitars, such as Fender Stratocasters, usually feature cavities only for single-coil pickups. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares Installing full-sized humbuckers requires additional routing of the woodwork and cutting of the pickguard (if the instrument has a pickguard). If the process is not carefully done, the instrument's body and pickguard may be damaged and possibly affecting the tone produced by the body. This is unacceptable, especially for expensive vintage guitars where it is vital to preserve cosmetic appearance. As a result, many pickup manufacturers now produce humbucking pickups compacted into the size of a single coil, accomplished by vertically "stacking" the coils instead of placing them side-by-side as in a regular humbucker. Many different kinds of stacked humbuckers are available from several manufacturers, producing a wide range of different tones.
Although the Fender Stratocaster-style single coil is by far the most frequently found pickup in a single coil size, humbuckers are available for most single-coil guitars. Fender produces several variations in their Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and Mustang guitars. The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. The Fender Jaguar is an Electric guitar which was introduced in 1962 The Fender Jazzmaster is an Electric guitar that was first introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show and was designed as a more upmarket instrument than the The Fender Mustang is an Electric guitar by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's
Rail humbuckers
Another design known as rail humbuckers divides a single coil-size pickup in half lengthwise, and the windings are wound around two pole pieces, typically resembling a rail. These pickups look like a normal, albeit smaller, humbucker. This, however, is typically used in conjunction with stacked humbuckers, to produce a high output pickup. This design can also extend to a "quadrail", by using a rail humbucker for each "single coil" of a normal humbucker.
The same type of rails can also be found in a normal-size humbucker, however. Heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell made heavy use of this type of pickup wired in the bridge position. These tend to also sound fuller and have a higher gain and attack than the single coil-size version.
Coil splits
Some guitars which have humbucking pickups feature coil splits, which allow the pickups to act as "pseudo-single" coils. The electrical circuit of the pickup is reduced to that of a true single coil while the magnetic circuit retains its original closed loop configuration. Usually, this feature is activated using a switch on the tone potentiometer. A potentiometer is a three-terminal Resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable Voltage divider. Coil split turns on when potentiometer is pulled out and reverts back off when it is pushed in.
- Note: this is often wrongly referred to as "coil taps". Coil taps are more commonly found on single coil pickups, and involve an extra hook-up wire being included during the manufacture of the pickup so the guitarist can choose to have all the windings of the pickup included in the circuit, for a fatter, higher output sound; or some of the windings in use and some "tapped off" for a brighter, lower output, cleaner sound. A coil tap is a wiring feature found on some electrical Transformers Inductors and coil pickups, all of which are sets of wire coils
Notable humbucker designs
- Gibson "PAF" - Seth Lover's original humbucker design
- Fender Wide Range - Fender's first humbucker design, also by Seth Lover
- Gibson mini-humbucker - a smaller humbucker design used on the Gibson Firebird
- Q-tuner: World's first neodymium magnet humbuckers
Other noise-reducing pickup designs
While the original humbucker remains the most common noise-reducing pickup design, inventors have tried many other approaches to reducing noise in guitar pickups. PAF or just PAF is the world's first Humbucker Guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson and began The Fender Wide Range Humbucker is a Humbucker Guitar pickup, designed by Seth Lover for Fender in the early 1970s The mini-humbucker is a smaller variation of the full size PAF Humbucker pickup (used in Electric guitars created by the Gibson Guitar Corporation The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric Guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present Neodymium (ˌniːoʊˈdɪmiəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Nd and Atomic number 60 The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s
Many instruments will use a combination of separate single coil pickups in a hum reducing configuration, where the magnetic polarity is different and the coils are electrically reversed. This arrangement is similar to that of a humbucking pickup and noise is effectively reduced. Some examples of this are the Fender Jazz Bass, introduced in 1960, which has used a pair of single coil pickups, one near the bridge and another one about half way between the bridge and the neck, and many Stratocaster style guitars, which often have 3 pickups with the middle one reversed electrically and magnetically. The Jazz Bass (or J Bass) was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares The (usually) 5-way selector switch allows 2 humbucking settings, where the reversed middle pickup is used in parallel with either the bridge or neck pickup.
In 1957, Fender introduced a split pickup to its Precision Bass, which was wired in humbucking fashion, with one coil serving the E and A strings, the other the D and G strings. The Fender Precision Bass (sometimes shortened to the " P Bass " is an electric bass guitar, and was the first widely-available model of the instrument Both coils pick up the same noise, but since each string is only served by one coil, a single-coil sound is provided. The concept of this later expanded to G&L's Z-coil pickup, which is used for standard guitars. G&L is a Guitar design and production company founded by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Dale Hyatt in the late 1970s
In 1985, Lace Music Products introduced the Lace Sensor pickups, which utilize a proprietary hum-screening technique to eliminate noise while preserving single-coil tone. The Lace Sensor is a Guitar pickup designed by Don Lace and manufactured by AGI (Actodyne General International since 1985.
In 1996, Kinman Guitar Electrix introduced pickups based on a differential coil technology, essentially a stacked humbucker where the lower pickup coil functions solely as a noise sensing coil, while only the upper pickup coil is able to sense the string vibrations. Kinman Guitar Electrix is a small boutique Australian company that specializes in the design and manufacture of hi-tech innovative Zero-Hum pickups for
See also
References
- US2,896,491 (1959-07-28) Seth Lover Magnetic pickup for stringed musical instrument
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