mrjones200x Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Can anyone help me here, Most of my guitars have humbucklers and only my Aria with single coil pickups. Anyway i run the LP and the Aria through my Valve junior yesterday and noticed a huge difference as you'd expect. Now i really wanna no was it the pick up or the wood of the guitar which altered the tone so much. The difference was; LP- Warm tone with early breakup with very rich crunch pleasing to the ear. (Std pups) Aria- Warm tone down at lower volumes but not as nice as LP. Later breakup in sound compared to LP the crap when up loud, very thin and tinny. Sounded very much like a SS amp!! The LP is ob Mahogany of some type and the Aria is Solid Alder. Like i say both have std pickups. Can there be that much difference in quality of the pick up? I mean the LP isnt perfect but the Aria was S*it The build quality of the Aria is very good with no issuesas with the LP so its eather pickups or wood? What ya reakon????? I know nothing about single coil pups if anybody wants to educate me on the diff between the two. Anyone know of any good coils for classic clapton sounds. Like i said couldnt believe the difference. Just a quick note, They both sound as equally good through my Valve tronix AD-30-VT amp. Looks like the epi valve amp shows what really is a quality guitar!!! Thanks for any advice or opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 There are many parts factoring in that make up the sound of your guitar. The sonic difference between your guitars could be down to any number of things. Wood, PU, scale, hardware, strings etc. A guitar's sonic character should reveal itself when played acoustically/unplugged. Sustain, harmonic signature, balance between hi-low etc. If you get a totally different sonic character plugged in, you know it's probably down to the PU/electronics. It isn't all bad tho. I know of instances where a guitar made up of crap parts made a great sounding guitar. Any attempt to ugrade with boutique parts resulted in the guitar to loose it's sonic character and turn to complete crap. You can even extend on that notion. I heard a pro who's gear(plywood guitar, cheap ss-amp, cheap effects) comprised of complete crap on it's own by any standard, but combined he made it work magic. Any attempt to upgrade one ingredient turned into disaster. There may be an amp out there that will let the Aria shine and work magic. That's the elusive tone-quest and most of us spend a lifetime looking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafaelh Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Anyway i run the LP and the Aria through my Valve junior yesterday and noticed a huge difference as you'd expect. Now i really wanna no was it the pick up or the wood of the guitar which altered the tone so much. Pickups...two different types. All the wood differences aren't going to matter much sonicly when you have such a big difference in the electronics....at any rate as far as comparing within the two guitars you speak of. Can there be that much difference in quality of the pick up? I mean the LP isnt perfect but the Aria was S*it. Not a matter of quality when comparing single coils with humbuckers....again totaly different from each other. Comparing amongst each other' date=' single coil with single coil and humbuckers with humbuckers, would be a more fair comparison. I'm not saying that there aren't better quality pickups, but the difference you are hearing between your two guitars has nothing to do with one being better than the other...as far as single coil VS humbucker goes, and of course personal preferences. I know nothing about single coil pups if anybody wants to educate me on the diff between the two. Simple explanation....humbuckers= 2 single coils, single coil = 1. One of the reasons you find your LP pushes your amp into OD allot sooner than your single coil guitar, and why your single coil is noiser. Humbuckers= hum buckers, cancel the single coil hum. At any rate I sure do know where you are coming from though. I do like my Strat, but lately...and just recently actually, but I've been having a hard time dialing her in. Easier for me with humbuckers, even p-90s, than with single coils....have to play her more so I can get use to the single coil twang again I guess. Anyhow just my 2 cents worth and as always just my opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 by reading the previous posts you should have a fairly decent understanding of the difference between single coils and humbuckers. As for the "Classic Clapton sound" that depends on what era of clapton music you are talking about. Not counting his early days with the yardbirds - classic yes, but most people aren't looking for his sound from that stage in his playing. Cream - he played a lot of stuff on an SG to get that "woman" tone. His amp also plays into his sound. When he went solo he switched to primarily Strats - single coils all the way. Thru the years Fender has provided mods to tailor his sound. One thing to point out that you don't often hear or know is that Clapton used an ES 335 on at least one song on every album he recorded. But I can't remember when he started using it (what year); did he start using it back with Cream or solo? I think his 335 was a late 60s - again I'd have to look that up so he may have started with Cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I replaced the stock humbuckers on my Dot Studio to Means 90s and noticed a huge difference, especially in regard to overdrive - much less with the Mean 90s (BTW, P90s are single coil, too). Note: I think Clapton was playing his now-famous 335 on Crossroads. That's the guitar that Guitar Center bought at auction for over $800k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan 58 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 It's pretty simple, humbucker good, single coil bad. Stan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafaelh Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 (BTW' date=' P90s are single coil, too).[/quote'] Yup...but what a single coil Ha...your swapping humbuckers for P-90s, and I'm trying to find a Casino, or similar, with humbuckers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I replaced the stock humbuckers on my Dot Studio to Means 90s and noticed a huge difference' date=' especially in regard to overdrive - [i']much[/i] less with the Mean 90s (BTW, P90s are single coil, too). Note: I think Clapton was playing his now-famous 335 on Crossroads. That's the guitar that Guitar Center bought at auction for over $800k. "Crossroads" from "Wheels of Fire" was played on EC's ("Fool") SG! He used his 335, at the last live performance of Cream, in the Royal Albert Hall (DVD), where they played "Crossroads," but...that was not the version that's on "Wheels of Fire"...that was recorded at the Winterland Ballroom, in SF. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostindesert Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 It's pretty simple' date=' humbucker good, single coil bad. Stan.[/quote'] Bad statement imo , he should try a real single coil guitar like a USA Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster. Not a crappy Aria. I like humbucker and single coil guitars because they sound different and most times look different. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tintin Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I have a Mexican Standard Stratocaster and a couple of LPs. About 90% I prefer the "warm" tone of the LP's humbuckers, but the Strat's single coils can produce a very pleasing range of tones as well, including a satisfying clean stringy almost acoustic sound and a twang with mild to moderate distortion. I generally prefer the humbuckers when using heavy distortion, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan 58 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Hey, if you like thin, squealing, humming, noisy PUs fenders are for you. I have a drawer full of good old USA fender PUs i've wanked out of strats & teles, collecting dust. But i do play at high gain so that might have something to do with it. Stan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostindesert Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Hey' date=' if you like thin, squealing, humming, noisy PUs fenders are for you. I have a drawer full of good old USA fender PUs i've wanked out of strats & teles, collecting dust. But i do play at high gain so that might have something to do with it. Stan.[/quote'] Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmoore, David Gilmour, Robin Trower, Rory Gallagher, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Yngwie Malmsteen etc. have used/or use thin, squealing, humming, noisy single-coil pickups and dealt with the shortcomings of the design and made/make great music with them. I agree humbuckers are great for high gain/loud playing but that's no reason to call single-coils bad. But this is just my opinion. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Both Humbuckers and Single Coil (P-90 or Fender like) pickups are Great! They both have their place in different styles/music. It's "Apples and Oranges," comparing them. PEOPLE have their different requirements, so they "mod" both, to suit their tastes/needs. "This better than That," non-sense is just that...non-sense! I, like a lot of folks here, have guitars with BOTH, and some folks have both, on the same guitar! It's all good! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 I agree. The Aria is crappy but for £30 couldnt say no. Thats about £50-60 i think. Anyway the build quality is good as in terms of, Straight neck which has good even frets which are level and finished well. Smooth neck with easy to play profile. Classic strat type shape body made from Alder with a std black gloss finish as from new. Near perfect. Hardwear is prob crap compared to other stuff but it stays in tune well and has good inotation and the action is low enough for what i want now ive set it. Stays in tune after lots of use of trem bar too. The electrics are sh*t to be honest. Think that is where the prob lies. No crackles or noise or bad hums or squeels just crap sound made by pickup. (I had a Yamaha pacifica 112 as my first guitar and this sounded ok as std and that was made from alder too) What pickup would this guitar benifit having in it? Well id prob do all the electrics while im there. You think a std setup from a fender strat would be good and change the guitar imediatly? I realise it'll never be a fender strat just trying to get the best out of it. Thanks The strat i'll buy in a few years once the wife allows me to will be a std usa fender strat in olympic white with a maple fretboard. Not sure on the pickup config as they change them year by year slightly apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostindesert Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 If the Aria has 3 pickups go for GFS, Seymour Duncan's or DiMarzio's would cost more then the guitar. Another option is to make it a 'one' pickup guitar with a GFS humbucker in the bridge position. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan 58 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Well if I had a guitar teck, an amp teck, a sound system teck, and a bunch of factory guys tweeking me i bet i could sound good with single coils too, but i don't and most people like me don't. But hey, just one mans opinion. Stan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Well if I had a guitar teck' date=' an amp teck, a sound system teck, and a bunch of factory guys tweeking me i bet i could sound good with single coils too, but i don't and most people like me don't. But hey, just one mans opinion. Stan.[/quote']2 or 3 more posts, Stan and we'll probably be convinced. Are you saying that you don't like single-coil pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan 58 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Bingo! Stan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookelputz Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Stan58 said: "but i don't and most people like me don't" I like you Stan. Sorta. Well, I don't DISLIKE you. Oh, read that wrong, didn't I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 ... people like me.... Stan' date=' there [i']are[/i] no people like you. You are unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan 58 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Was that the grammer hammer? Because i'm not sure. Stan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookelputz Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Stan' date=' there [i']are[/i] no people like you. You are unique. You mean no OTHER people like Stan, right? 'Cause I'm sure he's like himself. He is "people" isn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 If the Aria has 3 pickups go for GFS' date=' Seymour Duncan's or DiMarzio's would cost more then the guitar.Another option is to make it a 'one' pickup guitar with a GFS humbucker in the bridge position. Peter[/quote'] Yeah has 3 single coils like a std fender strat. I already have another strat shaped kramer with a single humbuckler in the bridge with a floyd rose2 trem. I wanna get a collection of diff types So Far; One LP twin hums One strat with single coils One 80's old school rock. (1 hum no tone control with floyd rose wammy) One accoustic On the list One electro accoustic (Got one in mind sitting in the local shop, A Garrison. £300 so may sell accoustic and aria yet to get funds) One semi accoustic like a casino or sheri or dot. One LP with P90's One Fender strat with maple fret board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbirchett Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Well if I had a guitar teck' date=' an amp teck, a sound system teck, and a bunch of factory guys tweeking me i bet i could sound good with single coils too, but i don't and most people like me don't. But hey, just one mans opinion. Stan.[/quote'] Just one man's opinion but you keep offering it again and again. Obviously, it is not the sound that you are looking for. Just as obviously, it is a sound that many people like and even prefer. Some of the greatest guitar sounds of all time have come from single coils, be they Strats, teles, P-90s, Gibson Alnicos (Pre-P90s), Charlie Christian or whatever. Tell you what Stan, send me those crappy Strat pickups and I'll keep them away from you so you never have to listen to them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Strum Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I replaced the stock humbuckers on my Dot Studio to Means 90s and noticed a huge difference' date=' especially in regard to overdrive - [i']much[/i] less with the Mean 90s (BTW, P90s are single coil, too). Note: I think Clapton was playing his now-famous 335 on Crossroads. That's the guitar that Guitar Center bought at auction for over $800k. Here is an enjoyable Clapton. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djRAF_ph3TQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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