Friday Tips: Humbucker to Single-Coil Conversion with EQ

Humbuckers are known for a big, beefy sound, while single-coil pickups are more about clarity and definition. If you want the best of both worlds, you can warm up a soldering iron, ground the junction of the humbucker's two coils, and voil -a single coil pickup. But there's an easier way: use the Pro EQ, which gives the added benefit of not losing the pickup's humbucking characteristics.

Fig. 1: Humbucker and single-coil response compared.

The main difference between humbucker and single coil pickups is the frequency response. The blue line in Fig. 1 shows a humbucker's spectral response, while the yellow line shows the same humbucker split for single-coil operation. Unlike the single-coil's response, which is essentially flat from 150 Hz to 3 kHz, the humbucker has a bump in the 500 Hz to 2 kHz range that contributes to the beefy sound. Starting at 3 kHz the humbucker response drops off rapidly, while the single coil produces more high-frequencies than the humbucker from 3 kHz to 9 kHz.

Fig. 2: Bridge humbucker to single-coil conversion EQ curve.

Fig. 2 shows an equalizer curve that modifies a bridge humbucker for more of a single-coil response. Of course different humbucker and different single-coil pickups sound different, so this kind of EQ-based modeling is an inexact science. However, I think you'll find that the faux single-coil sound delivers the distinctive, glassy character you want from a single-coil pickup. Feel free to tweak the EQ further-you can come up with variations on the single-coil sound, or morph between the humbucker and single-coil characteristics.

Fig. 3: Neck humbucker to single-coil conversion EQ curve.

The difference between a neck humbucker and single-coil response isn't as dramatic, but the curve in Fig. 3 replicates the neck single-coil character, and provides yet another useful variation for your guitar tone.

The bottom line is that you don't need to break out a soldering (or void your guitar's warranty) to make your humbucker sound more like a single-coil type-all you need is the right kind of EQ.

LINK:	http://blog.presonus.com/index.php/2018/11/09/friday-tips-humbucker-si...
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