It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:29 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 31 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:14 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:38 am
Posts: 650
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada. USA
A buddy of mine brought his Strat over for me to do some adjustments. When I plugged it in, after about 30-seconds I started playing Unchained by VH. Then I kept gravitating toward EVH type riffs and other stuff. It was very strange. It had been a long time since I've ever played any stuff like that. But the voice of the guitar just led me to that sound.

When I asked him what the bridge pickup was, he said it was a Fender Atomic. And I was like, "Ok, that makes perfect sense". Pretty fascinating that I subconsciously picked up on that sound with a pickup called an Atomic.

And I thought "Wow, seems like every time you see discussions about humbuckers, the Fender name rarely if ever comes up. It's always SD, Dimarzio, Gibson, any number of Boutique brands.

The Atomic had a nice amount of air to it much like an overwound single coil. Very musical in the clean channel, and a great bite when overdriven. The overdriven crunch sound was great!! It didn't get muddy, had a great cutting sound.

It just makes me wonder why people are so quick to dismiss Fender Humbuckers. I actually like the Blacktop series and Wide Range too. I think in going to grab one of the Atomics for my arsenal. It really shined in the Heidkamp. The overdriven sound was awesome.

What are some of your thoughts on Fender Hums?

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 2:30 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:21 pm
Posts: 986
Location: moon base #9
If a guitar came with an Atomic in it, I would leave it in. I've always heard good things about them. When they first came out with the Blacktops I think people were skeptical, but after time I think they were realized. Bright and chunky from what I can tell. I'm hooked back on p90s for now but I'm looking at some Dimarzio Area PUs for a build that been in progress way to long.

_________________
My ability to spell is in direct proportion to the amount of coffee I've had.


Last edited by Deluxe Matt on Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:06 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:01 pm
Posts: 1479
Location: Los Angeles, USA
I think the only reason people are so quick to dismiss Fender humbuckers is because they are simply not known for them . The single coil is their claim to fame. However I love Fender humbuckers and am scouring Ebay all the time to grab them at a good price. However unless they are not always the best deal when you consider they typically ask 50-90 plus and you can get a good Dimarzio for that which is a company better known for making killer humbuckers. But regardless every so often they slip by on eBay and you can grab them for half price or less and they are not bad at all IMHO.

I also have a soft spot for the tele deluxe 72 reissue split humbuckers with the chrome covers and jump on any deal I can get for those.

_________________
I'm almost out of stuff to sell.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:21 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:38 am
Posts: 650
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada. USA
I remember when the Blacktops first came out, I compared one of the Telecasters to a Thinline that had Wide Range. I honestly thought the Blacktop sounded cleaner. It had more sparkle. And I guess that's not what most people look for in Humbuckers. There is definitely a sparkly treble in a Blacktop bridge pickup. The other guitar player in our band bought one and it was PERFECT for reggae.

I compared the Atomic to a Duncan 59 A2, and a JB. It was more similar to the '59, a little more up top and more open and airy. But I wouldn't say any one was better than the other. They were all just different and had good qualities all the way around. I would say I got better note separation out of the Atomic than the others. You could clearly hear every individual string. That's a plus if you ask me. Nice pickup.

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 6:35 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:41 pm
Posts: 764
Location: Sydney. Australia
:shock:

I have a soft spot for a 1972 Thinline with humbuckers.

Played a few and all sounded great.

:arrow:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 6:51 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
I have read a number of times over the years (but it has never been substantiated to my knowledge) that the Atomic is the same pup as the DH1 just with a different name and also that it is essentially Fender's version of a Duncan JB. Perhaps now that Martian is back he can shed some light on this.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:19 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:38 am
Posts: 650
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada. USA
I found myself reading about the same thing concerning the name change. I'm not really sure about the JB comparison. I have sets of Duncan HB102s and compared the Atomic to the JB in the Charvel. The Atomic had more treble and bite to it. With an HB102, I honestly can't tell the difference between it and a JB. My Schecters came stock with them and the bridge pickups sound exactly like the Charvel.

I've never had a JB in a Strat though, so I can't say for sure.

I'm working on a Frankenstrat tonight with a Pearly Gates Plus. It'll be interesting to hear the differences between that and the Atomic.

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:44 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 6:30 am
Posts: 375
I have a Blacktop Strat, and have to say Jah's comments are spot on. I was initially disappointed, because I was subconsciously expecting a PAF style tone. Nope. However, once I got over that, and took them on their own merits, I loved them! That guitar has a sound all it's own, one that gets addicting to play. The coil split options are nice, too- providing a convincing single coil tone.

I also tried out a Fender HSS strat in the store. Don't know what the 'bucker was, but it sounded killer! I'm still kicking myself for not buying it... (I got the VM surf caster w/lipsticks instead)

Then, like another poster above, I got on a P90 kick, and this guitar doesn't get played much. I have no plans to get rid of it, though- I'll come back to it sooner or later!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:24 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
My 1998 American Deluxe Fat Strat Locking has a DH1 and to be perfectly honest I think it's a great sounding pickup in a Strat. The only changes I have made to that guitar are cosmetic: guard and knobs. The DH1 has a roughly similar frequency response to a typical Strat pup as well as roughly similar touch dynamics except for the fact it's a humbucker. I like it because it doesn't so completely change the nature of the Strat to the same degree as many other buckers might do. A Strat should be bright, biting and spanky. I think the DH1 gets about as close as you can get and still be a humbucker. I like it so much I bought another one. I still have it sitting in the original Fender packaging. Haven't decided what to do with it yet. I may find a home for it in my Partsocaster, I dunno.

I sorta wish I had a JB equipped guitar on hand to compare. It's been quite a few years since I've owned one of those.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:34 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
Nikola Tesla wrote:
:shock:

I have a soft spot for a 1972 Thinline with humbuckers.

Played a few and all sounded great.

:arrow:


The original Wide Range Humbuckers in the '72 Thinline are great.
The ones they put in the RI not so much - they're basically standard humbuckers in a WRH package.

The Custom Shop WRH's which went into the CS and Select models, on the other hand, are awesome. They've tried to capture the Seth Lover tone, and it's deeper, darker and wider range.

I play both the RI and CS WRHs daily. They're like day and night, with night being the winner.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:27 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:38 am
Posts: 650
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada. USA
BMW-KTM wrote:
The DH1 has a roughly similar frequency response to a typical Strat pup as well as roughly similar touch dynamics except for the fact it's a humbucker. I like it because it doesn't so completely change the nature of the Strat to the same degree as many other buckers might do..


Exactly what I noticed with the Atomic. I never really liked the bright thin nature of typical single coil bridge pickups. They tend to sound thin when overdriven. That's where I think people with the same thought start to gravitate toward p-90s.

The only way I know to describe a single coil voice (like say my '57 AVRI) is open and airy. P-90s give you that, but with such overwound coils I personally find them hard to control with my rigs. Using a wah, a little too much gain or volume, and things can be a bit trying to control. I gave up on my P-90 endeavors.

I like the Atomic for the same reasons you mentioned. It stays Strat-like in a HHS configuration. You don't really get the sense that you've just switched to a much different animal. Just a more powerful bridge pickup that's easy to overdrive and keeps quiet when muted.

I ordered one today. I have a set of really good Squier singles that I want to pair it up with. This guitar is gonna be smokin'!! I'll post pics when I'm done with it.

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 12:24 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:25 pm
Posts: 1162
Location: In a house....unless I'm at work....then I'm in a shop.
I pulled one out of mine, it simply wasn't my.......

Image

_________________
Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 5:14 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:51 pm
Posts: 25353
Location: Witness Protection Program
I like the older wide range humbuckers. They seem to have a more fuller sound than the newer wide range 'buckers.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 5:56 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:11 pm
Posts: 37
Location: Northern NJ
Nikola Tesla wrote:
:shock:

I have a soft spot for a 1972 Thinline with humbuckers.

Played a few and all sounded great.

:arrow:




True dat!!! That is why the 72 Thinline is on my must eventually buy list.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Your thoughts on Fender Humbuckers
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 7:47 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
Miami Mike wrote:
I like the older wide range humbuckers. They seem to have a more fuller sound than the newer wide range 'buckers.

They do. The CuNiFe magnets and thicker wire of the old one makes a big difference.
The early 70s was when stereo systems got deeper bass and higher treble, and equalizers were usually set in a V shape, and the WRHs reflected that.
The newer ones in the RI models are just ordinary humbuckers in a WRH package, but the CS/Select ones make a decent job at capturing the wide range scooped tone. If not true CuNiFe, they're very good on their own.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 31 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: