Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

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Mighty Tom
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Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by Mighty Tom » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:22 pm

Yesterday afternoon, somebody at Guitar Center was trying to tell me that wide range humbuckers are actually split single coil pickups, essentially Fender 12-string pickups with nickel-plated covers and exposed poles.

First of all, is there any truth to that?

Secondly, can a regular Les Paul humbucker (or a humbucker made to fit into the routing of a Les Paul) be retrofitted in place of the wide range humbuckers on a Tele Custom, or are the routings too big? The wide range humbuckers seemed larger than a normal humbucker.

I ask because I'm looking for a cheap guitar with a two-humbucker configuration and a satin finished maple neck that I can mod the shit out of, and I was considering a Squier Tele Custom.

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by StevenO » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:33 pm

Just so you know, the Squier Tele Custom has normal, "Gibson"-sized humbuckers unlike the vintage or reissue Fender Tele Customs...

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by GUITARmole » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:59 pm

Mighty Tom wrote: Yesterday afternoon, somebody at Guitar Center was trying to tell me that wide range humbuckers are actually split single coil pickups, essentially Fender 12-string pickups with nickel-plated covers and exposed poles.

First of all, is there any truth to that?
None whatsoever.  The original WR humbuckers were designed by Seth Lover for Fender and are very different in sound than a typical Gibson humbucker (more chimey like a single coil but with the higher output and low noise of a humbucker).  They have two coils (of course...to make them humbucking) but they're side by side all the way across like a typical Gibson bucker (NOT like the 12 string pups).  The other HUGE difference is that they use magnetized pole pieces...not steel rods with an Alnico bar magnet like Gibsons.  The threaded magnetic polepieces on a WR are made of CuNiFe and are impossible to get now which is the reason you don't see ANY accurate reproductions of the original Fender WR pickup (Fender included).

Mighty Tom wrote: Secondly, can a regular Les Paul humbucker (or a humbucker made to fit into the routing of a Les Paul) be retrofitted in place of the wide range humbuckers on a Tele Custom, or are the routings too big? The wide range humbuckers seemed larger than a normal humbucker.

I ask because I'm looking for a cheap guitar with a two-humbucker configuration and a satin finished maple neck that I can mod the shit out of, and I was considering a Squier Tele Custom.
You can fit a Gibson humbucker into a WR hole but not the other way around (the WR humbucker is physically larger and wider than a Gibson HB).  You'd have to install a new pickguard or something to cover up the gap when installing a Gibson style humbucker.

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by Mighty Tom » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:48 pm

GUITARmole wrote:You'd have to install a new pickguard or something to cover up the gap when installing a Gibson style humbucker.
Yeah, that's what I was half expecting just looking at the size of those wide range humbuckers.

At this point, I'm considering the Squier Tele Custom II, which has P-90s. I'd strip it down to a natural finish, slap a Bigsby and a CBS neck on it, and replace the P-90s with TV Jones Magna'Trons. It should come out looking something like this:

Image

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by GUITARmole » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:26 pm

Don't plan on throwing away the P90s without playing it for awhile first...P90s are some of my favorite pickups.

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by RumorsOFsurF » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:31 pm

GUITARmole wrote: Don't plan on throwing away the P90s without playing it for awhile first...P90s are some of my favorite pickups.
mine, too!  I'm not a humbucker fan, really.  Except Wide Rangers.
Damn kids, get off my lawn!

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by GUITARmole » Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:07 am

RumorsOFsurF wrote: mine, too!  I'm not a humbucker fan, really.  Except Wide Rangers.
+1 -Ditto!

The only humbuckers I own are minibuckers on a LP Deluxe and an original WR.  I've had fullsized Gibson style humbuckers before but always gotten rid of them because I don't like the tone (too muddy / no bite).

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by eupat » Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:22 am

RumorsOFsurF wrote:
GUITARmole wrote: Don't plan on throwing away the P90s without playing it for awhile first...P90s are some of my favorite pickups.
mine, too!  I'm not a humbucker fan, really.  Except Wide Rangers.

I agree!

and I own this Tele Custom II, love it and those P90 have good tone
at first I planned to swap them for "genuine" P90, but 2 years after, they're still there!
si t'as mal aux cervicales, arrête le métal!

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Re: Wide Range Humbuckers versus Les Paul Humbuckers

Post by Mighty Tom » Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:01 am

I'll consider it, but I'm really not a fan of hum. The noise, that is, not the band. The band I like.

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