Split Humbucker vs. Single-Coil Pickup: Can You Tell the Difference?

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(Image credit: Cindy Moorhead)

Can a split humbucker sound as good as a single-coil?

That’s the question Darrell Braun puts to the test in this blind comparison video.

His single-coil guitars for this example are a Fender American Standard Telecaster and a G&L Tribute Series Legacy. His coil-splitting humbucker axes are a PRS SE Custom 24 and an Epiphone Les Paul Limited Edition with Seymour Duncan P-Rail pickups.

Darrell’s blind comparisons include the neck pickups, bridge pickups, and neck and bridge pickups together. He also flips the order of the guitars between each comparison to help keep you on your toes.

Now if you have a pair of headphones, you’d better get ’em out and get ’em cranked up, ’cause they’re really gonna help you on this one.

For more of Darrell’s informative videos, visit the Darrell Braun Guitar YouTube channel.

Christopher Scapelliti
Christopher Scapelliti

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.