Position:Home>Performing Arts> What is a humbucker?In wich way does this thing benefits the electric guitar?

Electric guitar pickups come in two basic types:
The Single Coil, and Humbucking!. A pickup is a type of "transducer",
a device which converts one kind of energy into another!.
In this case: mechanical energy (the vibrating strings) into electrical
energy (which goes to the amp, is boosted, and converted back into
mechanical energy via the speaker -another transducer)!.
The simplest (and oldest) kind of pickup is the single-coil!. In it's most basic form, it's only a coil of very thin, copper wire wrapped several
thousand times around a bar magnet!. The steel string passes through the magnetic field, and when vibrated, a very small amount of alternating-current is produced in the coil -through the principals
of electromagnetism!. The current is far too weak to drive a speaker,
so it must be amplified to be useful!.
Modern single-coil pickups have steel "polepieces" glued to the magnet
allowing the magnetic field to focused on each string!.
An alternative is having the polepieces as individual magnets themselves -one for each string!. The classic "Stratocaster" pickup
employs this design!. The overall sound of a pickup depends on a
number of factors: the location of the pickup (closer to the bridge tends
to produce a brighter sound, further from the bridge; a thicker sound),
the size and position of the polepiece, the material used in the magnet,
the strength of the magnetic field, the guage of wire in the coil and
number of turns!. Single-coils are popular as they tend to give a
bright sound with lots of upper-midrange (well suited to guitar)!.
But they have one major drawback -noise!.
As current moves through the coil, it picks-up the sound of it's own
electromagnetic induction, which comes out of the amp in the form
of a sometimes, bothersome hum!. In the early 1950's, an engineer
at Gibson guitars (Seth Lover) came up with a solution to this problem!.
His "humbucker" pickup used two coils, side by side!. one primary coil, and a secondary coil!. The current goes through both coils at the same
time (parralell), but the current goes through the secondary coil in the
opposite direction (out-of-phase)!. also, the magnetic poles are
reversed in the secondary coil!. This results in a reversed induction
field in the secondary, which cancells-out the induction in the primary
coil, and the "hum" is almost eliminated (or, at least reduced to an
acceptable level)!. Everyone started making Humbuckers when
Gibson's patent expired!. Humbucker and single coils tend to have
a big difference in sound!. Humbuckers tend to have a darker,
thicker sound than single coil pickups!. Many players wanted the
single-coil sound, but without the noise!. DiMarzio came up with
"stacked coils", a Humbucker, but with the coils one on top of the
other -instead of side by side!. These would fit into the pickup
cavities of most "Strat"-like guitars, and do a good job of preserving
the single-coil sound -but not exactly - as the coils had to be made
smaller so the pickup would not be too tall for the cavity!.
The good news is some very clever people have re-thought the
pickup and there is now a wide selection which sound (and look)
almost identical to vintage, single-coils, but are virtually
noise-free!. The "Lace Sensor" (marketed by Fender) is a good
example!. And there are many others!.
It is extremely difficult to evaluate the performance of a pickup
alone, because "it's" sound is almost impossible to isolate!.
What you hear, is a combination of the pickups, the guitar,
the strings,
and the amp you're currently playing through!.
As well as the player's individual technic, and your own hearing
characteristics, combined with your listening enviroment!.
And then (of course), the matter of personal tastes!.
So, Which is best!.!.!.!?
!.!.!.It's completely up to you!.
Let your ears be your guide!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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A humbucker is type of pickup!.It is called that because it can 'buck the hum' you get with cheaper single coil pickups common on many guitars!.

There are a great deal of pickups available!. You will need to find one that will fit in your guitar!. It will require the removal of the old pickup and some wiring and I recommend you have an experienced pro do the work for you!.

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