Which two single coils for a HB rout

[Guitarist]

I tend to dislike (this sounds cranky doesn't it) split coil humbuckers as they never sound as good as a dedicated single coil. This hit home now that I've finally bought a Highway 1 tele. Maybe I've been grounding the weak one in the past ;]

Besides the Micro Coil Bill Lawrence tele pups that are due in the next month, what would work to fit next to one of these in a neck position double rout? Maybe a hot tele pup and a vintage? A woody Strat option? Less noise the better.

Any cool switching ideas?
on/on/on...

[Mark Hammer]

Check out the Seymour Duncan P-Rails pickup. It may just fit your bill......and route.

[Guitarist]

Ahh, that is what I may have to get. Sounds perfect I was planning on getting an extra Bill Lawrence tele but...hmmm....

These PUPS demos are always a little lacking somehow; self produced.

Thanks very much.

[David Schwab]

Spitting a humbucker wont sound like a Strat because it's the wrong size coil and the wrong number of turns on the coil, and the wrong magnet structure.

I've always wired them up for series/parallel instead. You get a nice bright tone with no hum.

You can put two single coils, if you could fit them, but together they wont sound like a humbucker either.

PRS get's around that by having the coils tappable to a lower winding when used as a humbucker, and higher when used as a single coil.

Another pickup to check out is Duncan's Stag Mag

It uses alnico rod magnets like two single coils.

He says:

The Stag Mag uses the same type of magnets as a vintage singe coil. Each coil is as powerful as a single-coil. When the pickup is split (sometimes called "tapped") such that only one coil is used, the sound is bright and glassy, like a vintage Strat® pickup. In full output, humbucking mode, the tone is rich and full with a bright high-end. Comes with four-conductor hookup cable.