How is the Suhr BPSSC working?

[Alan0354]

I hear an extremely small difference on some settings, such as the bridge soloed clean. It's such a small difference that you wouldn't notice it when playing with a band. Also, its mostly a slight reduction on the extreme high end, and that can be fixed at the amp. It's apples and oranges. It's not like one tone is right or wrong.

I like the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups. They sound like single coils without hum.

But it's like what I say about hum canceling Jazzbass pickups. They do sound like single coils, but people get into their heads that a single coil has a singular tone. But they don't. A single coil, even of the same type, can sound all kinds of ways. I also don't get why people want their guitar to sound like everyone else's. So if your Strat doesn't sound like some other Strat, who cares? As long as it sounds like you, that's what counts.

I have not check this for a long time. But usually the difference is less distinct in the recording compare to when you are actually sitting there and play. If you can hear the difference in the recording, it would be a lot more obvious if you are playing.

I have 3 Dimarzio stacked pup, I don't think they sound single coil. It just miss the glassiness. Dimarzio dis something similar, the bottom coil is about 1Kohm only likely because the wire is thicker so there is much less turn and lower inductance.

[dai h.]

demo sounds different between the positions, but strikes me as something that would be useful to have on a switch (if someone just didn't find it acceptable) to activate the hum cancelling if in a situation where the player is unavoidably close to a noise source/s (rock band situation might not matter since it seems that guitar players can become conditioned to be oblivious to hum as "normal", but studio, stage, musical or whatever it might). And David's point(IIRC) about tone control compensation might be important in that the demo (or a demo) may be incomplete without at least some attempt to attain the same "off position" sound by tweaking treble, presence, etc. controls.

[madzub]

I built two of these myself, the first one a bit larger than the bpssc and the second one even larger, the size of the strat body minus the horns, with fewer turns. I really don't think there was any change in tone quality, and i did a lot of comparing with it on and off. All the high end of the single coils was there, all the air and subtlety, with less noise; it was definitely not noiseless, but the noise was greatly reduced, just like in the video. It helped a lot.

I wonder if perhaps there is a bit of intermodulation distortion happening between the 60Hz hum and its harmonics and the notes played. Perhaps this produces a certain subtle dimension to the sound that we've come to expect of single coils that is minimized when cutting the hum. hmmmmm....

Directionality was definitely an issue too. The first one i built i put on the backside of the strat, and the second one i put on the top so that it would be on the same plane as the pickup. I think it helped a bit, but not as much as i'd hoped.

[Alan0354]

I built two of these myself, the first one a bit larger than the bpssc and the second one even larger, the size of the strat body minus the horns, with fewer turns. I really don't think there was any change in tone quality, and i did a lot of comparing with it on and off. All the high end of the single coils was there, all the air and subtlety, with less noise; it was definitely not noiseless, but the noise was greatly reduced, just like in the video. It helped a lot.

I wonder if perhaps there is a bit of intermodulation distortion happening between the 60Hz hum and its harmonics and the notes played. Perhaps this produces a certain subtle dimension to the sound that we've come to expect of single coils that is minimized when cutting the hum. hmmmmm....

Directionality was definitely an issue too. The first one i built i put on the backside of the strat, and the second one i put on the top so that it would be on the same plane as the pickup. I think it helped a bit, but not as much as i'd hoped.

The 60Hz or 120Hz are the easiest to get rid, it's the buzzing that is the killer.

[Joe Gwinn]

The 60Hz or 120Hz are the easiest to get rid, it's the buzzing that is the killer.

You also need to electrostatically shield everything (including pickup and humbucking coil), and to ground the strings, magnet poles, and pickguard controls.

Coating the cavity surfaces with MG shielding paint is the quickest approach to shielding.

[Mike Sulzer]

You also need to electrostatically shield everything (including pickup and humbucking coil), and to ground the strings, magnet poles, and pickguard controls.

Coating the cavity surfaces with MG shielding paint is the quickest approach to shielding.

The low impedance humbucking coil is quite insensitive to electric fields compared compared to the pickup.

[Alan0354]

You also need to electrostatically shield everything (including pickup and humbucking coil), and to ground the strings, magnet poles, and pickguard controls.

Coating the cavity surfaces with MG shielding paint is the quickest approach to shielding.

Hate to tell you, I have yet to find shielding with aluminum or copper foil help in noise reduction. It is all about magnetic noise that cannot be shielded by ground cage. this is all magnetic induction.

[jmaf]

Hate to tell you, I have yet to find shielding with aluminum or copper foil help in noise reduction. It is all about magnetic noise that cannot be shielded by ground cage. this is all magnetic induction.

Magnetic induction can be shielded by a ferrous metal with high reluctance. Tube amps chassis are an example.

[Mike Sulzer]

Magnetic induction can be shielded by a ferrous metal with high reluctance. Tube amps chassis are an example.

But the purpose of the pickup is too be sensitive to magnetic fields, but only those from the vibrating string. Hence cancellation.

[jmaf]

But the purpose of the pickup is too be sensitive to magnetic fields, but only those from the vibrating string. Hence cancellation.

Right. ( I assume he isn't going to shield the space between coils and strings )

BTW having said that, I've never seen a guitar or any guitar pickup with magnetic shielding, the conductive paint and aluminum foil are for electromagnetic interference AFAIK, there isn't a single guitar that I know that will not pick up monstrous amounts of hum from a nearby transformer.

[Mike Sulzer]

Right. ( I assume he isn't going to shield the space between coils and strings )

BTW having said that, I've never seen a guitar or any guitar pickup with magnetic shielding, the conductive paint and aluminum foil are for electromagnetic interference AFAIK, there isn't a single guitar that I know that will not pick up monstrous amounts of hum from a nearby transformer.

But a carefully designed and constructed humbucker picks up very little. This is why you do not make the coils different and accept reduced hum rejection.

[Joe Gwinn]

The low impedance humbucking coil is quite insensitive to electric fields compared compared to the pickup.

Depends on where in the circuit the bucking coil is installed.

[Steve Conner]

Yes, if you connected it in series with the pickup's hot output lead, you would be in for a surprise.

As far as magnetic shielding of pickups is concerned, it seems to me that it would be pretty difficult to shield external magnetic fields without also shielding the wanted field from the magnetised string, since that is external to the pickup too. Hence as Mike says, pickups use magnetic field cancellation, not shielding.

Unless maybe the ashtray thing fitted to old Teles and P basses was intended as a magnetic shield for the bridge pickup, I don't know.

EM shielding is a complicated subject that can catch out even experienced people. I remember the tale of the optical bass pickup that blew all the woofers out when someone took a flash photograph.

[Mike Sulzer]

Yes, if you connected it in series with the pickup's hot output lead, you would be in for a surprise.

Of course the pickup and the dummy coil might argue about who is responsible. The hum voltage is developed across the pickup, but the large current that flows is from the large dummy.

[Alan0354]

Right. ( I assume he isn't going to shield the space between coils and strings )

BTW having said that, I've never seen a guitar or any guitar pickup with magnetic shielding, the conductive paint and aluminum foil are for electromagnetic interference AFAIK, there isn't a single guitar that I know that will not pick up monstrous amounts of hum from a nearby transformer.

Yes a ferromagnetic material will shield the magnetic noise. but you can't shield the top and that's where noise comes in. I think Lace has this covered. They have steel or iron bracket around all sides except the top. But that change the sound also.