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Buying a New Electric Guitar
The humbucking pickup revolutionized rock music in the twentieth
century! Without the humbucker, there would be no Gibson Les Paul
(Jimmy Page) or Gibson SG (Pete Townsend)...I can't imagine!!
What is a humbucker?
When two single-coil pickups are wired together in series, you
get a more powerful, warmer, noiseless pickup called a humbucker.
It got it's name from bucking, or canceling out the hum of a single-coil
pickup.
Guitars with humbuckers
Since the late 1950's, humbucking pickups have been giving electric
guitars a bigger, broader tone. Let's look at a few manufacturers
that have put the humbucker to use.
- Gibson - In 1955, Gibson's Seth Lover applied for a patent
on the very first humbucking pickup. Initially, the humbucker
was installed on hollow body, solid body, and thin line electrics.
Guitars like the Les Paul solid body and the ES-175 (electric
hollow body) were equipped with these humbuckers. Chuck Berry
used this ES-175, Jimmy Page used the Les Paul.
**Check out our Chuck
Berry and Jimmy
Page Lessons)**
- Gretsch - The late 50's Gretsch guitars also were built
with their own version of the humbucking pickup. They were DeArmond
pickups and they sounded different from the Gibson pickup, but
retained the big, full sound.
- Guild - This company made some really nice electrics
with humbuckers. The Duane Eddy model, The Starfire line, and
the Guild solidbody guitars were rivals to Gibson humbucking models.
- Fender - Fender finally came out with a Stratocaster
with a humbucker in the bridge position by the 1980's. This is
a great option for guitar players who play many different styles
of music. The single coils, humbucker, and five-position switch
make for a very versatile electric guitar.
Stay tuned for our third article on Buying a
Guitar!
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