# Stacked Singles?



## Editor (May 1, 2009)

I just picked up a Squier Tele and want to replace the single coil pups with a couple of stacked jobs. (I'm tired of facing Mecca to get away from the hum ;-)

The bridge pup is a standard size but the neck is a lipstick style (chrome cover). Does anyone know of a stacked coil replacement for that? If not, it's no big deal -- I'll do some routing & pick guard work.

Also, how much tone change can I expect going with the stacked coil as compared to the straight singles? Will it still sound like a Fender?

Also, also ... can you recommend a good place to purchase these items? (Canadian would be great but I guess the U.S. is OK too since the dollar's strong right now)


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

I've got one of these installed in my SX STL-Ash, neck only.

GFS Neovin Pickups


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Stacked coils do not always sound identical to their single-coil kin. Although in the case of a Tele neck pickup, particularly if you wish to retain cosmetic features (which means that tone-sucking chrome cover), those differences may well be inconsequential.

I was actually going to suggest one of those GFS pickups too. The pickups themselves may not be stellar, but will be at least as good as what you currently have, only quieter, and priced such that you don't mind taking a chance.

Dummy coils are another option. I once made a dummy coil for a buddy's older Tele and stuffed it in the control cavity. It didn't make the guitar dead quiet, but was surprisingly effective in reducing hum to a more tolerable level.

If you are willing to opt for a Strat-sized form-factor, there are a lot more choices available to you in the way of noise-cancelling pickups that use polepieces or rails, stacked or side-by-side. With rails, of course, there is no concern about string/polepiece alignment. Opinions vary as to whether the polepiece spacing differences of Strat vs Tele PUs make a difference with respect to string volume balance (Strat polepieces are juuuuuuuussst a bit more spread out than a Tele neck PU). I think it depends on what gauge you like to use and how you play. Lots of bending of thinner strings may make the non-alignment of your high E polepiece from a Strat-style neck PU an issue.


----------



## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I use a stacked Seymour Duncan BG-1400 pickup in my CV Tele and it's fantastic. It's also quite expensive ($200 after shipping and exchange a couple years back), so you might want to look at other options, like the GFS. But, primarily, the thing to note is that, yes, you absolutely can get authentic Tele sounds out of a stacked single. The important thing here is that you need to wire the pickup so the coils are parallel with one another, not series (which is the default way to wire up stacked/humbucking pickups).

In series mode, the pickups will have more output and a darker sound, which isn't what you want. In parallel, they will have less output, but also be brighter sounding and more open and airy. My BG1400 is an absolute fire-breather of a pickup in series mode, but in parallel, it has all the snap and twang that you'd expect from the bridge pickup of a Tele. In series mode, it sounds very much like a Les Paul, but there's a night and day difference between my Les Paul and my CV with the BG1400 wired up in parallel.

While you're at it, you can install a switch to go from series to parallel to give you a more versatile guitar. I have a LP with both pickups wired this way and I can totally get by with one guitar in 35-40 song night and still have a bunch of different tones at my fingertips.

edit - I forgot to mention that the pickup will still be hum-cancelling in parallel mode, which was the point of my post


----------



## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


----------



## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

You live in Thunder Bay...???...I'm not sure of the "science" behind it...but basically you are too far North...you have to move to the Equator to enjoy hum-free single coil equipped guitars...This has to do with the earth's magnetic fields...get packing...


----------



## DarthElvis (Feb 14, 2011)

2 words. Dimarzio Areas. Put a set in my Strat, 2 58's and a '61, and its 98% there as far as "real" strat SC tone is concerned (quack and all). I figure the other 2% is hum, so it's a win to me. The hum, to me, is equivalent to fingernails on a chalkboard.

They make Area-T's (for the Tele of course) as well, but I have no experience with those (but get the same great reviews), so *YMMV*. But if they are as good as their Strat sets at getting very, very close to the single sound, they will be great.


----------



## starjag (Jan 30, 2008)

My friend greco just installed a duncan vintage stacked in the neck and a little 59 in the bridge of his Tele. Nice, versatile, non-twangy pickups.


----------



## Lil'Demon (May 3, 2011)

There are many stacked singles that sound very authentic. As for dummy coils, make sure your dummy coil closely matches the resistance (output) of the pickup you are using. Otherwise a mismatch will result in some hum, depending on how great the discrepancy is.


----------



## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


----------



## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

You could try Lace Sensor's.



Dead quiet and a great Strat tone too.

Gives you a true single coil, hum free.


----------



## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Here are some suggestions.

Dimarzio Chopper T
Dragonfire Dual Rail (12 k ohms) , splits down to 6k ohms very well with a push/ push pot.
Seymour Duncan Duckbuckers
Dimarzio Fast Track T
Bill Lawrence L250
Seymour Duncan Little Pearly Gates.


----------



## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Don't forget the other variables such as distance from pickup to the strings, the strings themselves...a proper setup can open up a different sound to an electric guitar.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Would anyone care to comment on the effectiveness of copper, special paint or other shielding materials?

I've started shielding my guitars as I build them, but I don't play in noisy environments or gig at all, so I can't really speak to how much impact that has.

I would say, at least it doesn't have any adverse effect.


----------



## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Milkman said:


> Would anyone care to comment on the effectiveness of copper, special paint or other shielding materials?
> 
> I've started shielding my guitars as I build them, but I don't play in noisy environments or gig at all, so I can't really speak to how much impact that has.
> 
> I would say, at least it doesn't have any adverse effect.


I once had a parts tele with shielding paint, a specialized pickguard _and_ noise-cancelling pickups (DiMarzio). It was dead quiet if I stopped playing-- as if I had rolled the volume off. No hum and no RF interference whatsoever.

Before that, I had Texas Specials in there with the same shielding. I think it did eliminate the RF interference, but it was hard to tell with all that 60 cycle hum.

RF interference isn't the worst where I live, but it's noticable. Even some of my humbuckers pick up noise on occasion. I've tested this with battery powered amps too.


----------

