[size=150]Pickups play a large part in the sound of an instrument. Different genres of music use different pickups. For example, as I've mentioned before on the "Fender vs. Gibson" thread, The Pillows changed their pickups when changing genres and that's partly why their sound changes. So, I was just wondering, what kind of pickups do you use/prefer: humbuckers or single coils? And, do you like them active or passive?[/size]

[b]Single Coil[/b] - Copper wire wound around one magnet; usually sounds thin, transparent, and/or light.
[img]http://www.stevesmusiccenter.com/DimarzioDP170Big.jpg[/img]

[b]Humbucker[/b] - Two single coils right next to eachother. Reverse magnetic poles cancel out the hum/interference that single coil pickups pickup and also has higher output; usually sounds round, heavy, and/or thick.

[img]http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/regular/5/2/7/395527.jpg[/img]

[b]Active[/b] - Battery input in guitar to allow higher output.
[b]Passive[/b] - No Battery input allow moderate output.

Considering how uncommon active pickups are in guitars, the debate of "active vs. passive" is pretty pointless.

However, I do like this thread. Let's talk about our pups!
1) The pickups in my Jazzmaster aren't very hot at all - they're not supposed to be. That means distortion gets a little messy, pinch harmonics don't work very well, and as for its ability to give a thick distorted "chug"..it leaves some things to be desired. However, I'm not even thinking of swapping these pickups out simply because of how good it sounds clean. With some reverb and a good set up (which I've yet to get to), it can sound really brilliant and smooth.
2) The bridge pickups in my Tele is a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails. It's a super hot single-coil sized humbucker and it does exactly what it's supposed to do, despite me sucking at wiring (of of two attempts, my middle setting is super nasally and useless). However, this comes at the cost of my clean sounds. The whole thing comes off as a bit too bold, without real nuance to it. That's when I switch to the stock bridge pick up.

Thoughts for the future, for my Tele pickups.
1) TEXAS SPECIALS, PERHAPS? On one hand, I really just want to sound like Mukai. If this requires Texas Specials, some new American Tele electronics, handing my guitar over to a tech, saying "MAKE IT WORK", and then purchasing some Maxon Overdrive/Distortion...So be it.
or
2) Lace Sensors. Having a Silver Lace Sensor in the bridge would lighten things up a bit, I think. Also...does anyone have the slightest clue if Lace Sensors fit in the bridge slots of Teles? They should, but...I'm not sure.

Anyway, yeah. CONTINUE DISCUSSION ABOUT PICKUPS.

I use high output, ceramic magnet humbuckers, with series/parallel and phase switching. The magnet type and output level of a pickup are just as important as whether it is a single coil or a humbucker.

Toughie, I love p90s so I'd probably go with single-coils but I'm usually one for having a varied set-up for lots of tonal options. It's a real tough call for me.

EDIT: I'm sure they have Lace Sensors that are specifically sized for tele bridges. Anyways I'd look at either the Silver, Gold, or Emerald (it's apparently a more Texas Special styled one) Lace Sensors.

I have and love both types of pickups, but I slightly more prefer single coils because they give such an awesome sexy clean tone on the neck position.

I like single coils because I feel they're so much more expressive.

If you play harder, you can hear the difference...

LOLz, gaiz, the TROO tone comes frum da amps and fx...

I don't really prefer SC's over HB's...I'll take either. But never active. Passive is the only way to go as far as I'm conserved. I don't really like hot pickups.

The light blue lace sensors are amazing. That's the sound I like. As for HB's...SD '59 is good.
P0's are nice too though...

HSS configuration is always my favorite since I can mix and match. Maybe tap the HB in the bridge....

[quote="MyFoot"]LOLz, gaiz, the TROO tone comes frum da amps and fx...[/quote]

BUT I WANTZ MY TONE NAO!
Besides my MG/Spider plays the br00talz like wow.

Passive single coils all the way- particularly of the Tele and Jazzmaster varieties. My Tele has fairly low output pickups but it can really scream if you crank it. I like the open, expressive cleans you get from single coils; the closest I can get to that in a humbucker equipped guitar is probably an ES-335 or similar. Overdriven/distorted single-coil guitars sound a lot more unrefined when pushed, but that's how I like it.

I really hate high output humbuckers. I don't play metal or music with a whole lot of distortion, so they alway sound muddy and congested to me. You can make any guitar sound evil if you run it through the right amp and pedals but you'll never get a high-output guitar to sound anywhere near as nice clean as a lower-output or single-coil pickup'd guitar.

Of course the best of both worlds is the P-90 pickup - they sound like heaven clean, and scream like crazy when you distort 'em. If I had a Jazzmaster I'd probably drop some Curtis Novak Jazz-shaped P-90s into that sucker.

Two falsehoods:

1) Low-output single coil pickups can do anything.

2) High-output humbuckers are highly specialized (to "sounding evil," apparently), and can't do anything else.

Thing is, and this is all subjective, the single-coil can get really nice clean sounds [i]and[/i] nice distortion if you use the distortion effect on an amp or pedal. However, natural distortion resulting from over powering the amp is quite a challenge when it comes to single coils.

Humbuckers on the other hand, can have some awesome natural distortion from overpowering the circuit, but it just can't get a dirt free clean tone, especially when active. (There are exceptions) Distortion from the amp on the other hand sounds more solid than do single coils which is not the best for lead since it doesn't pierce through as well but is just all around better (when it comes to distortion).

That's why P-90's are the best of both worlds... <----all subjective

fun fact: humbuckers are named humbuckers because they were designed to "buck" the hum that normal pickups at the time had from being overly sensitive or something like that.

i learned it when working on a paper for school and promptly forgot most everything about teh topic

[quote="ThinlineTele"]Of course the best of both worlds is the P-90 pickup - they sound like heaven clean, and scream like crazy when you distort 'em. If I had a Jazzmaster I'd probably drop some Curtis Novak Jazz-shaped P-90s into that sucker. [/quote]

I dunno if you have a guitar with P-90s in it, but I'll speak from experience.
My Jazzmaster has the stock American P-90s, and it does everything but "scream." Granted, it does need to be set up better, but these things really aren't that versatile. Heavy distortion can sound alright, although things tend to get quite messy. Pinch harmonics are possible, but there are so many better options if you're gonna pull techniques like that. The Hot Rails in my Tele sounds raw, sharp, and fierce. The P-90s sound...average, and a little bit dull at times when it comes to distortion.

It more than balances for this with its great clean tones...but there's a reason when guitarists want their guitars to "scream like crazy," they choose Les Pauls and Ibanez models. If your guitar has P-90s it it, it was never meant for the heavy shit. Of course, companies like Seymour Duncan make hotter P-90s to do what you're talking about more effectively...but when you're talking about the tried-and-true regular P-90 for solid distortion...there are simply many better options.

And before you bring up Sonic Youth, their whole angle for distortion and overdrive is really...different. So...that's a special case.

Tabuchi makes hers scream.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Tabuchi makes hers scream. [/quote]

And is also the best at doing it.