Humbucker pickups

Visit humbucker pickups

humbucker pickups are double-coil pickups patented by Seth Lover, who developed the "PAF" in 1955. His aim was to eliminate the "hum" of single-coil mics. At the same time, Ray Butt, then at Gretsch, was developing the Filtertron, another type of double coil.
The two side-by-side coils circulate electrons in one direction around one coil, and in the other direction around the other coil. Similarly, the magnet beneath the two coils gives polarity to both windings. The screws on coil 1 face south, while the poles on coil 2 face north. This reversal of polarity and direction of rotation has the effect of suppressing background noise.

Multiple models

Since the first two models, Gibson's PAF and Gretsch's Filtertron , humbucker pickup has come a long way. Today, there are many variants of the double-coil pickup, from the most subtle jazz to the most violent metal. There are also models for multiscale guitars and for 6-, 7- and 8-string guitars.