Single coil
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A 'single coil' or 'single-coil' is a type of pickup for the electric guitar. As its name indicates, it is composed of wire wrapped in a single coil around magnets.
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The single coil is the simplest form of the pickup; single-coils for the guitar have six poles, one for each string. The traditional single coil design is the one found in guitars such as the Stratocaster. Because Fender mainly uses single-coils, they have come to be associated with Fender, similar to the humbucker's association with Gibson.
The classic single-coil tone is crispy, bright, and clear, as opposed to the "fatter", darker sound of a humbucker. Classic examples of single-coil "twang" include "House of the Rising Sun", "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and the solo to "Stairway to Heaven".
Single coils have the tendency to produce more feedback and noise than humbuckers. This capability has been used to great effect by guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix.
See also