- #Rare earth pickup single coil vs humbucker install
- #Rare earth pickup single coil vs humbucker plus
Two things caught my attention immediately. I tried the single coil first, plugging it directly into a Fishman Loudbox Mini amp. The Neo-Buster installed even more quickly, just sliding into place in the soundhole.
#Rare earth pickup single coil vs humbucker install
Using a Phillips-head screwdriver, I was able to install the two standard Neo-Ds in a minute or two, and on my Taylor, I didn’t even have to loosen the strings. This allows for simple plug-and-play operation, though of course a more permanent installation with an endpin jack in the guitar is also an option. All three Neo-Ds include a nine foot long cable with a standard ¼-inch plug. Instead, it simply snaps into the soundhole by way of friction fit. The Neo-Buster version of the humbucker is integrated into a rubber soundhole cover, so it doesn’t have the clamping mechanism found in the other models. The humbucker uses a stacked-coil arrangement, but the pickup dimensions are identical to the single coil version. At about ⅞ of an inch wide, the pickups are larger than their Rare Earth cousins, and due to their passive design, they have an onboard battery. The two standard Neo-D pickups are similar to Fishman’s Rare Earth models in that there are no visible pole pieces, and they use the same machine-screw operated clamping mechanism with cork pads to protect the soundhole edge.
The single coil is available in black or with a woodgrain enclosure, and the humbucker can be had as a standard clamp-in pickup or the Neo-Buster, which integrates the pickup into a feedback-buster soundhole cover. Neo-D pickups have been available for several years, and are currently offered in single coil and humbucking versions.
Developed as a less expensive solution, Fishman’s Neo-D pickups use similar neodymium magnets as the Rare Earth pickups, but with a simpler passive design. However, getting ultimate performance in such a small soundhole pickup has its price, so Rare Earth pickups are on the costlier end of the spectrum of acoustic pickups (check out our demos of the Rare Earth Mic Blend and Rare Earth PowerTap, and watch for an overview of the line coming soon). Immediately embraced by guitarists in virtually any playing style, the Rare Earth design impressed with great sound, small size, and clever integration of onboard preamps. And in '68 he started using a D-18 as well.Īnyway, history aside, what guitar do you have and what kinds of sounds do you want to get and what's your budget? These are all more important than chasing a 50 year old bad design.īTW, I use a Southern Jumbo with a Baggs Dual Source, which gives me the Beatle/Stones/Zep acoustic sounds I love without the headache of the J-160E.When Fishman introduced its Rare Earth soundhole pickups in the late 1990s, they were among a small handful of options for players who wanted a professional-grade pickup based on a magnetic design. After about '65 he rarely used the pickup, using mics instead. Lennon tried two positions closer to the bridge, but gave up and moved it back to the stock position. The P-90 was mounted at the end of the fretboard stock. The J-160E has the same wiring as a Les Paul Jr.
#Rare earth pickup single coil vs humbucker plus
Gibson still makes the J-160E just because people are nuts about the Beatles, but the Beatles sounded good despite their using J-160Es (plywood tops and too-stiff bracing plus P-90s make for a pretty bad sounding guitar). I wouldn't advise putting a P-90 in an acoustic that doesn't come with one from the factory. There are a lot of nice soundhole pickups that work with bronze strings. It sounds different from a Strat pickup which sounds different from a Tele which sounds different from a Jazzmaster, etc. A P-90 is just Gibson's traditional single coil.