# Metal players who use single-coils?



## Rylynn (Mar 17, 2014)

Just curious (i'm a fan of single-coils though)...


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## Ralyks (Mar 17, 2014)

Maiden... right?


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## cwhitey2 (Mar 17, 2014)

Winds of Plague? I'm not 100% though


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## asher (Mar 17, 2014)

Gojira


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## shanejohnson02 (Mar 17, 2014)

Per Nilsson (now that his signature model is an H/S config).

On a related but slightly OT note: One of my all-time FAVORITE metal pickups is a Dimario Fast Track 2, which is a single-size humbucker. I had one in the bridge of an RT650 that I set up with an S/S/S pickguard. Holy crap, it was insane. High output, rich, defined, and stayed tight on even the lowest tunings.


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## Don Vito (Mar 17, 2014)




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## troyguitar (Mar 17, 2014)

Ralyks said:


> Maiden... right?



They mostly use Super Distortion humbuckers in the bridge positions of their strats.

Wintersun is the main example I know of a heavy band using single coils for distorted rhythm work.


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## JohnIce (Mar 17, 2014)

The Gazette use afaik only singles and p-90's and tune down to C or B most of the time. With Überschalls no less, sounds beastly


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## Rosal76 (Mar 17, 2014)

Kirk Hammett from Metallica owns a few strats from ESP and Fender that have only single coil pickups. 

Obituary guitarist, Trevor Peres uses Fender guitars with single coils but they also have bridge humbuckers.


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## TIMEwaveXERO (Mar 17, 2014)

Yngwie


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 17, 2014)

Ralyks said:


> Maiden... right?



Pretty sure they use SC-sized humbuckers.

And while not the most metal band out there, Ty Tabor uses single coils. Usually switched between HB and SC.

First SOAD album was done with both an Ibby Iceman and SC-loaded Mexi Strat, I believe.

Devin Townsend used to use a SC-loaded Strat.

Some of the early Prong stuff was done with a Charvel Surfcaster. I know it had lipstick pickups in the neck and middle, but I'm unsure about the bridge.


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## xMaNgOxKusHx (Mar 17, 2014)

Doesn't Sithu Aye use single coils or at least did at some point?


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## GSingleton (Mar 17, 2014)

me


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## C2Aye (Mar 17, 2014)

xMaNgOxKusHx said:


> Doesn't Sithu Aye use single coils or at least did at some point?



Yup, all my 6 string stuff is done with single coils.


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## isispelican (Mar 17, 2014)

Tosin Abasi, David Maxim Mimic


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## Mprinsje (Mar 17, 2014)

JohnIce said:


> The Gazette use afaik only singles and p-90's and tune down to C or B most of the time. With Überschalls no less, sounds beastly



they only did on stacked rubbish. If you see their sigs now it's humbucker bonanza (or a single-sized humbuckers).


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## BornToLooze (Mar 17, 2014)

Mprinsje said:


> they only did on stacked rubbish. If you see their sigs now it's humbucker bonanza (or a single-sized humbuckers).



Last I saw Aoi's had a Lace sc and a stacked SD sc with some kind of weird wiring and Uruha was using Phat Cats.

And in the video for one of the new Galneryus songs Syu was using Phat Cats.

And I've seen plenty of cover videos on youtube of people using single coils for metal if that counts.


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## kamello (Mar 17, 2014)

not exactly metal, but the dudes from Lostprophets got pretty heavy tones out of P-90 and single coils in their album ''start something''


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## JosephAOI (Mar 18, 2014)

Does this count?


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## RevelGTR (Mar 18, 2014)

Opeth on Heritage.


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## InfinityCollision (Mar 18, 2014)

isispelican said:


> Tosin Abasi, David Maxim Mimic



I don't know about the latter guy, but does Tosin ever actually use the bridge or neck pickup split on its own? The TAM models do have a middle single coil, but they're not wired in a way that allows using it alone.


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## rastachild (Mar 18, 2014)

not exactly full on metal, but paul gilbert, specifically on the fuzz universe cd. that first tune is pretty metal sounding and is all single coils


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## Jacksonluvr636 (Mar 18, 2014)

John Lavassuer. The (greatest IMO) Cryptospy guitarist uses a single coil and gets pretty sick tones.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 18, 2014)

Jon uses an EMG humbucker in the bridge of his strat, doesn't he?


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## akinari (Mar 18, 2014)

While not a straight-up metal guitarist, Dylan Carlson said the new Earth album is apparently just as heavy as "Earth 2" and was cut, to the best of my knowledge, with an SG and Explorer that both have Dimarzio tele pups in the bridge 

I know the guys from Pallbearer have used telecasters, but I don't remember if they had SCs or not. John 5 also plays teles.

Matsubara from Gridlink used a strat with Lace Holy Grails for a bunch of guitar parts on their newest LP.

I seem to recall Ryan from Unearthly Trance using an SG with a p90 in the bridge a long time ago, but he has certainly used humbuckers too.


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## Der JD (Mar 18, 2014)

Based on the answers thus far, I would have thought the thread title was "metal players who use single-coil _sized_ pickups."

BIG difference in tone between a stacked humbucker in single-coil size vs. a true single coil. 

True single coils sound like arse IMO with high gain. Ratty, jangly, harsh, and noisy.


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## Don Vito (Mar 18, 2014)

That Wintersun song I posted was done with tr00 single coils, and it sounds great.


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## SpaceDock (Mar 18, 2014)

I've been using a Duncan 60s Antiquity in a tele lately, no hum or buzz. Sounds awesome, great harmonics, tight low end. 

I think like all other guitar related toanz, it's in the hands. Gear only does so much. I've AB the single coil with EMG's and a Nazgul, the single just makes me work harder for the same sound.


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## Jacksonluvr636 (Mar 18, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Jon uses an EMG humbucker in the bridge of his strat, doesn't he?



I never researched until just now. A lot of more recent videos I see, he does in fact have a Humbucker.

I did see them live back in the Whisper Supremacy days and I'm pretty certain he was using a single coil. That's where my basis was from.

I'm unsure what he's recorded with but the live tone was great that night.


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## Nile (Mar 18, 2014)

The one guitarist (forgot name) from Sabaton uses single coil Fender strats.


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## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 18, 2014)

Since P90s technically ARE single coils, they do count. 

In which case, Bill Steer used a Les Paul Junior on some of the Carcass reunion shows:






He used the Junior on lot of the leads on Surgical Steel as well.




Mprinsje said:


> they only did on stacked rubbish. If you see their sigs now it's humbucker bonanza (or a single-sized humbuckers).


 
Yeah, Uruha doesn't use Phat Cats as often anymore. He was actually going through a ton of different pickups like the JB, Evo, Breed before settling on the Custom 5. 

Aoi still uses the singles, though with the weird paring with rail pickups that I so badly want to replicate on an RG one day... 



BornToLooze said:


> And in the video for one of the new Galneryus songs Syu was using Phat Cats.


 
That was the Angel Of Salvation PV. That was only on his Crying Star Classic. There's a recent pic of Syu on a clinic where he even ditched the neck pickup on that guitar. Otherwise, Syu's main sound is a JB. 



rastachild said:


> not exactly full on metal, but paul gilbert, specifically on the fuzz universe cd. that first tune is pretty metal sounding and is all single coils


 
Also count the last Mr Big album where Paul's tone is huge.


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## blaaargh (Mar 18, 2014)

pretty sure Agalloch uses single coils for some of the clean tones on The Mantle.


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## GRUNTKOR (Mar 19, 2014)

WSchaferJR said:


> Opeth on Heritage.



Opeth used Strats for cleans going back to the '90s but I expect the OP is looking for them used with distortion so Heritage is probably about the only one but that's not exactly a 'metal' record... However here is a live vid with single coil Strats!
Opeth - Forest of October - Milwaukee Metalfest 2000 - YouTube


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## Skyblue (Mar 19, 2014)

Devin Townsend used to, if judging from this video:


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