Jumbo Sunshade, Blogpost - Taylor Classic SC Solidbody Electric Guitar

Jumbo Sunshade - Blogpost

Hand's Off! Review
Taylor Classic SC (Single Coil) Solidbody Electric Guitar
page 3 of 5

        THE PICKUPSThe pickups are another thing that needs some explaining. 
        This guitar is called a Taylor Classic SC. The "SC" stands for Single 
        Coil, but each pickup employs the use of two coils. 
        David Hosler and Brian Swerdfeger are responsible for both the design of 
        these pickups, and for the hype surrounding them.

 

        
            Taylor can deny all day 
            long that these are humbucking pickups, but that is in fact what 
            they are.Two coils, reverse wound with reverse polarity and 
            connected in series equals common-mode rejection.  With 
            this design you achieve higher output and rejection of hum.
If Taylor says that these aren't

stacked pickups then i'll take them at their word (because i 
        don't have one that i can open up and look at); but to claim that they 
        aren't humbuckers is just factually incorrect.I'd be interested in finding out if these 
        are 2 or 4-conductor pickups.  Also, i'd like to know if they've 
        reversed the middle pickup, which is what you'd have with actual single 
        coils to help cancel hum in the 2nd and 4th switch positions.
Taylor says that these pickups utilize a "new type of magnet".  
        NdFeB (sintered neodymium) has been around since the 80's so they must 
        be referring to a specific way in which they're using the 
        magnets.  [Q-Tuner 
        claims to have been the first to use neodymium magnets in their guitar 
        and bass pickups.]

 

        One thing that is totally knit-picking is that i dislike the size 
        of these pickups.  It was probably a design decision based on the 
        short scale and body size.  Of course i know that it's a compromise 
        because either the angled bridge pickup will be too small or the 
        perpendicular middle and neck pickups will be too big.As a 
        consumer though my own personal opinion is that these ever-so-slightly 
        smaller pickups enhance the toy-like appearance of the Classic SC.
SWITCHING
The five-way switch does exactly what you'd think it'd do:

        1. bridge only

        2. bridge + middle

        3. middle only

        4. middle + neck

        5. neck only
previous (3) 
        next