Why Coil Splitting Doesn’t Get There

Coil splitting is the most common attempt to get tonal versatility from a humbucker. It completely or partially disables one coil out of the two coils to approximate a single-coil sound. In practice, it has well-known problems that experienced players and techs recognize immediately, and the industry hasn’t yet fully solved.  When you coil-split your humbucker, you already know what happens:

Output drops significantly—often by half. You’re reaching for another preset, another pedal bypass switch, or your amp’s gain to compensate. 

Hum rejection disappears.  You now have a “meh” single-coil pickup with some or all of the noise that comes with it—on a stage, in a studio with lights and multiple AC runs, or anywhere near a source of electromagnetic hum or noise.

The tone isn’t convincing. A split humbucker coil has different physical construction, magnetic field geometry, and electrical characteristics than a purpose-built single-coil. The result is widely acknowledged as a compromise, not an authentic voice. You have to change EQ as well as gain to get it to even sound decent in most cases.

It’s an on/off choice. You get “humbucker” or “split.” Nothing in between. No ability to fine-tune the blend to your gain level, the song, or the room.

The ZoneRanger sidesteps all of these issues. All coils stay active all the time.  The output level stays consistent when the voice of the pickup changes.  You have a choice of either a switch which gives two great voices, or continuous control of a musically useful range of voices that are always 100% humbucking.