Humbuckers?

right, here's a question for you lot.

i understand the basic 'physical differences' in appearence, between single and humbucker pickups, but have only played on my stratocaster. so i have no idea wot sort of sound is produced using a humbucker set!! i quite like the look of the humbuckers, but is it worth buying or will they sound exactly the same?

I take it you are meaning how will a humbucker sound in your strat? Well it will change the sound somewhat depending on what particular humbucker you choose, it could sound thicker with less high frequency, more toward the Les Paul type of sound, or depending on the pick-up, more toward the 80's shredder type of sound, your sound will depend largely on type of guitar, body wood, bridge type, etc, pick-up selection depends on what you are looking for, their are just dozens of choices, also many stacked humbuckers that look like single coils, and have everything from a noiseless single coil to hot humbucker sound. Something to always remember with any new gear, you will still sound like you, and the guitar is one half of the sound of an electric guitar...............

Yeah, that's an interesting point. No matter what gear I am playing on, I tend to adjust it until I sound how I want to. Of course, if you are going for a thicker sound, a humbucker is going to point you in the right direction. Humbuckers are useful for thick and dark tones, and can sound great with distortion, whereas single-coils are quieter, with more treble, and more clarity and definition. Often people put humbuckers in the bridge position of their strats for variety, but if you want a really deep sound, it would help to put one in the neck too.