Educate me on single coils please

[VergDan]

From the day I picked up a guitar, I've only played humbuckers because I mainly played higher gain stuff. My only 'kinda-related' single coil experience is with the coil split feature on my humbucker guitars. Sounds twangy to me, but at the same time thin and incredibly weak. I just very recently came to learn that coil split humbuchers ≠ single coils.

So I have some questions:

1. Is the hum really that bad? When I used coil split through a high gain amp, I did notice an increase in hum, but nothing drastic, is it basically the same with single coils?

2. Speaking of output, generally humbuckers > single coils > coil split, is this correct?

3. When you switch guitars, say from a Les Paul to a Strat, without tempering amp settings, how big of a difference will there be? I'm not only asking about tone, but also feel, things like dynamic, pick attack, legato runs, etc.

4. High gain with single coils, how is it? I know Yngwie does it. I also watched Ola Englund's videos, he used a tele through a high gain amp. The tone is definately interesting, twangy to say the least. Anyone with experience on this?

I'm asking all this is because I've always wanted a tele, a single coil one, but I'm not sure if it's right for me and I don't have access to try one out.
Any other thoughts are also more than welcome, thanks!

 

[catawompus]

You might want to have a look at the G&L ASAT Special. Their MSD pickups are somewhere between single coils and humbuckers, somewhat P-90ish...

 

[KStopper65]

. Is the hum really that bad? When I used coil split through a high gain amp, I did notice an increase in hum, but nothing drastic, is it basically the same with single coils?

Not much more hum, add a noise gate and its gone.

Speaking of output, generally humbuckers > single coils > coil split, is this correct?

Depends on the wind of each pickup

When you switch guitars, say from a Les Paul to a Strat, without tempering amp settings, how big of a difference will there be? I'm not only asking about tone, but also feel, things like dynamic, pick attack, legato runs, etc.

You will see a loss of mids, make the tone a lot less smoother.

 

[ARandall]

Hum depends on where you are and your wiring in the walls + things like computer monitors etc that make for interference.

Going from a PAF type pickup with AC/DC level of drive and plugging a vintage output strat in I'm in SRV territory.
But Teles are generally punchier.
The MIM level tele used to have an overwound ceramic pickup set in. Would be perfect for you I'd say.

 

[VergDan]

The MIM level tele used to have an overwound ceramic pickup set in. Would be perfect for you I'd say.

Which means the current MIM player line doesn't have that, right?

 

[JohnnyN]

Which means the current MIM player line doesn't have that, right?

Right. Player series Tele and Strat have alnico rods.