Solving My Tone Identity Crisis (humbuckers Vs single coil)

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  • Опубликовано: 6 янв 2025

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  • @pyrougj
    @pyrougj Год назад +716

    both do amazing in their own areas, humbuckers obviously for heavier rock tones and beefy sounding tones, single coil for glassy/glimmery clean tones but i couldnt live without either of them

    • @matejcevnik7362
      @matejcevnik7362 Год назад +2

      Cream disagrees

    • @Trenchant463
      @Trenchant463 Год назад +8

      False dichotomy - HBs do fabulous cleans. I wouldn’t use this video as representing the possibilities of HB cleans.

    • @ethandemille2585
      @ethandemille2585 Год назад +3

      @@Trenchant463True, and the distorted sound you can get with the neck pickup on a single coil can be very powerful, I love the tone

    • @bernout63
      @bernout63 Год назад

      Both are great, but both can be way better. Especially if you are a working musician and play a variety of guitars.
      Wire the humbuckers in parallel.
      Wire the bridge single coil to the tone control to roll off abrasive highs.
      Best of both worlds! Cheers

    • @wraith2k82
      @wraith2k82 6 месяцев назад +2

      Use an HSS Strat. Best of both worlds.

  • @selliantuttimusi6735
    @selliantuttimusi6735 Год назад +115

    To me the neck pickup of a strat IS the guitar sound. No other guitar/pickup combination has as much character IMO.

  • @AwkwardHypernerd413
    @AwkwardHypernerd413 Год назад +8

    Humbuckers for the chugs, single coils for the twangs

  • @danilobriz8499
    @danilobriz8499 Год назад +53

    anyone with a few miles runned knows that both are amazing
    I personally likes humbuckers to solo single note lines with some overdrive
    single coils covers all the rest, chords, solos with harmonies in it and.....
    well, if i had to choose, i would stick with singles.

    • @jazzmaster21
      @jazzmaster21 Год назад +1

      Danilo, you are spot on......... Thanks for speaking for me also.......

    • @aryoadhitomo
      @aryoadhitomo Год назад

      Spot on, I just feel like I need humbucker for single note lead, the rest single coil does better

  • @airworthy777
    @airworthy777 Год назад +86

    That's why I love HSS configuration, I love the warm sound of the Humbucker on the bridge for rock and the 4th position of the single coil for funk.

    • @btgoros
      @btgoros 8 месяцев назад +4

      4th position means middle + neck position right?

    • @airworthy777
      @airworthy777 8 месяцев назад +3

      @@btgoros yup, I know but what I mean is that the 1st position in the HSS configuration it can give you that heavy tone than a single coil, but the 4th position gives you that "mellow" sound and sounds very funky, so HSS has a bit more versatility compared to the SSS.

    • @TheHumbuckerboy
      @TheHumbuckerboy 4 месяца назад

      My brother's Mexican Anniversary Strat originally had 3 single coils but the bridge was totally terrible sounding ( tinny and trebly and shrill) so he had a Hotrails fitted in place of the original single coil. I was worried that position 2 ( bridge + middle) would be lost but I needn't have worried. The guitar has been transformed ; it now has 4 classic Strat settings with the bridge being slightly louder and thicker sounding. Overall a massive improvement.

    • @cleangoblin2021
      @cleangoblin2021 3 месяца назад

      Position 2 of A strat is a BEAST THOUGH.
      It's got that mellow yet twangy sound like the ones in Sultans of Swing's tone.
      Using an HSS in position 2 is a complete waste

    • @cleangoblin2021
      @cleangoblin2021 3 месяца назад

      ​@@TheHumbuckerboyreally? 🙀

  • @Chillin4030
    @Chillin4030 11 месяцев назад +5

    Still waiting for the day they make a humbucker with atleast one strat single coil so you can split it and have a proper strat tone.

  • @Stretchwreckedem469
    @Stretchwreckedem469 Год назад +18

    I've always wanted to try a Humbucker bridge and Single Coil neck configuration myself for a lot of higher gain guitar playing. I've found playing a single in the neck for lead work to be very entertaining and it really help accent my dynamics a lot better than a regular humbucker in the neck would.

  • @JumboJimbo015
    @JumboJimbo015 Год назад +60

    Strangely I liked the HB’s on the clean tone, because they sounded brighter to me. But the SC’s on the distorted, because they weren’t as low end heavy.

    • @CuriousKey
      @CuriousKey Год назад +4

      Both easily solved with EQ.

    • @new.romance999
      @new.romance999 10 месяцев назад

      I use humbuckers for cleans and single coils for dirty stuff

    • @ajh.7
      @ajh.7 8 месяцев назад

      But they weren’t glassy

    • @lowdivestheanchor
      @lowdivestheanchor 5 месяцев назад +1

      Did fucking ANYONE realise that he used the neck setting for the single coils and the bridge setting for the humbuckers? Two completely opposites on the spectrum? No? Just me? Is everyone gullible? The test is skewed asf lmao omg

    • @Hyperlink1337
      @Hyperlink1337 3 месяца назад +1

      @@CuriousKey you can't "solve" the rattle of a single coil with eq. do you know how much distortion you have to pile on to get those things to sound heavy? god i hate you pretentious little liars

  • @THE-CRT
    @THE-CRT Год назад +59

    Fun fact the humbuckers he used, are actually wired to basically act like single coils, Scott and Tim mainly chose humbuckers because they though it looked cleaner than it would with a SSS layout

    • @Zack-bl2gg
      @Zack-bl2gg Год назад +3

      Humbuckers all look like that (two single coils combined) but a lot of them have covers over them because it makes them look better and has a slight effect on the tone

    • @THE-CRT
      @THE-CRT Год назад +2

      @@Zack-bl2gg sorry there was a typo there

    • @oobernoober7617
      @oobernoober7617 5 месяцев назад

      Which humbuckers are these?

    • @THE-CRT
      @THE-CRT 5 месяцев назад

      @@oobernoober7617 polyphia signatures

  • @theDragoon007yaboiCJ
    @theDragoon007yaboiCJ Год назад +15

    you should have turned it into a hendrix considering you already have the reversed headstock. The reversed bridge strat really brings out those bass frequencies for that hendrix tone

  • @SrPepe1977
    @SrPepe1977 3 месяца назад +1

    Dude, you're a pretty solid player. You made both sound excellent.

  • @JonDeth
    @JonDeth 6 месяцев назад +1

    *For those more daring, there are some simple and safe mods that you can explore first so you're not sacrificing the advantages of a single coil or spending an arm and a leg to get an upgrade so you have something pro level in at least this one regard.*
    You can cut a steel plate from sheet metal and glue it to the back of your pickup's magnet. This reflects more of the magnetic field upward and you easily double to triple your output also effectively increasing sustain.
    *After this mod, you can use passive R-C filters for low-pass, high-pass and bandpass schemes that normally consume too much power in passive systems, but aren't a problem at all with this mod.*
    That means if you want a huge boost in mids to get a strat more like a Les Paul, it's easily achieved.
    There's one more mod in this scheme which is increasing the volume pot to a 1-meg which takes output to an even crazier level that rivals an active set, but there is a noise risk when you roll the volume back and place a load on the pickup that can make 60-cycle or other atmosphere sources of RF worse.
    I'm a formally educated amateur electrical/electronics engineer(no degree) and personally highly prone to converting every guitar I own into actives. With a simple Class-A design, your pickup sounds identical to before but with literally 20x the voltage output.

  • @iBoss818
    @iBoss818 11 дней назад +1

    I think the results are obvious. Both sound awesome and are absolutely necessary, and that's why I'm buying another guitar

  • @SoggyBacco
    @SoggyBacco Год назад +2

    personally im a humbucker guy but i like a singlecoil in the neck. besides that classic fender neck sound it also lets me switch my clean tone from crunchy to glassy on the fly

  • @sairamr6886
    @sairamr6886 Год назад +2

    I loved playing the humbucker on my Yamaha PAC, but the neck pickup just grew on me. The glassy twangy throaty tone I got out of the neck single coil sounded so good in my mature years of guitar.

  • @electrickittylikestea9647
    @electrickittylikestea9647 8 месяцев назад +1

    Ohhhh! Hahaha Im going through the same and it’s making me doubt about my whole identity 😂 thank you so much to let me know I’m not the only one haha

  • @actuallyasriel
    @actuallyasriel 10 месяцев назад

    My 8-string has a coil split (only energizing one coil in each pickup) and I've been loving that for heavy rhythm tones, it's got a throat to it that almost feels like it's using some kind of mod pedal but it doesn't. Shockingly versatile.

  • @UltraZombie
    @UltraZombie Год назад +20

    IMO single coils have really nice distortion but I prefer the clean of the Humbucker anyone else think this or am I just weird

    • @jrr6704
      @jrr6704 Год назад +5

      most people think the opposite. Humbuckers work quite nicely for jazz tones clean but beyond that I'm not much of a fan of their cleans.

    • @stevescuba1978
      @stevescuba1978 Год назад

      Depends on the amp as well. I have low-wattage tube amps, and I prefer the cleans with single coils, as my humbucker are just too hot for true cleans. When I play through my solid state pedal into a digital interface and into powered monitors, I love the cleans with my humbuckers.
      It also depends on whether you have low-output (PAF's) or high-output (dime buckers) HB's.

    • @jaykelley103
      @jaykelley103 10 месяцев назад

      I had to get the fender v mod humbuckers because they can switch between humbucker and single coil modes as I love both with distortion or clean for different vibes. There are other humbuckers with single coil modes, but imo fender has the only ones that actually sound good in single mode.

  • @Ottophil
    @Ottophil Год назад +4

    I like HSS for strat and a gibson sg with humbuckers that split. Those two are my favorite combos I have

  • @MissJennyGuitar
    @MissJennyGuitar 6 месяцев назад

    Just the video I needed, short and to the point. I'm getting a new guitar today, always played single coil (or just with 1 humbucker) but thought about going double. But after this, nah, 100% sticking to single.

  • @madducky7871
    @madducky7871 Год назад

    I have a serious question for all you gear heads. I have a 20 year old Gibson sg, and run it through an Orange Crush 20RT. No matter how hard I try, I get the same boxy sound. I like it, but every time I adjust something on the amp, it's still roughly the same tone. Please help I really want to get over this.

  • @OldeDog_NewTricks
    @OldeDog_NewTricks Год назад

    I only noticed when I looked at the video. When I wasn’t looking I didn’t even hear when you switched guitars lol😂

  • @tiedie3995
    @tiedie3995 10 месяцев назад +1

    What I've learned over the years is your genre & how you play can help determine your pickups. Single coils tend to sound better if you play lead, humbuckers for rhythm. Single coils pair well with Blues humbuckers with heavy rock/metal

  • @davidlalremruata
    @davidlalremruata Год назад

    Please, don't mind my 2 cents on your post for it did come up on my feed.
    Have a rocking good time enjoying your cool guitars.
    Me, I play my homebuilt teak wood Tele mainly with a Duncan hum on the neck.

  • @lorenzodinatale4690
    @lorenzodinatale4690 Год назад

    Man your black strat looks so cool with double humbuckers

  • @OLDSACKS
    @OLDSACKS 4 месяца назад

    I have a Godin Radium and it fixes this problem. It has a HSH configuration with a t-style pickup and a push-pull knob.
    You get most strat, tele and les paul tones all in one guitar. Only thing it cannot do is a HH middle position, middle position is for the tele twang.

  • @Cilas_
    @Cilas_ 11 месяцев назад

    that play of John Mayers version of " Wait till tomorrow" was clean af

  • @MaxSoup8
    @MaxSoup8 Год назад +1

    I freaking love the neck and middle single coils, but i think the bridge pickup sound better with humbucker, except for fuzz

  • @BrandonMobley614
    @BrandonMobley614 Год назад +2

    I love single coils in my Strat. I also love the humbuckers in my Les Paul 😂

  • @Justmyopinion761
    @Justmyopinion761 Год назад

    Two completely different sounds
    I couldn’t pick which I liked better but they both sound incredible

  • @Mikey_the_Grateful
    @Mikey_the_Grateful 7 месяцев назад

    All my partscasters have single coil neck pup and HB bridge pup, can get all those glassy strat sounds from the neck(but when I roll off the tone it can be good for jazz) and then a super distortion in the bridge for the hot stuff

  • @edwinstovall3334
    @edwinstovall3334 7 дней назад

    I currently have 12 guitars and most of them have a combination of single coils and humbuckers. I love and insist on both -- though not always in the same guitar.

  • @HaramGuys
    @HaramGuys 8 месяцев назад

    Thats some clean humbucker, many humbuckers are muddy af

  • @fender7695
    @fender7695 Год назад +1

    Easy. Single coil in the neck, humbucker in the bridge. It’s the best combo

  • @tylerferrusi7652
    @tylerferrusi7652 Год назад +3

    For what I've seen via your channel of your taste and style, I'd say singles for you even though I much prefer humbuckers personally. Here's the long answer, if you want one can do it all guitar, go ssh with a coil tap or if you like different guitars for different jobs, my preference, have an sss strat as your no. 1 and another with a humbucker in the bridge that feels right to you when you're in a distortion mood.

  • @rybo0072
    @rybo0072 Год назад +1

    I love single coils for lead work and humbuckers for brutal rythem and chugs so I have a single coil in the neck and humbucker in the bridge and BOOM best of both worlds 😁

  • @adamelliott9581
    @adamelliott9581 6 месяцев назад

    Wait i rewatched it, they both sound cool

  • @waranghira
    @waranghira 3 месяца назад

    Why didn't use position 2,4 and HH middle split for the glassy tone

  • @GFAT1000
    @GFAT1000 5 месяцев назад

    Hey Mikey, does your single coil sonic blue strat have cream pickguard, tone knobs and pickup covers? I really like that 'aged' look you have got going on there.

  • @michaelp8529
    @michaelp8529 Год назад +3

    Single core vs humbuckers. There's really no fair comparison they both have their own place in music. I love the sound of the single core in My telecasters but the humbuckers in my Les Paul sound great too.

    • @ethanl.648
      @ethanl.648 11 месяцев назад +1

      Single core? Never heard of her.

  • @MusicJunkie08
    @MusicJunkie08 Год назад +1

    BADASS guitars!!!!!🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

  • @thelastgreyhawk2161
    @thelastgreyhawk2161 Год назад +2

    The bell tone is heavenly on the single coils.
    btw at 0:25 what song is that from or is it something you made?

  • @VisDramovi
    @VisDramovi 10 месяцев назад

    I am using old DiMarzio YJM signature pickups (HS3) in my USA strat and get plenty of sustain, they are very well balanced and most important for me, noiseless. I have also tried HSS combination with Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and it was really good but it has much higher output than HS3 so you have to balance patches well in different positions.

  • @vitorisaia
    @vitorisaia 11 месяцев назад

    Why did you do the DS1 test using the neck single coil vs bridge humbucker?

  • @aaronhughes113
    @aaronhughes113 Год назад

    The first two tests didn't have the switch positions matched. Can't change two variables and draw a conclusion about one of them. The two sustain trials were so close that you could've gotten wider results by trying it multiple times on the same guitar.

  • @carlovelasco6343
    @carlovelasco6343 Год назад +1

    for me humbucker is more muddy on a strat

  • @Opious2
    @Opious2 6 месяцев назад

    For longer sustain i just stand in front of my amp and i try to get that ringing. Side effects causing ear damage to everyone must be experienced.

  • @Junior1385
    @Junior1385 Год назад

    I prefer to use a Single Coils Sim, on Humbuckers Guitars, for cleans tone and switch for distorted tones on humbuckers.

  • @nicolauferreira3448
    @nicolauferreira3448 11 месяцев назад

    If I install a single coil neck pickup on a Les Paul will it sound like a stratocaster. That would be awesome

  • @ezekielmillan2521
    @ezekielmillan2521 2 месяца назад

    When it comes to distortion, single coilwins But the humbucker made the tone more full, but it depends on what song are you gonna play

  • @craigtodd8297
    @craigtodd8297 2 месяца назад

    sss 🤘What an amazing video.

  • @southboundguitar
    @southboundguitar 4 месяца назад

    I think the HB beat the SC at the sustain test, by at least a half-second. The peak came later, as well.

  • @revertingtonothing985
    @revertingtonothing985 Год назад +1

    Should've tried all 3 voices on those lepage humbuckers on each [that lepage voice 2 and 3 are better for clean tones but I'm a voice 1 guy for distortion. So many options.] You'd probably prefer passive humbuckers a lot more considering your playstyle since they don't have the odd trappings of active pickups.

  • @steviemarkjones
    @steviemarkjones 2 месяца назад

    Do you have a wiring diagram?

  • @DavidRodriguez-S7
    @DavidRodriguez-S7 Месяц назад

    I'm surprised nobody said humbuckers cancel noise. On single coils you had to use position 2 or 4. Or maybe there is better equipment today?

  • @schectertheboy
    @schectertheboy Год назад +4

    For me... As a 21 years old boy and Imma metal head so I've been using humbucker my whole life. I love the sound of humbuckers more but I still kinda wanna try single coil tough but humbuckers will always be my go to.

  • @fromaggio7654
    @fromaggio7654 Год назад +1

    depends, I switched from a humbucker to p90s and they break up nicely, and chug for metal, without having that annoying low mid chaw-sound

  • @AdaSoom
    @AdaSoom Год назад +1

    Put a telecaster bridge pickup in the bridge position of a strat it's perfect.

    • @liamjenkins244
      @liamjenkins244 Год назад +1

      The bridge of the tele is part of why it sounds the way it does as well. But then you lose the whammy.

    • @AdaSoom
      @AdaSoom Год назад

      Nah, not really, man. My Strat and my Tele both have the same exact bridge pickups; there are only subtle differences in the bridge position, probably due to the differing types of wood, saddle material, and nut material on both instruments. Also, my tele is like 8.5 pounds and my strat is like 7 pounds, so that also affects the sound. The point being that the bridge plate doesn't do fuck all, imo.

  • @eldani-beatz6472
    @eldani-beatz6472 Год назад

    how can you activate all voice combinations of the fishman pickups with only a 5 position switch

  • @blunderless
    @blunderless 8 месяцев назад +1

    is it me, or did the single coils win at every comparison here? on anything else I'd prefer humbuckers, but single coils were juicier and much less nasally here.

  • @CooperLudke
    @CooperLudke Месяц назад

    I have an idea! Why not just make the pickups split coil? Or am I just dumb

  • @Shaunquirk89
    @Shaunquirk89 9 месяцев назад

    I’m loving the humbuckers

  • @MichaelSheaAudio
    @MichaelSheaAudio Год назад

    Go with humbuckers and coil split them, I'm not sure what the situation is with Fishmans. I have a test on my channel that compares split coils to single coils and they're pretty hard to tell apart, impossible in a full mix. The key is to use high output pickups though. Splitting an 8.5k neck pickup will sound pretty weak. I switched to a 15k neck pickup so it splits at a more realistic output. And if possible, mount the humbucker at the same angle as the bridge single coil on a strat if you wanna keep the authentic strat sound.

  • @Ta_bien10
    @Ta_bien10 8 месяцев назад

    What is that song u used during the distortion test

  • @parlance.electricco
    @parlance.electricco Месяц назад

    I wish you had used the bridge pickup when using the DS1 on the strat rather than the neck one... cos you then used the bridge on the humbucker strat right afterward...

  • @edgarrivas4281
    @edgarrivas4281 Год назад

    Hi, do you use the ds1 into the dirty channel of your amp?

  • @anyone-f2r
    @anyone-f2r 9 месяцев назад

    That’s like the big apple Strat. Did you keep the five way switch?

  • @hijdjf2961
    @hijdjf2961 Год назад

    Single coils sound great with the glassy tone, but the humbuker's beefy-ness kinda hurt the glassy tone.

  • @bunsenn5064
    @bunsenn5064 Год назад

    That’s why there’s HSH and HSS and SHH for people who can’t decide. Or you can just do HHH.

  • @Eve_should_leave
    @Eve_should_leave Год назад

    Fishmans specifically are able to do single coil tones very well, I'd recommend trying other sets in general and maybe even the fishman single coil set

    • @commandererwin7523
      @commandererwin7523 Год назад

      both the scott lepage and tim henson pickups have single coil voicings as well as the tim henson pickups having a hyper clean tone which is meant to replicate a nylon string acoustic so i don’t think he wired the other voicings of the fishmans into the circuit

  • @GothicXlightning
    @GothicXlightning Год назад

    fffck it give me that Humbucker Beefy madness for my DoomMetal tones any day of the year

  • @MatthaeusEbonah
    @MatthaeusEbonah 6 месяцев назад

    It's the single coils for me dawg.

  • @SMisleh13
    @SMisleh13 Год назад +1

    I gotta go with single coils on this one. Generally, single coil works better for lead. Humbuckers on a heavy body for rhythm.

  • @StijnMeijer.
    @StijnMeijer. Год назад

    Hey mikey, what pickups are in the custom shop strat? I'm very curious!

  • @sorreal5202
    @sorreal5202 Год назад

    how do you achieve the glassy tone? which mods i have to put into my player series?

  • @vincenzomarino3876
    @vincenzomarino3876 Год назад

    Strats sounding like strats, although I always prefer how humbuckers handle distortions. Can't speak for all strats but mine gets waaaaaay too muddy if i dial in too much gain or fuzz.

  • @N4k3d.Sn4ke
    @N4k3d.Sn4ke 20 дней назад

    Humbucker with the DS-1 sounds much fuller, but also very noisy

  • @christopherbomford1391
    @christopherbomford1391 Год назад

    I unfortunately can’t lay my opinion on this bc I’ve never used double humbuckers but it sound thick and strong

  • @PowMusic
    @PowMusic 2 месяца назад

    Single coils destroyed this competition

  • @leogolive
    @leogolive Год назад

    You don’t have to be beholden to one sound. I have a strat and guitars with humbuckers. I love both. I just play the guitar the music seems to call for.

  • @DUSTINBARTRUM
    @DUSTINBARTRUM Год назад

    What amps do you use

  • @Itsallawesome
    @Itsallawesome Год назад

    Single coil all the way. So much clarity

  • @SonBobaTea
    @SonBobaTea 9 месяцев назад

    What the first song he plays????

  • @m4nofficiallyofficial
    @m4nofficiallyofficial Год назад

    each round's winner:
    1. single coil
    2. humbucker

  • @Libertad945
    @Libertad945 Год назад

    Boludo toda la vida usando humbuckers y ahora tengo unas ganas de unos simple, el sonido es mucho más abierto en los clean y las distorsiones suenan más vintage

  • @JoboostrGekkepekkie
    @JoboostrGekkepekkie Год назад

    why use different pick-up settings?

  • @cartershort4234
    @cartershort4234 Год назад

    Why not try out P90’s!!!! A great representation of the best of both worlds.

  • @GaymerGirl587
    @GaymerGirl587 Год назад +1

    for me it's gotta be the humbuckers across the board they just sound so beefy beautiful and can they ever pack a punch

  • @santiagomendoza3656
    @santiagomendoza3656 Год назад

    Im on the HSH side with the bridge humbucker being slanted

  • @sEaNoYeAh
    @sEaNoYeAh Год назад

    The P90 elite are calling. Join us 😈

  • @lord_beethoven1169
    @lord_beethoven1169 Год назад +1

    Or you can do what I did: swapped to humbuckers and added a coil split switch. 😄

  • @jovelynbeton5827
    @jovelynbeton5827 Год назад

    Personally I would pick the single coils for a Strat but hum buckers are good on teles

  • @Drunken_Hamster
    @Drunken_Hamster Год назад

    I feel like I liked the bucks better for clean and the single better for distortion. At least since you had both setups in neck pos. Not sure what would happen with bridge pos, especially if you played with tone knob and double-especially if you played with amp EQ, too.

  • @klfdqjmqboiklnkq
    @klfdqjmqboiklnkq 2 дня назад

    Single sounds more open, brighter.
    Humbucker more muffled, darker.

  • @thenormie
    @thenormie Год назад +1

    I mean they’re the signature pick ups so… 🤷‍♂️

  • @deathmetalmachine
    @deathmetalmachine Год назад

    Sir your single foils with distortion is a gimmick because you would need a noise gate to fix the distortion feedback

  • @seasonedstefan
    @seasonedstefan Год назад

    Why do u have that piece of paper in the nut ? What does it do ?

    • @spudvader
      @spudvader 11 месяцев назад

      I’d assume that the nut slot is too low

  • @osmarqueiroz2429
    @osmarqueiroz2429 Год назад

    Humbuckers= always muddy, single coils= clarity, smooth tone

  • @sheakiernan9288
    @sheakiernan9288 Год назад +1

    #1 humbucker #2 single coil #3 single coil

  • @hubaiiiii
    @hubaiiiii Месяц назад

    Why not both?