pick my pickups?!

satchafunkilus4 · #1 11-04-2010, 10:06 AM

hello fellow bassists!
i am currently in the process of building my own bass. it is going to be a 5 string with a (hopefully) more versatile version of a geddy lee signature. im trying to combine a few guitars and a few basses into one. i havent been playing that long but i know i want a humbucker and a bridge single coil. any suggestions/recommendations/ideas or advice will be much appreciated. also any links to the actual place to buy it (online) would be awesome. thanks to all who respond.

satchafunkilus4 · #2 11-04-2010, 10:09 AM

im trying to be able to play more metal along with things like Rush. Dream Theater and Exodus mainly when it comes to metal but the ability to play like blues or funk wouldnt hurt.

FunkMetalBass · #3 11-04-2010, 10:26 AM

So basically, you want a humbucker in the bridge position that can be split to run either single coil?

SGD, Nordstrand, and Delano come to mind.

Montanamike · #4 11-04-2010, 11:53 AM

I agree with funk. Pickup position will be critical to get all of these sounds. I would add Dimarzio to your list.

Are you looking at a jazz arraignment or PJ or JPJ like the stu hamm fender? The most versatile arraignment I have used is JMM like a lakland 55-02 or a Musicman HS.

Consider a series/Parallel switch for more growl and aggressiveness.

Ah a link, http://www.bestbassgear.com/index.htm
He has everything worth looking at, he ships super fast, is very helpful and knowledgeable.

satchafunkilus4 · #5 11-04-2010, 03:31 PM

i like the stu hamm addition. so if im gonna get one humbucker and one single coil which would i put on the bridge. i want to add a switch to change between them and if im using a five string does that affect what goes where? im still new to the bass and still gettign the general guidelines.

Montanamike · #6 11-04-2010, 09:25 PM

it sounds to me like you need to go out and play a bunch of basses and figure out what you want to do. id hate to have you spend a bunch of monet and not get what you really need.

satchafunkilus4 · #7 11-05-2010, 09:38 AM

yea i hear you with that. ive gone to my local guitar center and tried different whole basses but im building mine from scratch with is the only difference. im actually designing the body in an engineering software program and then cutting it out. hardware wise i know i want 1 humbucker and 1 single coil on a five string bass, but your right, im gonna try to play some basses to hear the different sounds wheater the humbucker is in the bridge or neck position or wheater or not a certain one is better than another. its really the miniscule differences from bass to bass that im trying to identify and understand what is best for versatility

Montanamike · #8 11-05-2010, 11:17 AM

Here is the issue I see. I'm on my blackberry and can't answer fully at this time. In order to make you bass him canceling you need to have equal numbers of coils wound in each direction. For this reason a humnucker and a single will be a noisy set up. Musicman uses a dummy coil. you may want to research this further before you buy. Shielding and grounding are also key.

FunkMetalBass · #9 11-05-2010, 11:40 AM

Humbuckers in the bridge position are by far the most common, and with the coil switching, you can get an array of sounds.