Show us your 3 pickup basses!

[Doner Designs]

I second the the comments of Flux on this guy. Awesome, but more switching options would be great (reverse P for example). I assume its VVV?

Originally Posted by BlueTalon

Three pickups? Here ya go...

[Doner Designs]

Stereo EA vs DG - now that is original and a very cool idea which would also allow for dialing back the highs on the two higher strings to adjust for unbalanced string sets. Very nice!!

Originally Posted by BlueTalon

No, sorry. I'm a noob when it comes to doing anything involving recording. I'd be happy to, if I had the right equipment and knew how to use it.

This bass has no switches (sorry). It has three volume controls, that's it. I do all sound shaping elsewhere.

However, it does have some very unusual wiring. The two P pickups are stacked vertically, not horizontally. In other words, one picks up just the E and A, and the other picks up just the D and G. There are two outputs. If just the main jack is used, then all three pickup signals are present. If the other jack is used, then that jack gets the D and G pickup signal, leaving the E and A and J still going to the first jack. Turn down the J, and I have a stereo output with half the bass on one side and half on the other. If the signals are fed to amps on different sides of the room or stage, the sound bounces back and forth like a ping pong ball.


By the way, if you copy my idea, I want a royalty. Or credit.

[Doner Designs]

Another one for the wall of fame here...I love it!!

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

I had a Vox Phantom XII Stereo guitar like this. It had three split pickups, with the 3 pairs of lower strings and three pairs of higher going through either the left or right channel, and you could reverse the directions of each one. It sounded very cool through headphones with the neck and bridge on, with each reversed!

It looked like this (but was red)

[Doner Designs]

Blue and SGD - you guys with your modified Rics are inspiring me to maybe take the router to a more expensive bass. I have been reluctant to cut into my Mustang, but geez, it only has ONE pickup! Adding one, two or three more might be just the thing.

Originally Posted by BlueTalon

Three pickups? Here ya go...

[Flux Jetson]

I've pretty much convinced myself to do the J-iP-iP setup. Placement of the two iP pickup sets ("inverted" Precision Bass pickups) is yet to be determined. The wiring matrix is also up in the air. What "Blue" did with the coil routings isn't something I'm interested in though (no worres Blue). My interests lie in providing as flexible a setup as possible AT FIRST. Then narrowing the options down to the useable ones that fit my preferences.

So it may end up with the p-bass pickups and a project box screwed to the body with the pickup wiring routed into the project box with screw-in terminal blocks in the box to allow for relatively easy re-connections. Ugly as a mud fence? Sure, but it's a research tool so who cares?

I'm thinking I'll be starting a thread focused on the development, testing, and trials of this bass (including links to SoundCloud tracks).

At this point I'm sufficiently motivated, so it's time to begin forward motion!

[moonshinegtrs]

Though it isn't a three pickup configuration, I was messing with the idea of a double P pickup set-up awhile back (last year):


The controls are to be passive; Vol./ Vol./ Tone with the addition of two on/on/on toggle switches placed in line & just in front of the tone control. There will be a Volume control & coil select switch for each pickup with a master tone.

This bass ended up getting a single Peavey T-40 pickup (They Rock!) with passive Vol. (w/ push-pull coil tap) & tone controls, but I have five more of these coming through & one of them will definitely end up with this set up.

I guess I could add an additional set of P pickups... It could be a Derek Smalls signature model

Moonshine

[azzyrazzy]

Originally Posted by moonshinegtrs

Though it isn't a three pickup configuration, I was messing with the idea of a double P pickup set-up awhile back (last year):

Yes but this is the three-pickups thread bro

[moonshinegtrs]

Originally Posted by azzyrazzy

Yes but this is the three-pickups thread bro

I believe I addressed that in my first sentence; I posted in reference to Flux & Steve's conversation about splitting the coils on a p- bass pickup.

But if it makes you feel better...




Moonshine

[Flux Jetson]

Originally Posted by azzyrazzy

Yes but this is the three-pickups thread bro

Y'know he could claim "four pickups" .. technically speaking.

[BlueTalon]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

I've pretty much convinced myself to do the J-iP-iP setup. Placement of the two iP pickup sets ("inverted" Precision Bass pickups) is yet to be determined. The wiring matrix is also up in the air. What "Blue" did with the coil routings isn't something I'm interested in though (no worres Blue). My interests lie in providing as flexible a setup as possible AT FIRST. Then narrowing the options down to the useable ones that fit my preferences.

So it may end up with the p-bass pickups and a project box screwed to the body with the pickup wiring routed into the project box with screw-in terminal blocks in the box to allow for relatively easy re-connections. Ugly as a mud fence? Sure, but it's a research tool so who cares?

I'm thinking I'll be starting a thread focused on the development, testing, and trials of this bass (including links to SoundCloud tracks).

At this point I'm sufficiently motivated, so it's time to begin forward motion!

I'll be really interested to see how this turns out. I hope you document your progress in a thread devoted to it -- including pictures of the box and everything.

And I'm happy to have played a small role in your inspiration.

(Man, you seemed soooooooooo excited when you saw my bass pictures, I thought you might be ripe for a little chain yank )

[Flux Jetson]

Originally Posted by BlueTalon

Here's the big one you are missing.

Well, I'd already said a few times that the p-bass pickup combos had the Bridge J as optional. All of the combos I showed were "Bridge optional", just to be clear.

[Doner Designs]

Love this except the lack of body contours makes my hands hurt just looking at the picture.

What is that 6 inch wide pickup looking thing??

Originally Posted by moonshinegtrs

I believe I addressed that in my first sentence; I posted in reference to Flux & Steve's conversation about splitting the coils on a p- bass pickup.

But if it makes you feel better...




Moonshine

[Doner Designs]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

Y'know he could claim "four pickups" .. technically speaking.

Yes, I suppose. But it would be more reasonable to claim that a standard humbucker = two pickups since they can actually be used individually. The two halves of a P really can't.

All the P ideas have me pondering a triple or quad P either on a P bass or Mustang.

[Flux Jetson]

Originally Posted by BlueTalon

I'll be really interested to see how this turns out. I hope you document your progress in a thread devoted to it -- including pictures of the box and everything.

And I'm happy to have played a small role in your inspiration.

(Man, you seemed soooooooooo excited when you saw my bass pictures, I thought you might be ripe for a little chain yank )

I'm ALWAYS ripe for a yank ... uh ... wait. That didn't come out right.

No seriously, I am a fairly easy target most times, and I'm aware of that and even take advantage of it myself a lot.

And ~yes~, there will be a dedicated thread to the build up, it will probably fire off very soon.

If you think what I said about the number of knobs and switches was excessive, you probably haven't visited my "X-Rig" thread (see link in sig).

I've already learned that I really like sending each pickup out to it's own processing chain, and then blending them post-FX. (here, I'll make it easier to locate -- page 4 of the X-rig thread documents the mods done to the bass for that setup ... Experimental Fully Modular Bass Rig. ... this link should take you straight to page 4, then scroll down to post #70 for details on the research bass).

So yea .... buttons and switches? Hells yea, I'm all about it!

But keep in mind that I like that kind of stuff for prototyping, for actual live use I like it simple. So the idea is to use a lot of controls, make short recordings, take notes. Then narrow it down to the most useful choices and make the "real" bass (or whatever it is I'm messing with) with just the few absolutely necessary controls. So while the test-rig may look like a nuclear missile silo launch panel, the finished setup is slated to be as simple as possible.

So I'll post a link to the thread in here when I start the "X-Bass" thread up. I'll even offer to PM it to you if you like.

Flux of Earth.

[jay tay]

Not seen a Fender Urge here Yet, so here is mine

[yainkee]

I love my 3 pickup bass. It's a Carvin B5 with a MM put in between the two j pups and the pre from the sb series. It has 3 volumes, a tone (push/pull for active/passive), stacked bass/treble control, and a 3 way switch for the MM (parallel/single/series). It's great.

I do wish, however, that I could equalize the output of the pickups, as the MM is much hotter than the J's. On the other hand, I can treat that as a sort of volume booster.

My only screw up is that I forgot about the 19mm spacing on this bass when I ordered the MM, but I'm getting a drop-in replacement now from Nordstrand.

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/...ps58d48823.jpg

[Flux Jetson]

Originally Posted by jay tay

Not seen a Fender Urge here Yet, so here is mine

So what's going on there ... looks like a pair of J pickups in their ~usual~ places with a set of P pickups sortof wedged in between them .. do I have that right?

I haven't done a Bing search yet (Google is a marketing scam!) but are there vids/demos of this bass to be found?

Looks like it could be a barrel of monkeys in the fun-factor!

LOVE the pickguard shape! Hell for that matter I LOVE THE WHOLE THING!

- Unique pickguard.
- J-P-J pickup configuration.
- Whaddup on the controls?
- The headstock is sortof Tele-ish but still unique.
- Modernesque Y-key tuners.
- Body shape is really different looking! Cool cut-out!
- And 24 frets!

So this is some stock Fender model? Wow. Very un-P/J. Perfect for use on a private beach

Thanks for posting this unique bass Jay Tay! I've never seen one before, I love being exposed to new stuff. (Well, new to ~me~ that is.)

[Flux Jetson]

Originally Posted by yainkee

I love my 3 pickup bass. It's a Carvin B5 with a MM put in between the two j pups and the pre from the sb series. It has 3 volumes, a tone (push/pull for active/passive), stacked bass/treble control, and a 3 way switch for the MM (parallel/single/series). It's great.

I do wish, however, that I could equalize the output of the pickups, as the MM is much hotter than the J's. On the other hand, I can treat that as a sort of volume booster.

My only screw up is that I forgot about the 19mm spacing on this bass when I ordered the MM, but I'm getting a drop-in replacement now from Nordstrand.

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/...ps58d48823.jpg

I've had five Carvins. They make some really killa stuff. Best out-of-box action and setup I have ever experienced (owned 28 basses since 1990).

Yea, probably should do something about that Music Man pickup pole alignment thang you got goin on there. It also looks like Carvin put in a neck-pickup-length J pickup in the bridge position (the shorter J pickup) or is that just some image-illusion issue? It looks like it just barely has enough length to cover the 5-string spread.

I also can't help but wonder what putting the neck J pickup closer to the neck would have done, right at around 25.5" from the nut (where a hypothetical 24th fret would be) .. y'know, roughly where the Ric 4001/4003 neck pickup is placed.

Another beyoo-tay-shus Carvin for my bass pic collection! (2GB at this point!)

[Stealth]

Just look up Stu Hamm's videos from the 90s, such as this one. It comes with custom-wound pickups, though it's my guess the tetris-block-P pickup needed the most attention as it's not it its usual place. It's probably wound a tiny bit hotter and with a slightly squatter coil to counteract the fact it's now halfway between the Jazzes.

This is a passive variant of his wiring. The production model has an obverse-mounted P-pickup, a three-band EQ that goes after the "dynamic control" (the blend pot) and the selector switch, it has no passive tone control, and the volume control is a 25 kΩ audio pot as it comes post-preamp. It also has noiseless pickups, but I believe they're stacked humbuckers, not in-line humbuckers as in my schematic.

And if you're wondering, they're not "boo"ing, they're "Stu"ing.

[jay tay]

Originally Posted by Flux Jetson

So what's going on there ... looks like a pair of J pickups in their ~usual~ places with a set of P pickups sortof wedged in between them .. do I have that right?

I haven't done a Bing search yet (Google is a marketing scam!) but are there vids/demos of this bass to be found?

Looks like it could be a barrel of monkeys in the fun-factor!

LOVE the pickguard shape! Hell for that matter I LOVE THE WHOLE THING!

- Unique pickguard.
- J-P-J pickup configuration.
- Whaddup on the controls?
- The headstock is sortof Tele-ish but still unique.
- Modernesque Y-key tuners.
- Body shape is really different looking! Cool cut-out!
- And 24 frets!

So this is some stock Fender model? Wow. Very un-P/J. Perfect for use on a private beach

Thanks for posting this unique bass Jay Tay! I've never seen one before, I love being exposed to new stuff. (Well, new to ~me~ that is.)

The Fender Urge was Stu Hamm's first signature bass, and the first signature bass from Fender, mine I believe is from the early 1990's.

It's a 32" scale bass with noiseless jazz pick-ups and a p pick-up in the middle. Firstly there are three basic settings, passive, active with mid boost, and active with mid cut. there is a pick-up selector, selecting between just the J pups, just the P pup, or all three. then there are stacked controls, the first offers volume and a blend between the two j pups, and the second offers a two band eq.

It has a kabuki pre amp, that is huge, but has a very nice unique sound.

I've had this bass for quite a while now, and though it's not my main player, it is a lot of fun, with so many tonal variations, in fact I'm still finding new sounds it can make.

I've stung this bass with thick flats/ as a piccolo bass/ and standard, and it handles anything I've chucked at it so far.

It also has a very slim neck that makes it tremendously fast.

There was also a mexican made urge that only had the j pups, and later an urge ii that was a full 34" scale.