Active/Passive Splitcoil + MM style pickup setup ?

[BassSquad]

I am in the process of building my own bass. I am using a bought neck and already have a sawn slab that has the rough shape and all.

Goals:

- Pbass splitcoil and a Musicman style pick.
- Active and if possible Passive (switchable)
- full volume control on both pickups

I have looked and i find complete kits from EMG and SD that have active PJ setups that come with everything, yet it isn't the same as a Splitcoil and MM setup as i want to be able to have a Pbass and Stingray like bass at the turn of a volume knob.

Is there a kit that i haven't found yet ?
Or would it be easy to buy an Active Splitcoil setup and buy a seperate MM style pickup and add it ?

Anybody know how i can achieve this ?


Thanks in advance

 

[line6man]

Pick any prewired preamp system. The pickup choice is not a concern.

 

[BassSquad]

Any recommendations ?

 

[line6man]

Any recommendations ?

It's like buying a car. There are a million different options on the market, and if I suggest a sedan or a minivan, it won't be of any use to you if you were in the market for a pickup truck. Figure out what options you are looking for, then search for preamps that meet the criteria.

 

[somebrains]

MM humbuckers are where I'm at right now.

If I'm not feeling the Stingray 5, i have a 2005 Corvette $$ I can mess with the controls until I find something I like.

I feel like it's the 80's again, but bass players this time going towards the Steve Vai "wire every pickup possibility just in case" and "I'm cool with a bunch of holes in my bass" route.

If there was room for 3 humbuckers ala a Les Paul, with controls stacked like a PRS, someone would do it.

Humbuckers are cool bc you can trick yourself into finding something that works. Honestly, you can get pretty bored of the same old. Single coil, series, parallel, separate boosts and cuts, blend, go passive.

It's a nice way to treat your boredom.
If I don't sell my beater German $$, I might copy as PRS wiring diagram and throw in a rotary pickup selector so I can separate inner and outer coils, play with phase, just solder together a serious rats nest.

 

[sprag]

Goals:

- Pbass splitcoil and a Musicman style pick.
- Active and if possible Passive (switchable)
- full volume control on both pickups

I have looked and i find complete kits from EMG and SD that have active PJ setups that come with everything, yet it isn't the same as a Splitcoil and MM setup as i want to be able to have a Pbass and Stingray like bass at the turn of a volume knob.

Anybody know how i can achieve this ?


Thanks in advance

Just purchase the items separately. 1 of each pickup and a preamp. You can purchase a pre wired preamp with pots if you prefer and connect the pickups of your choice during the build, just make sure it has the vol/vol, active/passive switching options you require. As for specific brands/models - that's personal preference

 

[two fingers]

Check out the Delano MC pickups. They are "quad coil". You can go nuts with those things. They have two rows of magnets like any other MM but each row has two coils side by side (like a humbucker jazz pickup). That way when you are in single in won't hum. You could also wire a switch position like a P bass pickup using the front coil of one row and the rear coil of the other.

I think Bartolini was making one at one point too. But I have always found Barts to be a little "polite" for my taste.

 

[sprag]

Bart and nordstrand both offer quad coil mm pickups

 

[somebrains]

Bart and nordstrand both offer quad coil mm pickups

...And EMG, and I think the others as well.

The trick is to follow the $$ wiring diagram unless you absolutely have to try separate preamps like a Masterman.

In that case grab that wiring diagram and copy it.

A wiring diagram gram is a wiring diagram, just a reference to get yourself orientated.

 

[BassSquad]

Thank you Gentlemen for providing me with good suggestions and aiming me in a direction.
I have looked into Preamps and it all makes more sense now and the sky (and $$$) is the limit.

At this time i got enough 'work' to do and figure out the best way to go forward.
Thanks again.

 

[somebrains]

If you have a lot of ideas, try solderless connections.
I have a local electronics parts store, throwback build your own radio and TV kind of place, that I can pick my way thru and replicate what EMG does.

Then try to consolidate what you want to do with push-pull, stacked pots, even a dangling one out the control cavity is fine. You can't undrill holes, but you don't want to be confused when you need to switch a tone on the fly either.

After you get your electronics semi-installed look for voicing you have to have. Look at different ways to switch straight to that pickup and tone setting.

We used to build ourselves all kinds of stuff when we were bored.
I envied the Pbass and Stingray guys that could just plug in and roll pretty much untouched an entire set. Tele guys, both pickups full blast, no selector switch, volume, and a preamp hard set they could pull on. Metal guitar guys same thing with one humbucker, no selector, volume as push pull, preamp had a either a solo or thrash setting.

I always keep something around that I know works for me that is simple. It "is what it is, I can work with it" isn't such a bad place to be.

Maybe when you are done with this one, you'll want to build out something that embodies the minimal needs you can get away with. It's harder to do that, you have to really know what you want and live by it.