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G&L MFD pickups questions
- Thread starter growler571
- Start date
The MFD pickups I'm thinking of are the dual coils found on the L-2000. There's a patent, so one should be able to find out what's unique (therefore patentable) about them.
I personally think they're pretty much two jazz bass pickups, humbucking, with only one pole piece (instead of two per string like a Jazz pickup) per string per coil in one shell.
They're full sounding because they're a true humbucker. Either in parallel or "single coil with Bass Boost", which is a variation of series wiring, they are very full sounding.
They're among my favorite pickups. I don't think there's a lot of voodoo going on with them.
KO
I personally think they're pretty much two jazz bass pickups, humbucking, with only one pole piece (instead of two per string like a Jazz pickup) per string per coil in one shell.
They're full sounding because they're a true humbucker. Either in parallel or "single coil with Bass Boost", which is a variation of series wiring, they are very full sounding.
They're among my favorite pickups. I don't think there's a lot of voodoo going on with them.
KO
I have to turn my amp settings DOWN when going from my active basses to my SB-2.
I did a bit of searching for exactly what the patent is for. I came up empty handed, but perhaps for lack of time/patience. I would be interested in hearing how the MFD pickup in a modern SB-2 (P/J) pickup differs from, say, the Antiquities II in my P-Bass.
I had an L-1000 for about 15 years and I think the world of the dual coil version. I'm curious what make MFD unique enough to be patentable.
KO
I had an L-1000 for about 15 years and I think the world of the dual coil version. I'm curious what make MFD unique enough to be patentable.
KO
Pretty much...
They're all just wire and magnets, but these G&L ones (both the humbuckers and the split-p types) are just bigger and fuller than most other pickups. They got something right, I have no idea what.
One bass player I met, after trying a few notes on my bass with the G&L Humbucking MFD said: "What??? You mean this is PASSIVE???"
They're all just wire and magnets, but these G&L ones (both the humbuckers and the split-p types) are just bigger and fuller than most other pickups. They got something right, I have no idea what.
One bass player I met, after trying a few notes on my bass with the G&L Humbucking MFD said: "What??? You mean this is PASSIVE???"
I like it. What's the bridge? Have you thought about putting in the coil selector? The dual coil MFD is a versatile pickup.
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If ever I get another dual coil MFD pickup it will be more toward the bridge: MusicMan placement if a single pickup bass or where the bridge pickup of the L-2000 is if a two pickup bass. Probably an MFD P-Bass pickup in the neck position if a two pickup bass.
KO
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If ever I get another dual coil MFD pickup it will be more toward the bridge: MusicMan placement if a single pickup bass or where the bridge pickup of the L-2000 is if a two pickup bass. Probably an MFD P-Bass pickup in the neck position if a two pickup bass.
KO
Sorry to derail...
The bridge is off a Fender P-Bass Lyte. It's really nice and smooth, no sharp edges to hurt your hand.
I thought about the switch, but just haven't done it. I may.
The bridge is off a Fender P-Bass Lyte. It's really nice and smooth, no sharp edges to hurt your hand.
I thought about the switch, but just haven't done it. I may.
If you start [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and page through the patent, you'll find descriptions of the patentable principles in the MFD. Basically, you take the idea of a bar magnet with non-magnetized iron pole pieces like previous designs, but the North/South polarity of the magnet is flipped 90 deg. to a top and bottom orientation. There is also a U-shaped "keeper" which houses the magnet/polepiece/coil assembly which helps concentrate the magnetic field.
G&L claims to get four times the output per winding in their MFDs over conventional pickups.
I also have a G&L Lynx, which has two MFD single coil pickups like the first generation SB-2. These MFDs have more output and more thump to the string attack than a conventional passive single coil pickup.
They're very hot and very full sounding. I'm sure ths has to do with the magnets used and how they're wound. They also have individually adjustable pole pieces.
Try them and get back to me.
To my ear they sound BIGGER. G&L's don't so much cut through a mix as smash through.
While I'm not saying all G&L's or or even all G&L L-1000's are like this, the above observation is why I went to a P-Bass. The P-Bass pickup doesn't have as much low end, but I can hear it better when I'm playing with other people. For all I know I got so stuck on "Single Coil with Bass Boost" (aka OMG mode) that I was shooting myself in the foot. What I do know is that I sold the L-1000 and picked up a P-Bass and I don't really regret it.
I still have a lot of love for G&L, which is why I even come to these threads. I may own another again some day and I have a lot of love for the MFD dual coil pickup.
KO
Try the G&L MFD P-bass split style pickup in a live situation once, you may like it even more than the regular Fender P.
I know exactly what you mean, though. The Fender P (mine uses the 62 Re-issue p/ups) is the perfect "voice" in many situations, not too much of anything, just right.
I know exactly what you mean, though. The Fender P (mine uses the 62 Re-issue p/ups) is the perfect "voice" in many situations, not too much of anything, just right.
They are similar to Jazz pickups (pole pieces for each string) and look sort of like two jazz pickups side by side but they aren't quite the same. The reason is that the Jazz pickups use magnets for the pole pieces while the MFD pickups use iron (steel?) for the pole pieces (which are thoughtfully adjustable which the Jazz pickup poles are not without a huge hassle). The MFD has a large flat magnet underneath the whole thing. This makes the pickup much stronger, fatter and louder.
MFD pickups are humbucking which gives a slightly mushy humbucker sound compared to single coil Jazz pickups that have a very pure clarity. Humbucking on a Jazz bass is done by turning on with equal volume settings both the bridge and neck pickups. MFD humbucking is done with essentially two jazz pickups side by side rather than spaced. The MFD idea was Leo's discovery that lies behind the MusicMan Stingray. The two close-spaced pickups interact to give a very unique set of tones. The Ray idea was to put a volume control on each coil of the humbucker and add a strong active EQ ability. The problem with that is that unless the volume's are balanced you get single coil hum.
With G&L Leo went back to a more standard approach which is a lot like the Les Paul (guitar) thing. Just a neck and bridge humbucker. The cool trick with that (the G&L L-2000 etc) is that switches are added not only to select neck-both-bridge (similar to the switch on the horn of a Les Paul) But also he added a series/parallel switch that allows you to either use the two MFD coils in series or parallel (both buck hum!) for different tone. On my G&L I've also added a mod that lets me select two single coil modes as well. The single coil modes give you close or wide spaced single coil pure, clear tone. Though if you only use one pickup coil you do get single coil hum.
Leo's icing on the cake was to use the MFD high output to run the bass passive with PASSIVE bass and treble controls. That's pretty unique in basses even now. Though the range of control is much more limited that many basses. Certainly nothing like the extreme boosts and cuts available in a MM Ray. And then so as to grab the best of both worlds, an active high boost mode is added (passive controls only cut they won't boost) and finally on the same switch is a third mode which is an active super-high boost as a sort of "slap" mode. So that's pretty much the MFD (And G&L ) story.
OF course many of us here know that anything Leo did after he left Fender doesn't count. We know there are only two basses in the world a J and a P. Anything else is a poser and not even a "real" bass at all. So the answer to your question is yes, they sound different from an American Standard Jazz, so you can completely ignore them with no negative consequences.
What other passive bass can you plug headphones directly into and create a sound. These MFD's are more like little alternators than pickups. They create more electricity on there own than most active basses do with a 9 volt battery. They can also pickup guitar string vibration from accross the room, I was doing some recording and when we soloed the bass track you could faintly hear the guitar assumabley through that amazingly potent pickup. This was all on my L-1000. All passive eq, but tonnes of bass and treble, I actually cut allot of signal out with the passive eq and it still puts out a very hot signal.
Yep Leo Fender was a brilliant inventor when he ran Fender but once he sold it, he was a moron out of ideas. Just ask around.
Or you can check out his later creations and see for yourself.
Jim
When I bought my '89 G&L SB-1 bass (like a G&L Precision but with split-coil MFD), the same shop also had a Lynx bass (a G&L with two MFD single-coils on a 3-way selector). I wanted both but chose the SB-1. Now, I still wish I could play a Lynx like that one. It sounded AWESOME. In either bass, The MFDs are high-output pickups with a huge, tight tone and enormous low end. My only bass, in recent years, is a G&L L-1500. The MFD pickup gives it a tone edge over the MM Stingray, passive or active. The MFD with coil-splitter switch and two-band EQ make it a desert-island bass for me. Tone from heaven.
cool note the Tribute basses use the exact same pickups...my GL SB2 Trib was my back up 4 for years, and now since I sold all my "high end" basses (recession), it is currently my main bass.
