How many different pickup configurations do you have?

[Stempelloos]

1 fretless longscale 5 string with 2 double coils in parallel.
1 fretless longscale 4 string with P & G-humbucker in series (sort of 2 HB).
1 fretless longscale headless 4 string with 2 humbuckers active 2 band EQ/passive.
1 shortscale hollowbody with 2 humbuckers at neck & near neck position.
1 shortscale with mudbucker and mini-humbucker.
1 shortscale hollowbody with neck humbucker & single blade bridge pickup.
1 shortscale hollowbody with 2 humbuckers.

So I appear to like humbuckers in various types and positions with different scales.
But also like single coil pickups.

 

[brianrost]

Do you own multiple basses with the same pickup configuration?

Just because pickups look the same, they aren't really the same. I don't find a Fender split P to sound much like a DiMarzio, a Duncan, a Bartololini or an EMG (had all of those).

The only time I ever had two exactly alike was when I had two Steinbergers...all active EMGs, they did in fact sound pretty much alike. At one point it was a fretted/fretless pair, later it was so I could have two tunings (long story) so sounding the same was a plus in that case.

Or do you try to have a variety of pickup options available?

It matters zilch to me. I'm like a stuck record I guess, my advice is always the same: use your ears not your eyes. Like how it sounds? Then buy it and play it.

How do you approach tone variety?

I approach tone variety primarily with my hands. The right hand being the main tone control, the left takes care of sustain.

 

[Nedmundo]

Three basic configurations, but variations within one:

1. HH, in a G&L M-2500;
2. P/J, in a G&L SB-2; and
3. JJ, in a Fender Jazz, G&L JB, and G&L JB-5. The Fender has noiseless Fralins, the JB has Lace Man O' Wars, and the JB-5 has the stock G&L single coils, so they produce different versions of J-bass tone. The Fralins and G&L singles sound pretty close, but the Lace pickups sound thicker and make the JB function more like a P-bass. So much so, in fact, that I've considered selling my SB-2--but then I play it and come to my senses.

Overall, my favorite is JJ with good noiseless pickups like the Fralins. With those, my Fender never disappoints tone-wise. But IME, five-string J-basses have a slightly thicker native tone that works extremely well with pure single coils, because there's a little less scoop with both pickups on full for hum canceling. I have no desire to swap out the singles in the JB-5, which sound fantastic, and after trying two hum-canceling sets in my old Jazz V, I concluded it worked best for me with its stock singles.

Also, while my SB-2 is easily the best "P-bass" I've ever had, I actually prefer a straight-up P configuration to a P/J. I rarely use the SB-2's bridge pickup and would rather have an SB-1.

 

[martinc]

Fender USA P bass with Pure Vintage 63 pickups. Yamaha BB234 with stock PJ pickups.
They cover all of my tone needs....especially when I run them into my amp through my Sadowsky SBP-1.

 

[retslock]

I have six basses with various pickups. My first decent bass was an old P that i still own but all the others are two pickup layouts. The thing is, I never use the bridge pickup on any of them. The P style sound is the one that works for me and that’s what I go for always. I play mostly soul/r’n’b/rock so the that sound is what I need.

 

[HagenToke]

4 basses, 4 different pickup configurations
P
PJ
J
Soap

 

[Jhengsman]

Passive P/J with flats
Active dual soapbars with rounds

 

[ryco]

PJ - active - Jackson Concert V
2 Humbucker - passive - fretless Ripper
M - active - EBMM Sterling
JPJ - passive - Fender P
2 DeArmond - passive - Ric 4001
2 Lipstick - passive - JJ Neptune 6