Need a musicman or fat humbucker pickup help!

[bassgod76]

I'm doing a project where I have a bass that already has this in the neck position.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/bass/pickups-for-jaz/4string/sjb3_quarterpou/

I want to use a fat humbucker type in the bridge position. I really want to keep it passive, though with Vol, tone, and 3 position selector switch.

Thoughts?

 

[headstrong4]

Have brian porter at porter pickups build you one. He does amazing work and is a pleasure to talk with.

 

[Gasman]

Are you wanting the selector switch to switch pickups or the coils on the humbucker?

 

[bassgod76]

Are you wanting the selector switch to switch pickups or the coils on the humbucker?

Switch pickups.

I want to keep it simple as possible.

I do not want P or J pups in the bridge position.

 

[Gasman]

I don't know if all the MM style clones available work in passive mode. That said, I've got a Warwick with a MM style pickup in the bridge position that sounds good in passive mode. It's made by MEC. I'd also suggest contacting the guys at bestbassgear.com regarding what MM pickups work in passive mode. They've been a great help to me in the past.

 

[bassgod76]

It doesn't have to be MM bucker. I'm just familiar with that pickup, and it's presence level.

 

[Lo-E]

There are lots of good MM-style pickups on the market. They're all likely to work well in passive mode - they are passive pickups.

I think a MM-style will work great for what you are describing.

 

[bassgod76]

Do they make white MM covers?

 

[MoeTown1986]

Doesn't Seymour Duncan also make MM pickups? Couldn't you just buy one of those? Then you'll have brand matching pickups. Then your only dilemma is, wire it in series or parallel?

 

[bassgod76]

Doesn't Seymour Duncan also make MM pickups? Couldn't you just buy one of those? Then you'll have brand matching pickups. Then your only dilemma is, wire it in series or parallel?

Yeah they do, but the description mentions its a direct replacement for Stingrays. Aren't all Stingrays, active?

 

[Lo-E]

Do they make white MM covers?

They do, but I don't know where you can get them. You might be able to get them directly from Ernie Ball.

+1 on SD MM p'ups.

 

[Lo-E]

Yeah they do, but the description mentions its a direct replacement for Stingrays. Aren't all Stingrays, active?

They are, but it's a passive pickup going into a separate preamp. You can definitely run a MM p'up passive.

I suspect parallel will more closely match the output of your neck p'up, but it never hurts to experiment.

 

[Gasman]

It doesn't have to be MM bucker. I'm just familiar with that pickup, and it's presence level.

That's what I'm familiar with as well. Can't really recommend any soap bars- the only ones I'm familiar with are in a Thunderbird. They're passive, so I guess it could work well. The obvious problem with the MM pickups is they (and I would surmise many of their copies) have an impedance that is designed for an active preamp. When you take the battery out of a Stingray, it sounds very weak and thin.

As far as balancing the impedance of the two pickups so that they don't get out of phase, well I'm afraid that's above my pay grade.

Good luck with the build!

 

[bassgod76]

The SD was my first idea. I just didn't know if MM pickups require active power.

 

[bassgod76]

I'm refurbishing a Mustang bass, but I want to make it something insanely beefy and wild. If I have to roll with an active setup, then I will. I was just hoping to keep the electronics simple.

 

[MoeTown1986]

Yeah they do, but the description mentions its a direct replacement for Stingrays. Aren't all Stingrays, active?

They have an active preamp. But the pickup is still a passive pickup. At least that's how I understand them. I'd call Seymour Duncan and ask. It'd be cool to have a brand-matching set.

 

[butcher]

Contact the folks at Seymour Duncan. Their customer service is pretty good and I am pretty sure that Basslines MM pickup will sound just fine passive.

I had a set of quarter pound jazz 5-string pickups. They are hot and edgy but tamable. You could probably replace one of your vol or tone pots with a push-pull to set the MM pup in series or parallel. If you have a place for a DPDT On-On-On switch you can also do other combinations like North Single Coil - Parallel - South Single Coil.

 

[Hopkins]

The SD was my first idea. I just didn't know if MM pickups require active power.

The Duncan isn't an active pickup, neither is the stock pickup up in a StingRay. Either of them will work fine without a preamp.

I have a Duncan SMB4 in the bridge position of a P bass wired passive. I can make some sound clips later if you are interested.

 

[bassgod76]

The Duncan isn't an active pickup, neither is the stock pickup up in a StingRay. Either of them will work fine without a preamp.

I have a Duncan SMB4 in the bridge position of a P bass wired passive. I can make some sound clips later if you are interested.

Someone mentioned that the MM sounds super thing w/o preamp support. Any truth in that? I've used SD Quarter Pounders in two P basses I've had, and they were beefy, passive.

I've never used a MM without preamp, so I'm wondering.

 

[Lo-E]

Someone mentioned that the MM sounds super thin[DEL]g[/DEL] w/o preamp support. Any truth in that?

Yes, but that's because the signal is still going through the preamp when the battery dies. If Stingrays had a bypass switch it would be a different story. I assure you: you can run a MM p'up passive. It sounds good.

As another option, you could look into a G&L MFD humbucker. HUGE output.