Pickups questions for a Custom Luthier bass

I love Ulyates and I believe that they are all custom to spec. I have Fralin, Bart’s, bass culture, etc, but the Ulyates are my faves. Easy to talk to and deal with, also.

 

TW comes with a push/pull volume pot...Seems like might work for what you are saying is 2 EMG 35TW pups with BQS. If you don't want balance, then you could simply use both volumes that come with the TW and put the ABC aside...Or you could get a couple of DPDT switches to feed the ABC...So you would have a basic BQS with Volume, Balance (ABC), Bass, Stacked MID and treble pots (5) with two mini switches (4P2T)...

There are a lot of switching options here.
You could do it with a single toggle switch (4PDT) if you want humbucker or single on both pickups (no mixed mode) and feed the ABC
You could do it with a 4P4T Rotary and get all combinations to feed the ABC
You could do it with a 5 way Strat Lever switch and have all 4 combinations with an off position or a boost on one of the positions.
You could use a Freeway, but that might be getting a little crazy... lol! Free-Way Pickup Switch | stewmac.com

 

Oh that makes it way easier I think...With the BQS you would need to change out the volume pot for the TW one and change the shunts. I think you just remove them...So the volume is isolated from the switch...then just run the TW pickup output from the switch to the ABC...JCX or whatever would just go to the ABC as normal. Should be super easy with EMG...plug and play...

 

If you know you want EMGs, I would pair a 35P or a 35CS with a 35TW. The CS will have a thicker sound, and the P a bit more clarity and zing.

But the great thing about modern EMGs is the solderless wiring, making pickup swaps super easy.

Consider the X series.

 

I agree on a 35P in the neck, especially for the genres listed...I use a 40P5 and it is really a great neck pickup. I have not used the CS yet.

 

It looks like you may be in or near Germany, ja? If so, have a look at Delano (if you haven’t already). They’re fantastic, but expensive here; perhaps more affordable where you are.

Their SBC soapbar pickups are very good, and offer single/double coil switching. Even better are the quad-coil versions, which offer the benefits of single/double coil switching, while keeping every option hum-cancelling.

And if you’re not married to the soapbar shape, have a look at their P and J offerings, particularly the PMVC and JMVC big-polepiece designs.

DELANO Pickup Overview

 

My main rationale for going with the 40P5 in both positions with BQS in my B205 was to get something very close to my Steinberger XM2TT. It is remarkable to me how close it is...Notes up and down the wood neck are not as even as they are on the graphite neck, but the overall tone and vibe is very very close...One option to look at if this is a 4 string is the EMG HB...That is the original pickup designed for Steinberger. Something else to think over if you dig Steinberger tone....freaking huge!

 

Welcome to TB. Pickup placement is as important (if not more so) as pickup type. You may want to discuss this with your luthier beforehand and get his advice. Make sure you describe what your musical goal is for this instrument (with sound clip examples) so you get it right the first time. Hope this helps.

 

Someone on here posted a chart showing where the harmonics were in relation to the pickups. I think it was regarding the Jazz bass '60's versus '70's placement. Very helpful for fine tuning your build specs.

 

Yes, exactly.

 

The Delano SBC’s are some of my favorite pickups! I actually just installed a Delano PC-4AL in a P bass, and that pickup is phenomenal too.

Just a note, the quad coils are more of a P while the duals are more like a J when you get into coil switching.

This one has a quad in the neck and a dual in the bridge. Coil taps on both pickups. Sounds incredible.

The bass in my avatar used them too.

 

The MMTW has a beautiful sound in single-coil mode, and almost knocks down my walls in dual-coil mode (EYYUUUGE!)

 

You should look into the Delano Hybrid set. MM pickup J pickup neck.

Edit: Sorry was in a hurry when I wrote that. The hybrid bridge pickup has one Music Man style coil and one jazz bass style coil. When combined with a jazz style neck pickup you can switch from an active Music Man sound to a passive Jazz bass sound. I've never tried the set but I've seen videos and from what I've heard they sound pretty good.