Post your 3-Pickup Basses!

[Green Knight]

I've never owned a Fender Urge 1 or 2 or a Reverend Triad, but I have owned a three-pickup Landing and now have one by enigmatic Japanese company TS Factory. I've always been interested in 3-pickup basses for some reason. Maybe it's because with all positions engaged, you get a very strong yet articulate tone with nicely-balanced bass, mids, and treble.

My Japanese telecaster bass had Strat wiring, but I had a local pro add a switch to allow for simultaneous use of the two outer pickups as well as of all three at once.
Of the many pickup combinations on tap, I find that I prefer having all 3 pickups on at once and then playing over the appropriate pickup to accentuate the tone I'm after.
I was going to sell this bass but was so happy with the all-three-at-once mode and how it sounds with cobalt flats that I couldn't do it.
Anyone else rocking three-pickup basses? Do you like them all on at once? Do you ignore any of the pickups entirely?
Here's my weirdo triadic bass. Notice the endearing asymmetry of the pickups!

 

[HaphAsSard]

Three-pickup basses Jan '04
3-pickup Basses Nov '04
Show your 3+ Pickup basses! Nov '06
Lets see your basses that have 3 plus pickups ! Oct '08
show your basses with more than 2 pickups Sep '09
Show me the three-pickup production basses Mar '10
Three+ Pickup Basses - Show Yours! Nov '10
Post your 3+ pickup basses! May '11
3 pickup basses! Nov '12
Show us your 3 pickup basses! Dec '12
Let's See Your 3 or More Pickup Basses.. Apr '17
3 pickup basses Aug '18
Basses with multiple (more than two) pickups installed Nov '22
Nevermind this thread. Lol. June '23

As I noted in the last couple threads linked, it appears to be a mainly Novemberly urge. We're early.


[See what I did there? "Urge". Get it? Get it? No? I know you're there, I can hear you typing...]

 

[dave64o]

As posted above, there have been multiple threads about three-pickup basses already. But I’ll never pass up the opportunity to show off MY beauty - a 2011 Musicman Big Al 5HHH in Metallic Red.

To answer your questions, I can turn each pickup on and off individually and I use every combination on a typical four set gig. My favorites are 1) neck and middle pickups on and 2) all pickups “off”, which gives you the middle and bridge pickups in SERIES, or as I call it, beast mode. That setting gives a killer rock tone!

One other thing to note, I LOVE the sound of this bass in passive mode. I play it passive almost all the time and only use active on a few specific songs in our play list.

 

[Green Knight]

Three-pickup basses Jan '04
3-pickup Basses Nov '04
Show your 3+ Pickup basses! Nov '06
Lets see your basses that have 3 plus pickups ! Oct '08
show your basses with more than 2 pickups Sep '09
Show me the three-pickup production basses Mar '10
Three+ Pickup Basses - Show Yours! Nov '10
Post your 3+ pickup basses! May '11
3 pickup basses! Nov '12
Show us your 3 pickup basses! Dec '12
Let's See Your 3 or More Pickup Basses.. Apr '17
3 pickup basses Aug '18
Basses with multiple (more than two) pickups installed Nov '22
Nevermind this thread. Lol. June '23

As I noted in the last couple threads linked, it appears to be a mainly Novemberly urge. We're early.


[See what I did there? "Urge". Get it? Get it? No? I know you're there, I can hear you typing...]

Oh dear, my bad for not searching!

 

[Green Knight]

Oh, and I see what you did there!

 

[_Obra_]

As posted above, there have been multiple threads about three-pickup basses already. But I’ll never pass up the opportunity to show off MY beauty - a 2011 Musicman Big Al 5HHH in Metallic Red.



View attachment 7041805


To answer your questions, I can turn each pickup on and off individually and I use every combination on a typical four set gig. My favorites are 1) neck and middle pickups on and 2) all pickups “off”, which gives you the middle and bridge pickups in SERIES, or as I call it, beast mode. That setting gives a killer rock tone!

One other thing to note, I LOVE the sound of this bass in passive mode. I play it passive almost all the time and only use active on a few specific songs in our play list.

Big Al is one of few left on my GAS list!

 

[Green Knight]

Mine too!

 

[CryingBass]

I always wondered how the MM HSS ones worked out for folks.

 

[B-Mac]

I've never owned a Fender Urge 1 or 2 or a Reverend Triad, but I have owned a three-pickup Landing and now have one by enigmatic Japanese company TS Factory. I've always been interested in 3-pickup basses for some reason. Maybe it's because with all positions engaged, you get a very strong yet articulate tone with nicely-balanced bass, mids, and treble.

My Japanese telecaster bass had Strat wiring, but I had a local pro add a switch to allow for simultaneous use of the two outer pickups as well as of all three at once.
Of the many pickup combinations on tap, I find that I prefer having all 3 pickups on at once and then playing over the appropriate pickup to accentuate the tone I'm after.
I was going to sell this bass but was so happy with the all-three-at-once mode and how it sounds with cobalt flats that I couldn't do it.
Anyone else rocking three-pickup basses? Do you like them all on at once? Do you ignore any of the pickups entirely?
Here's my weirdo triadic bass. Notice the endearing asymmetry of the pickups!

View attachment 7041772

69 pages here: Show Us your 3 pickup basses

 

[DuluthDank]

This is the 3 pickup bass I WISH was mine. But they are rare, and pricy when for sale: ESP Tetsuya signature bass IV

 

[EvilJ]

 

[Eli Freebairn]

My G3 is my sweet baby. Don’t often use all three pickups though

 

[scuzzy]

I always wondered how the MM HSS ones worked out for folks.

Great!

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Had an HSS Reflex (in a different color than the one above). Neck pickup got in the way of slapping.
Traded.

 

[dave64o]

Great!

Nice! I LOVE the finish on the 25th Anniversary models.

 

[SB300]

So has anyone wired one with 3 single coils like a Strat? I wonder what it would sound like in positions 2 and 4 getting the "quack" sound?

 

[Ronderossi]

My modded squier SS

 

[JohnnyChatter]

Here’s my Gibson G3. I always run all 3 pickups. I own some prize basses but this is my baby. The tone is so good you learn to love all the strange quarks it has.

 

[Green Knight]

This is the 3 pickup bass I WISH was mine. But they are rare, and pricy when for sale: ESP Tetsuya signature bass IV

View attachment 7042013

I like it! Not in buy mode but Grass Roots by ESP Jaguar Bass GT64B IV Tetsuya - Guitar Shop Barcelona

 

[Green Knight]

Here’s my Gibson G3. I always run all 3 pickups. I own some prize basses but this is my baby. The tone is so good you learn to love all the strange quarks it has.

On my GAS list! I love old Gibson neck profiles.