Show us your 3 pickup basses!

[BlueTalon]

That is awesome! What is your pickup spacing like?

It looks similar to my Jaguar. Mine is set up with 60's spacing bridge pickup, and the pickups are 3" apart on center.

Thanks!

The bridge pickup is in the normal Jazz bridge pickup position (not the '72 reposition that's closer to the bridge). The other two pickups are neck pickups, spaced 2" edge to edge. It was a completely arbitrary choice on my part, trying to get both a wide tonal range and an aesthetic symmetry between the bridge and the neck.

I'm pretty happy with the result.

 

[thisSNsucks]

Thanks!

The bridge pickup is in the normal Jazz bridge pickup position (not the '72 reposition that's closer to the bridge). The other two pickups are neck pickups, spaced 2" edge to edge. It was a completely arbitrary choice on my part, trying to get both a wide tonal range and an aesthetic symmetry between the bridge and the neck.

I'm pretty happy with the result.

Cool, mine are probably right around that spacing as well. It looks great man!

 

[Doner Designs]

Thanks!

The bridge pickup is in the normal Jazz bridge pickup position (not the '72 reposition that's closer to the bridge). The other two pickups are neck pickups, spaced 2" edge to edge. It was a completely arbitrary choice on my part, trying to get both a wide tonal range and an aesthetic symmetry between the bridge and the neck.

I'm pretty happy with the result.

The thumbrests are a very nice classy touch - adds a little wood to the blackness.

 

[BlueTalon]

The thumbrests are a very nice classy touch - adds a little wood to the blackness.

Thanks! Notice how they match the fretboard?

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Here's mine:

 

[Flux Jetson]

Here's mine:

A 3 pickup, headless, fanfret! Wow.

 

[BlueTalon]

What's interesting about that too is the pickups aren't slanted. Do you find you have a bassier response with them like that? (Plus, I imagine it has to be easier on your right thumb than it would be with slanted pickups.)

Nice looking bass! Welcome to the club!



(Hey, wait a minute -- we don't have a club. We should probably start one.)

 

[Flux Jetson]

What's interesting about that too is the pickups aren't slanted. Do you find you have a bassier response with them like that? (Plus, I imagine it has to be easier on your right thumb than it would be with slanted pickups.)

Nice looking bass! Welcome to the club!



(Hey, wait a minute -- we don't have a club. We should probably start one.)

Not much of a ~club joinin' kinda guy" myself ... but I see by your signature it's something you enjoy!

 

[David Jayne]

Not much of a ~club joinin' kinda guy" myself ... but I see by your signature it's something you enjoy!

Just wanted to drop back in to apologize to you, Flux. Calling you 'nutz' was rude and uncalled for. I sincerely apologize, very sorry for saying that. No, the mods didn't put me up to this, but they probably should have. Anyhow...
I do admire your drive and creativity. Really.
It's just that your (extreme) quest to even out the sound of your strings says to me that maybe you're playing the wrong instrument. I feel that the differing sounds across strings is simply a feature of the instrument to be embraced, rather than a problem in search of a solution, and I think that most would agree.

But that doesn't matter. Do what suits you, carry on sir.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Thanks for the kind words guys. This is actually my first time bothering to make a template for a pick guard. I've only made one other in the past, and I did that with a Dremel and lots of hand sanding/filing. I decided to do a template just in case I ever want to make another for this bass.

My pickups actually came in today and I have tomorrow off so I should have some more pics of my progress soon. Hopefully I'll have the pickguard done and some routing done to the body.

I always make templates for pick guards and stuff. It's extra work, but in case the pickguard gets messed up I can make another one.

I actually make the pattern from the existing pickup, if possible. Otherwise I do it just like you are doing it.

 

[Flux Jetson]

Just wanted to drop back in to apologize to you, Flux. Calling you 'nutz' was rude and uncalled for. I sincerely apologize, very sorry for saying that. No, the mods didn't put me up to this, but they probably should have. Anyhow...
I do admire your drive and creativity. Really.
It's just that your (extreme) quest to even out the sound of your strings says to me that maybe you're playing the wrong instrument. I feel that the differing sounds across strings is simply a feature of the instrument to be embraced, rather than a problem in search of a solution, and I think that most would agree.

But that doesn't matter. Do what suits you, carry on sir.

You're entitled to your opinion ... if you want to think I'm extreme (or nutz) for doing what I'm doing, that's ok with me!

However if most would agree that I am playing the wrong instrument (as in the wrong model of bass guitar) because I don't care for the way the EA pair sounds different then the DG pair, then I guess the last 27 basses I have owned were also the wrong instrument ... that is, in the opinion of most. I have not owned a bass yet that didn't cause me to play the DG strings closer to the neck than the EA strings to get the tone to balance out more evenly.

If you meant that I should be playing something other than a bass guitar, weeellllll .. I DO play other instruments (guitar, keys, organ, synths). However I prefer the bass for certain sounds and certain types of musical uses.

I don't think that coming up with a 2-channel bass, and a switching setup operated via footswitch is "extreme" at all. It's no more "extreme" than anyone that uses a pedalboard that 2 feet long and a 18 inches deep to produce the sounds that THEY like, now is it! It's no more extreme than buying amp after amp in the "quest for tone". It's no more extreme than any attempt to make a bass better suited for a given person's needs. It's simply another set of FX that produce a desired sound. Not only that, the 2 channel bass setup has proven to be highly useful for a number of other things. When used with the switching and mixer setup I came up with to conquer the string-sound-imbalance I have created a 2-preset pickup mixer! I can switch between two preset pickup mixes (or ~blends~) with a footswitch and back again instantly and on the fly. Since the footswitch is a momentary switch it only holds the setup in "preset B" for as long as I hold the switch down with my foot. The instant I let up I'm back to "preset A" ... and I can switch between presets so quickly that it happens between 16th (32nd?) notes ... (let's see someone do THAT with a blend knob on their bass in the middle of a phrase!).

I'll conclude with adding that I have been told a number of times that the string tone imbalance issue is something that bothers more people than just myself.

But y'see .. in the end .... none of it matters. This world (and this forum) are big enough for both types of people. Those that feel that the EA strings sound different than the DG strings, and those that think that the ones that feel the string pairs sound different are playing the wrong instruments.



Oh, and apology accepted, but was unnecessary. However it's good to see you have a conscience and that you actually listen to it. That virtue is becoming more rare.

Thanks again.

 

[BlueTalon]

I feel that the differing sounds across strings is simply a feature of the instrument to be embraced, rather than a problem in search of a solution, and I think that most would agree.

That might be an interesting poll question. I personally do not agree with you. Ideally, for me, I would have exactly the same brightness and response on all strings. There might be a few exceptions for very specific cases, but as a rule, I always want to have the same sound. That way, if I'm playing one congruent bass line that covers several strings, I don't have any unwanted emphasis or distractions in my tone.

If I want a different tone, I'll either use a different technique with my picking hand, or I'll adjust the tone control.

Speaking for myself, of course.

 

[Flux Jetson]

That might be an interesting poll question. I personally do not agree with you. Ideally, for me, I would have exactly the same brightness and response on all strings. There might be a few exceptions for very specific cases, but as a rule, I always want to have the same sound. That way, if I'm playing one congruent bass line that covers several strings, I don't have any unwanted emphasis or distractions in my tone.

If I want a different tone, I'll either use a different technique with my picking hand, or I'll adjust the tone control.

Speaking for myself, of course.

Holy shat, y'mean we actually agree on something? Haahaahaa!

I'd say you not only spoke for yourself, but you put it very well for me as well. You said it in FAR fewer words than I have ever been able to in the past.

Thank you!

 

[David Jayne]

So it is pretty much like the Stu Hamm Urge I?

Can you share a photo?

Sure! Here's how it started:

Then I changed the pickups/controls and customized the finish on the P:

Went a different way and made this:

Sorry! Pics in the wrong order.

 

[Flux Jetson]

This is CRAZY cool!

 

[David Jayne]

This is CRAZY cool!

Thank you sir, it was. Massive EQ and coil switching thanks to John East and Bartolini Quad coil pickup. Status Graphite neck. I liked it.
I attempted to market it. Too expensive. But it was fun.
Thank you for accepting my apology, Kind Regards, David.

 

[David Jayne]

If you wondered.....

I decided to do a linear (active) volume, which I like.

The 'dressy' carbon fiber plates I made myself, from rectangles by McMaster-Carr. Good quality stuff, really top-shelf.

 

[David Jayne]

This is CRAZY cool!

Well...
I've decided that as a guy who's designed and built his own bike frame from scratch, I'm gonna have to go ahead and say you da Man.
Carry on. D.

 

[Doner Designs]

Impressive control setup, finish and all the rest...but where is the third pickup?

By the way, dumb question - does linear taper roll off slower than audio? I find that sometimes my audio taper volumes are too hard to adjust because they are so sensitive....especially with mis-matched pickups.

If you wondered.....

I decided to do a linear (active) volume, which I like.

The 'dressy' carbon fiber plates I made myself, from rectangles by McMaster-Carr. Good quality stuff, really top-shelf.

 

[Doner Designs]

Very nice!

Here's mine: