My only bass with 3 pickups. Could not get anything resembling a warm tone out of it so EMG was added. There is also a rare SB-203 that has 3 stock pickups. Usually these Guilds don't have a pickup so close to the bridge, I've only seen one other like it (somewhere on TB and published in a magazine, same candy apple red as mine originally was).
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Show us your 3 pickup basses!
- Thread starter Doner Designs
- Start date
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,006
- 1
- 31,700
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
I have nothing against G-3 pickups, but CosmeticPlagues was talking about a new build, and he didn't say anything specifically about G-3 pickups. His post was more about wiring options.
IF he isn't locked into G-3 pickups, then he can drastically increase his options for a three pickup bass by considering J pickups because there are just so many more of them available, especially if hum in a concern.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,006
- 1
- 31,700
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
One of my not-on-the-front-burner-but-not-all-the-way-in-the-back-either builds is a G3-ish bass using bladed Strat pickups and a Freeway Switch.
- Jan 28, 2009
- 2,929
- 4,152
- Disclosures
- Owner: Moonshine Custom Guitars
He mentioned trying to "get in the tonal ballpark of a G-3"...
I would think that would include pickups as well as wiring.
All pickup selections on a G-3 are combinations in series. With a reverse wound pickup, hum cancelling is not needed.
Moonshine
With three pickups and the center pickup being RWRP, it's the same as most strats. The problem with that arrangement is you can't use the neck and bridge pickup together without the risk of hum.
There are two types of people on this issue. One believes single coil pickups produce a better tone, and therefore the risk of hum is an acceptable price to pay. The other believes all extraneous noise is bad, and so good tone + hum = bad tone. I'm in the second group, and that colors my commentary. I speak only for myself. People are free to make whatever decisions they want.
- Jan 28, 2009
- 2,929
- 4,152
- Disclosures
- Owner: Moonshine Custom Guitars
I was merely making a statement on how I read his post. I remember now why I don't post here often.
This is becoming tiresome... Uncle. You win.
Moonshine
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
This bass has only one pickup, but I started this thread way back when and figured that some of the many gadgeteers who visit this realm might enjoy a look at this monster which is still in progress but nearing completion. I have done some crazy wiring on multi pickup basses but this tops them all.
Time Machine Bass Project - Build Thread
Time Machine Bass Project - Build Thread
The next three-pickup project has begun. This time, a three P-pickup bass. For those interested, it will be three DiMarzio DP-127 pickups. Each half of each pickup is hum canceling by itself, and has four leads. That will eventually matter because my favorite guitar electronics genius, Michael at Invalid Link Removed, is going to wire it up in a way that gives me multiple voices and stereo output. It will be an attention-grabber for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the three pickups will be going on this bass body.
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
Love it! How do you plan to wire it?
Did you consider reverse P. You could wire so that you can have two of reversed pickups in the middle.
Since the pickup segments are all identical, having two reverse-P pickups in the middle would certainly be possible. But that's not in the works*. The plan is to have three individual volume controls, a 6-position Turnstyle switch, and a master volume and tone control. As with my other three pickup bass, one Turnstyle position will be manual control of each pickup, and the rest will be tone presets, each one giving the bass a different voice.
This one will also have a stereo option. When the second cord is plugged in, each of the tone presets will split the bass output -- E & A strings out the primary jack, D & G strings out the stereo jack. That's going to allow for some mind-blowing sonic possibilities! (The manual setting will send the same full signal out both jacks.)
*I'm not a believer in reverse-P. It's as legitimate as any other pickup arrangement, but I don't see the advantage. I know people who advocate it would say that the normal P pickup makes the already thin sound of the D & G strings even thinner, and that reversing the pickup compensates for that. My counter argument is that most of the time people play way up the neck, they're playing on the D & G strings, and most of the time when they're playing on the E & A strings, they're playing down the neck -- meaning that the majority of the time, the way the P pickup is normally situated, the segments are in proportionally similar positions relative to the strings they serve.
But all of that is predicated on the idea that pickup position matters a lot more than I believe it really does. I know I'm in what is probably a distinct minority with this opinion, but that's OK. People don't have to agree with me.
By the way, this is what it's going to look like with the neck.
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
Excellent. Very well thought out. Looks sick with the matching neck and headstock. Love it!
Very interesting and creative to go stereo based on strings vs pickup location.
Thank you! That means a lot coming from you.
I've never found pickup-based stereo signals very interesting or inspiring. My first three-pickup bass was a Rickenbacker I bought from a friend in the mid 80s -- he had modded it that way, with two P pickups and a J pickup. After having it for a couple decades, I changed out the pickups and tried the string-based stereo mod. I learned a lot of things not to do again, but that proof of concept worked. And let me tell you, plugging the signals into two different amps on opposite sides of a room and then doing octaves is really disconcerting when you're not used to it. But it opens up a wide world of possibilities. Think of the song Fame by David Bowie (which was actually one of the things that prompted me to think of this to begin with) -- this set-up will allow me to cover the bass part and one of the guitar parts, and having two very distinct sounds while doing so.
Long time lurker and first time poster. I know this is an old thread but I'm having a hard time finding a wiring diagram that fits my needs. The gurus in this thread are amazing and I'm not an electronics whiz but can follow a diagram so I'm hoping someone can help. Maybe I missed it but can't seem to find it. My buddy wants a j/p/j style bass with the standard F style pickups and wants to have serial/parallel switching. I've seen the SD diagram with a push/pull pot but that's for 2 pickups. Is there a way to have a V/V/V/T knob setup with just one switch or pot to turn series or parallel off and on? I don't know if that's possible and my friend doesn't really want all the switches although I think it's cool. Where can I find a diagram?
Would "Series" put all three* pickups in series? If so, one would probably need a push-pull pot with a 4PDT switch on the back of it. Doing some quick searching, I found one from Fender. Invalid Link Removed
* I consider a P a single pickup despite it being in two pieces.
Edit: While I haven't written the diagram on paper, it should be easy enough to modify SD's wiring diagram.
Last edited:
I've used those before and that would work. I'm looking at a push/pull pot and we'll see how that goes. Thanks.
