Show us your 3 pickup basses!

[shade_1313]

Two Dingwalls:

and a Carvin with two big ole MM style humbuckers and piezo in the bridge:

 

[B-Mac]

Hey everyone. I saw this Low End Lobster strat bass video and it got me thinking about three pickup basses. I've always liked the idea of a pickup right at the neck but know it would be kind of limiting and I wouldn't play it much. Adding one in the middle position adds a little versatility, but its still pretty bottom heavy. But, add a third at the bridge and now there are options!

I only found a few threads about three pickup basses, mostly about wiring questions, and am curious to see what is out there. So, show us your three pickup basses!! What do you like about them, what don't you like? Thanks!

This index is quite handy besides the search feature at the top of the page.
TalkBass Clubs & Special Interest Groups INDEX | TalkBass.com

 

[fretno]

<_<
>_>

 

[BlueTalon]

Two Dingwalls:
View attachment 4415015

View attachment 4415016

and a Carvin with two big ole MM style humbuckers and piezo in the bridge:

View attachment 4415018

I really like that purple one!

 

[Doner Designs]

Not sure how to count the four piezo transducers in this one. Also has a P pickup. It’s five or three I guess. Neck piezo and bridge piezo with two sensors each. Plus the P.

 

[B-Mac]

Not sure how to count the four piezo transducers in this one. Also has a P pickup. It’s five or three I guess. Neck piezo and bridge piezo with two sensors each. Plus the P.
View attachment 4417261 View attachment 4417262 View attachment 4417263 View attachment 4417264 View attachment 4417265 View attachment 4417266 View attachment 4417267

3 pups.
You wouldn't count the P as 2 so why count the 2 transducers as 2?

Pretty cool regardless.
What is this bass? Custom built? You're own mod of an existing ABG of some sort?

 

[B-Mac]

My Ibanez Portamento SRF700 (2015)

It has two Barts and a Piezo. The four upper controls are V/V/B/T for the two magnetic pups.
The two bottom controls are Volume and Tone for the piezo pup only.

View attachment 2959038 View attachment 2959039
Just using the piezo gives it as close to an upright sound as you can get IMHO. Well worth what I paid for it.

Updating my three pup basses.
Dean B2 Brian Bromberg Active 4 string 34" 2 Dean jazz style pups & piezo saddle pup neck thru (2005) MIK

 

[Doner Designs]

3 pups.
You wouldn't count the P as 2 so why count the 2 transducers as 2?

Pretty cool regardless.
What is this bass? Custom built? You're own mod of an existing ABG of some sort?

Custom.

 

[B-Mac]

Custom.

By whom?
I’m asking as I’m intrigued by the the pup under the neck. Never saw that setup by any luthier/manufacturer.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Here's the current status of a restoration / wreck repair. Hammon Darkstar, NOS Danelectro, Seymour Duncan r1-nj.

 

[blacktocomm]

Here's the current status of a restoration / wreck repair. Hammon Darkstar, NOS Danelectro, Seymour Duncan r1-nj.View attachment 4417370

Whoa!

 

[Doner Designs]

By whom?
I’m asking as I’m intrigued by the the pup under the neck. Never saw that setup by any luthier/manufacturer.

Ptcoustic Prototype - Doner Designs

Me. I’m not exactly a luthier but it’s my design. Custom Warmoth parts bass. Loyalty to Babicz and a desire to do something different with the piezo led to the unusual piezo setup. Still tweaking. It’s a work in process. Custom Audere preamp on order. Also need to change the strings. The Pyramid B and E are too thumpy. Need something that will resonate more.

These disc transducers are commonly used on upright basses in those two locations - both bridge and neck.

 

[BlueTalon]

By whom?
I’m asking as I’m intrigued by the the pup under the neck. Never saw that setup by any luthier/manufacturer.

If you do a search on Doner Designs in TalkBass, you'll find a lot of different examples of Steve's work. Including a few examples earlier in this thread.

 

[B-Mac]

If you do a search on Doner Designs in TalkBass, you'll find a lot of different examples of Steve's work. Including a few examples earlier in this thread.

Yeah, I obviously didn’t read the entire thread and I realize you’re helping me out, but I think its sufficient that STEVE actually responded to me, dontcha think?

 

[BlueTalon]

Yeah, I obviously didn’t read the entire thread and I realize you’re helping me out, but I think its sufficient that STEVE actually responded to me, dontcha think?

I suppose if my post had been a word-for-word repetition of his post, it would have been superfluous.

 

[ctmullins]

I put the router to a second-hand Epiphone EB0 body and dropped three EMG active soapbars into it, soldered to my usual Freeway Switch setup. 35CS at the bridge, 35P in the middle, and a 707 at the neck. The solderless connectors make it easy to move them around to different positions, or try different models!

This one is LOUD.

 

[Danger McLovin]

 

[Gary Wang]

This is my three PU P-bass that I made from a Squier Affinity body and a Classic Vibe 70's neck, with generic MM, P-style and Mudbucker PU's

 

[ctmullins]

Is that V/V/V/T? How does the mudbucker play with the other two pickups?

 

[Gary Wang]

Yes, three volumes and one tone. The mudbucker is interesting. It’s very dark, in a good way. And because
the impedance is much higher on the mudbucker than the other two pickups, if you try to mix it with either of the other two pu’s with the volumes of each on full, the mudbucker mostly disappears. you usually have to back off the volume of either the P-bass or the MM to get a good balance.

I also have a switch on the mudbucker that switches from series to parallel to split coil, and another switch for the MM that switches from series to split front coil and split back coil. So you can get a lot of interesting variations in tone. I found that the MM pick up mixes best with the other two when it’s in single coil mode.