Wiring up a setup with a dummy coil?

[rojo412]

Pardon the ignorance if I'm just completely barking up the wrong tree, but I have to ask...

I just got a bunch of parts to put together a beater bass. The body was already hogged out in a truly horrendous way, so it's basically becoming an experimental/practice bass for concepts in pickups and switching and such.

I have a set of MIM std Jazz pickups already, but am getting a 51-style P pickup as well. It dawned on me that MAYBE I could wire it up along the lines of a dummy coil/phantom coil setup.
The thing is, I don't know HOW to or even if it would work.

Can anyone shed some light on:
a) Would that work with the parts I have, and
b) How would I wire them to a 3-way switch?

Any and all help is much appreciated.

 

[uOpt]

You can do that, although hum cancellation would not be perfect if different pickups. Note that connecting a dummy coil in a passive instrument causes a massive sound change.

What do you want the 3 positions to do and what kind of switch is it (LP style, or toggle with how many poles?)?

 

[rojo412]

Pretty much, I would just be running those two pick ups as if they were a humbucker. I would use a DPDT on-on-on and want it to work as North coil – both – South coil. But I want the Phantom coil to cancel the hum in north or south.
I'm not opposed to buying whatever switch it takes to make it work though.

Like I said, this entire bass is an experiment project. I don't really care how it sounds, just that it makes sounds! And as a sidenote, I do have a preamp that I could put into it.

 

[walterw]

...want it to work as North coil – both – South coil. But I want the Phantom coil to cancel the hum in north or south.

that could be tough; if the two pickups are RW/RP from each other (they hum-cancel together) then a coil that hum-cancels one pickup would not cancel the other, unless you reversed the wires.

also, +1 to the fact that dummy coils are major tone sucks, which is why they're not more popular. the loss can be fixed with an internal active mixing preamp of some sort, of course.