pickup selecters on bass?

[Narcosynthesis]

why do i never see these?

 

i am a guitarist and got a fender jazz bass a few months ago which i am learning on, i bring in/out the bridge pickup quite a bit when playing to make the bass stand out more or less to suit verse/chorus and whatnot, and thought adding a pickup selecter would be easier than rolling the pot back and forth all the time

 

and playing with a newer s1 fender, i thought about adding a second toggle for series/parrallel switching too

 

any opinions on this?

 

David

[bassplayinguy]

the S1 is a series/parallel equiped bass, thats what the swtich does on the volume pot, puts the pickups in series when you click it down. The standard wiring for a Jazz bass is in parallel

 

as for the pickup selector, i dont really know, all of my basses have either been vol/vol or had a blend knob, i know washburn made basses with a 3 way gibson selector switch in it that controlled the pickups though

[Sixgun77]

No clue there, I only like 1 pickup in a bass. I'll get my brother to have a look at this thread and see what he thinks.

[Narcosynthesis]

the wiring would be easy enough - three way selecter for the pickups and a dpdt toggle for series/parrallel

 

my bass does have vol/vol, just it is too slow switching quickly between two sounds

 

David

[Darkstorm]

I like to think that on the whole its cause bass players arent satisfied with 3 way choice limits on 2 pup basses. That they prefer being able to get that greater variety that haveing vol & vol or vol & blend allows. Same as why basses are common with active eq, cause give more variety then just passive tone pot. Where as hardly any guitars have active eqs. I think bass players are more inclined to being tone freaks then are guitarists. I'm a tone freak too. LOL.

[JC Bass]

 

Originally posted by Darkstorm I like to think that on the whole its cause bass players arent satisfied with 3 way choice limits on 2 pup basses. That they prefer being able to get that greater variety that haveing vol & vol or vol & blend allows. Same as why basses are common with active eq, cause give more variety then just passive tone pot. Where as hardly any guitars have active eqs. I think bass players are more inclined to being tone freaks then are guitarists. I'm a tone freak too. LOL.

 

 

Active EQs for a bass player can also be a big help if your guitarists tend to step on your frequencies. You can adjust your tone on the fly without turning to your amp in order to cut through the mix. Guitarists, depending on the type of distortion they are using and other various effects, can really wash out the bass in a group and being able to change your tone mid-song can REALLY be helpful if you notice it's happening. I've done it a few times in shows. The guitarist would switch to a really thick low end distortion and would be playing lower chords and it would just kill my bass in the mix, so I would tweak the mids and highs up on my bass and I was back in good.

[Narcosynthesis]

i guess that kinda makes sense, i wouldnt use it for fine tuning though, i would still have the two volume controls to set relative volumes and whatnot

 

i play through my guitar amp atm (marshall JCM2000 combo), which has a 6 band mxr eq boosting the mids a bit as i like on guitar, i just found out that the two pickups on my jazz together are a bit quieter and have less punch than when i only use the neck pickup, so being able to switch that pickup on/off gives me a virtual boost to my sound, playing somethign like a muse song, where the basses role can change during the song (from more lead parts to simple rhythm notes and whatnot) i can bring in/out the bridge pickup to suit what bass sound i want at that point, bringing it in/out inthe mix, and a pickup selecter would give me more options with that, yet retain all the flexibility of the bass atm

without using the eq it changes completely though, sa the frequencys i boost/cut seem to coincide with the frequency response of that pickup in particular, i really need to play about more with the different sounds on offer (and buy a bass amp )

 

i was thinking how hard the mod would be to do, i would need to route out a space for the wiring and switches, and then sheild and wire everything (i would shield the rest of the electronics cavity at the same time too) so it wouldnt be too hard, as the routing wouldnt need to be perfectly neat or anything, just it would leave some permanent hidden damage if i ever need to sell on the bass...

 

i need to play about with the sounds a bit more and see what is good using different pedals and setups, it probably isnt a good idea jumping in when i dont know how well the mods would do through a proper bass amp

 

David

[Zen]

I would think that guitars with active pickups should have a decent midrange boost/cut. hey if acoustic piezos can have it why cant electrics

[canadianriot55]

both grestch and gibson make basses with pickup selectors, i suppose that doesn't really help you, but i thought you might like to know

[Narcosynthesis]

 

Originally posted by Zen I would think that guitars with active pickups should have a decent midrange boost/cut. hey if acoustic piezos can have it why cant electrics

 

 

you can buy preamps with stuff like that, i know emg make a few different preamps you can install, stuff like eq options or boost/gain

 

David

[Apendecto]

I like to think that on the whole its cause bass players arent satisfied with 3 way choice limits on 2 pup basses. That they prefer being able to get that greater variety that haveing vol & vol or vol & blend allows.

 

What? Guitars with selctor switches usually have a volume for each pickup and a lot have a tone for each pickup. (You've played a guitar right?) Putting the selctor to the all pickup position lets you use both volumes as blend, like you would on a jazz bass. I think that the reason guitars have selectors are for the different tones through out songs, obviously, since a lot of guitars have rythm as the bassier postion.

I think every musician is a tone freak. Go over to the guitar forum and talk about tone. Same goes for drums, keys, wind...

Yo.

[bholder]

Most of the basses I have that have more than one pickup have selector switches (and I've got more than a few). Though the volume/volume or blend pot setup is popular, too. Just depends on what you like. If you want to put a 3 way switch on a jazz bass, there's nothing stopping you.

[Mudbass]

Originally posted by Narcosynthesis i play through my guitar amp atm (marshall JCM2000 combo...

 

Not smart.

[Narcosynthesis]

 

Originally posted by Apendecto I like to think that on the whole its cause bass players arent satisfied with 3 way choice limits on 2 pup basses. That they prefer being able to get that greater variety that haveing vol & vol or vol & blend allows. What? Guitars with selctor switches usually have a volume for each pickup and a lot have a tone for each pickup. (You've played a guitar right?) Putting the selctor to the all pickup position lets you use both volumes as blend, like you would on a jazz bass. I think that the reason guitars have selectors are for the different tones through out songs, obviously, since a lot of guitars have rythm as the bassier postion. I think every musician is a tone freak. Go over to the guitar forum and talk about tone. Same goes for drums, keys, wind... Yo.

 

 

guitars come with different systems, a gibson les paul or sg has a 2 vol/2 tone/3 way like you said, whereas a fender tele has a 1 vol/1 tone/3 way switch

 

i guess there might not be as much call for instant switching on a bass as much as guitar, a lot fo guitarists use the pickups for clean/dirty or rhythm/lead, which i guess dosent apply as much on bass (though it still can depending on your styles)

 

David

[Narcosynthesis]

Originally posted by Mudbass Not smart.

 

can you explain why its so bad?

 

i know if i runit flat out i risk damaging the speaker and whatnot, but i only play at home atm, so i am keeping the volume pretty low (loudish in a small room, only about 1/4 on the amps master)

 

i know its not the perfect bass sound (hitting the low e you can hear it distorting slightly - its the amp, not speaker, i checked) but for what i need at the moment it does fine

I play guitar already, and picked up bass as an extra as i would like ot learn it, so i already had the amp and so on

 

if i ever get a band going, and gigging and whatnot, i will definately look into an amp (i was thinking of an Ashdown MAG300H + cab) but for now i dont really need it, and could use the money elsewhere

 

David

[mrcrow]

a selector switch does only that...as on the ric..and others

its an either or situation with no inbetween blending

two vols or a blend pot is more favoured to 'tweak' the sound..as most two pup bassists may want to do...

i have used both...erm...all three...

and my final choice was the twin vol set up...despite any drawbacks...it has more 'feel' on the blend facility...

 

but i play either or pups so a switch would be my next choice if i wanted to mod the bass and drill a hole...

 

cheers..

 

also as reflection the guitar..in its many strat clone cloak has 3 pups which would give a bit of a situation trying to blend them all...

lead, rythym or all 3...is that the logic on a guitar

[Narcosynthesis]

Originally posted by mrcrow a selector switch does only that...as on the ric..and others its an either or situation with no inbetween blending two vols or a blend pot is more favoured to 'tweak' the sound..as most two pup bassists may want to do... i have used both...erm...all three... and my final choice was the twin vol set up...despite any drawbacks...it has more 'feel' on the blend facility... but i play either or pups so a switch would be my next choice if i wanted to mod the bass and drill a hole... cheers.. also as reflection the guitar..in its many strat clone cloak has 3 pups which would give a bit of a situation trying to blend them all... lead, rythym or all 3...is that the logic on a guitar

 

i had a strat clone wored up like that for a while, with three volumes and no selector, going in the 'increased versalitity' idea, it just annoyed me and prevented me from switching pickups quickly and easily, three volumes and a selector could work quite well though

 

David

[DrSquirley]

Well i dont really know what everyone else is talking about, but you could just get a toggle switch or push pull pot to mute the bridge pickup. That way you could already have the bridge volume set and then click, its on and at the right setting. Simple yes.

 

For a more versitile setup you could have a three way toggle, 1 position for each pickup solo and then one in the middle for both.

 

-Alex

[mrcrow]

 

Originally posted by Narcosynthesis i had a strat clone wored up like that for a while, with three volumes and no selector, going in the 'increased versalitity' idea, it just annoyed me and prevented me from switching pickups quickly and easily, three volumes and a selector could work quite well though David

 

 

it certainly would:p

[Zen]

 

Originally posted by Narcosynthesis i had a strat clone wored up like that for a while, with three volumes and no selector, going in the 'increased versalitity' idea, it just annoyed me and prevented me from switching pickups quickly and easily, three volumes and a selector could work quite well though David

 

 

Are you talking about a guitar or a bass? I've never seen a strat clone with 3 vol controls. What brand?

[Narcosynthesis]

 

Originally posted by Zen Are you talking about a guitar or a bass? I've never seen a strat clone with 3 vol controls. What brand?

 

 

that was a guitar, it came with standard wiring (1 vol, 2 tone and a 5 way) which i rewired into 3 vol and the switch as a kill switch, it sounded pretty nice, just switching pickups was annoying so it is now back to a slightly more normal system (5 way, 1 vol, kill switch and an unused pot)

 

David

[Zen]

Originally posted by Narcosynthesis that was a guitar, it came with standard wiring (1 vol, 2 tone and a 5 way) which i rewired into 3 vol and the switch as a kill switch, it sounded pretty nice, just switching pickups was annoying so it is now back to a slightly more normal system (5 way, 1 vol, kill switch and an unused pot) David

 

I thought amps didnt like kill-switches

[Benjamin]

I am having my bass rewired as I write. 1 vol, 1 tone, both with push-pulls and a 2-way switch. It will give me each pickup solo, or a fair combination of split coils in between. Pretty nifty I hope.

[Narcosynthesis]

Originally posted by Zen I thought amps didnt like kill-switches

 

no, i cant see why there would be a problem

the way i wired it (the proper way, you can do it slightly differently which would add popping when you switch it and stuff) is exactly the same as having the volume pot rolled right down to zero

 

perfectly safe to use

 

David

[Zen]

 

Originally posted by Narcosynthesis no, i cant see why there would be a problem the way i wired it (the proper way, you can do it slightly differently which would add popping when you switch it and stuff) is exactly the same as having the volume pot rolled right down to zero perfectly safe to use David

 

 

Thanks for the correction.