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Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

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  • ArtieToo
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by donaldr View Post
    On an active bass I'm ok with a blend if the blend is an active circuit and not just a blend pot.
    That's one of the things I find odd, and also the reason I ordered the EMG ABC circuit. (Which has arrived.) Almost all the active circuits I've seen, including all of the Duncan preamps, use a passive blend in front of a basically single-channel preamp. Buffering the two inputs to the blend pot is such a tiny amount of circuitry. One dual-opamp would do it. I'm not sure why it isn't done more often. My Toby bass has terrible pup loading. The blend and volume are both passive on the input to the preamp.

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  • donaldr
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Regarding OP question, I don't see myself using a blend on a guitar, not because of tradition but for convenience. Some songs I switch neck/bridge pickups often, a blend would not work.
    On a passive bass I prefer VV, a blend is not doing it for me. On an active bass I'm ok with a blend if the blend is an active circuit and not just a blend pot.

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  • dg27
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    I learned about the mod from Tony Dudzik (Pickguardian), who has made several pickguards for me. I had it done on my '87 MIJ Squier Jazz and was completely sold. It's now my default to have that done whenever I do a pickup swap.

    Leave a comment:


  • ArtieToo
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    I'll definitely give it a try. My EMG ABC control is supposed to arrive today.

    Leave a comment:


  • dg27
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by ArtieToo View Post
    I'd like to try this. Did you try this on a J or a P, or both?
    The four that are wired that way are these:

    '84 MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Special w/SD Hot for P neck & Dimarzio Model J for bridge [BEAD tuning]
    '99 Fretless MIJ Fender Precision/'87 MIJ Fender Squier Jazz hybrid w/SD QP for Jazz
    '12 MIM Fender Jazz w/Dimarzio Model J
    '14 Fretless Warmoth Custom T w/ SDCS Stack for SCPB N & B

    The s-p wiring makes a HUGE difference with the Warmoth and greatly increases the range.

    Leave a comment:


  • ArtieToo
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by dg27 View Post
    The four basses I use most have s-p switching and I do indeed switch the setting during different parts of songs because the difference is dramatic.
    I'd like to try this. Did you try this on a J or a P, or both?

    Originally posted by Chistopher View Post
    It's weird, I'm totally fine with active boost/cut 3-band on-board EQs and blend knobs on a bass, but try as I might, it just doesn't work on a guitar. I like my guitars simple and stripped down and my bass to have complexity to the wiring.
    I'm kinda in this same boat. Even though I try some oddball wiring, I generally go back to "normal." The one exception is that I love the V3rd, (virtual middle humbucker), sound.

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  • Chistopher
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    It's weird, I'm totally fine with active boost/cut 3-band on-board EQs and blend knobs on a bass, but try as I might, it just doesn't work on a guitar. I like my guitars simple and stripped down and my bass to have complexity to the wiring.

    Leave a comment:


  • dg27
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post
    Guitar is a rhythm and lead instrument. There's often call to quickly switch between very different sounds in a tune. Bass tends to be largely a rhythm instrument, and there isn't as much call for switching between particular sounds in a song.
    The four basses I use most have s-p switching and I do indeed switch the setting during different parts of songs because the difference is dramatic.

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  • Aceman
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post
    Guitar is a rhythm and lead instrument. There's often call to quickly switch between very different sounds in a tune. Bass tends to be largely a rhythm instrument, and there isn't as much call for switching between particular sounds in a song.
    I'm not going to call you an idiot. That would be wrong and disrespectful. I will say I believe you just made that up and have no basis for that other than your own opinion.

    Leave a comment:


  • ArtieToo
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    I've added a push-pull to do that mod before. It does make an interesting virtual bridge humbucker.

    Leave a comment:


  • Erlend_G
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    best tone I ever had, was with a Strat, with the middle/bridge pickups wired in series...

    i kid you not :o

    Leave a comment:


  • ArtieToo
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    On my Toby, I find that it sounds best right in the middle. I'd probably eliminate the blend altogether if I hadn't ordered the ABC pot.

    Leave a comment:


  • dg27
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by dg27 View Post
    My '76 Rick 4001S and '84 MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Special both had 3-ways. I replaced them with a blend in both cases.
    Update: I redid the '84 MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Special, replacing the blend with a DPDT tone/series-parallel switch.

    Not really a fan of blends, but I love S-P switching.

    Leave a comment:


  • Mincer
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    To the original question, I am gonna go with 'tradition' more than anything else. We guitarists and bassists love it, and anything different frightens and scares us.

    Leave a comment:


  • ArtieToo
    replied
    Re: Why do you suppose bass's use "blends", while guitars use switches?

    Originally posted by DavidRavenMoon View Post
    I put a blend control on one of my two humbucker guitars instead of a switch. It wasn’t as useful as on a bass. The blend options between the two pickups was meh, and I ended up putting the switch back in.
    That's interesting. I was thinking of trying this with one of my LP's. If I do, I'll report back.

    I did go ahead and order the EMG ABC from Sweetwater, but it's a special order item and takes time to get. I may go ahead and install the Apollo's just to get a baseline tone. Then I can tell better what the tonal impact of the ABC is.

    Leave a comment:

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