Three Humbucker Guitars

I have a couple, a triple humbucker Dean Cadillac, and a Fender Strat (three full humbuckers). I like them, I have no issues with picking interference, or anything else. Would post pics, but I have forgotten how.....
 
I could do it if they are single coil sized, but 3 traditional humbuckers just get in the way of the pick, and some of the combinations don't sound different enough to me.
 
I love my 3H Les Paul. The differences are noticeable in all 3 positions. It could be the MHS pickups.

BJ0xPXO.jpg
 
3 full size are bad ass if you want fat city and don't care about picking clearance which I don't. You can put the PC in the middle for an ultra fat strat.

There's also HSS with single coil size humbuckers, or SSS.

I recently put together a guitar with all hums but full in the bridge, mini in the middle, and single coil size in the neck. It was extremely balanced.

There's so much you can do if you're a humbucker man. There's also a full hum in the bridge and 2 minis in neck and middle. Or full hum in the bridge, mini in neck, and stack in the middle. Both are very balanced as well.

s-l500.jpg
 
I find it a useful combination. Two ways of wiring without a blade, both which work really well for me

Traditional Gibson style
Bridge, Bridge+Middle, Neck

Traditional 2-humbucker style with the middle on it's own volume
Bridge, Bridge+Neck, Neck; and you blend the middle anywhere you want with a separate volume.
 
ThreeChordWonder said:
Why?

What for?

Advantages?

Any good?

Any point?

How do you wire them if you don't use a five-way blade?
Click to expand...


I think i have posted a lot about 3hum guitars in the past, but here it goes again.

Advantages? It looks bad ass.
Any good? it looks bad-ass
Any point? yeah, it looks bad ass.

Wiring? I have a few options.

option 1:
5 way (bridge, bridge+middle, bridge+neck, middle+neck, neck) with volume/tone per pickup assignable (I use 2x2 pots, not six. the pots assign themselves to whatever pickup is ON), split is optional; I only use one coil of the middle humbucker per outer humbucker. I.e.: neck humbucker with coil closest to bridge of the middle pickup, and vice versa for the bridge pickup.

Option 2.
like option 1, but with a phat cat (style) pickup in the middle

Option 3:
3 way toggle or blade, regular pots. 1 push pull pots engages middle pickup straight to jack, the other splits

Option 4:
3 way toggle or blade, regular pots. 1 push pull engages one coil of the middle pickup towards the respective volume pot (lowest middle hum coil goes to neck, upper to bridge) and split individually.

is it usable? Sure. Do I use it? no. I'm a 2 pup tone guy but love the 3 pup look.

IT GOES become usable when the middle pickup is always out of phase! :D
 
I don't like them. Never have. Don't like the sound, looks, or playability. IMO the middle pup doesn't really add anything to the tone, but just gets in the way of my picking. This is regarding three full sized buckers. I don't have a problem at all with any of my Strats (SSS or HSS).
 
i kinda like the bridge/middle setting on a 3 pup lp for example, but i dont really like three full size buckers on a guitar. back in the 90s i thought the guy from the spin doctors had such a cool strat with three buckers. then i actually got to play it, and i didnt like it at all. sounded good, but just not for me
 
This would be an SG body.

I was thinking Pearly Gates or Seths with a neck model in the middle. I was also thinking of a 5-way rotary switch in place of the 3-way toggle. Maybe a push pull to phase flip the middle.

I'm not convinced and will probably just wait for the right 2 humbucker body to show up on fleabay.
 
Mincer said:
I could do it if they are single coil sized, but 3 traditional humbuckers just get in the way of the pick, and some of the combinations don't sound different enough to me.
Click to expand...
Once again, I can't fathom how anyone has a problem with a pickup interfering with picking even if one plays directly over the pickup. How far does one have to dig in to have this happen?

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
Demanic said:
Once again, I can't fathom how anyone has a problem with a pickup interfering with picking even if one plays directly over the pickup. How far does one have to dig in to have this happen?

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

It catches my fingernail when hybrid picking.
 
I don't have 'classical nails', but about 20% of my nail nicks the strings when I hybrid pick. On the faster stuff, I have to be really careful not to bend the nail back (ouch).
 
Why? Because they look Cool AF

What for? More tonal options, as always

Advantages? Besides Cool AF and more tonal options? I guess not. Do you need more?

Any good? Depends on the pickup combination and goals. Straight off the shelf, less so.

Any point? Only if you want to use those tones and be Cool AF

How do you wire them if you don't use a five-way blade? Two options mainly;

N/M+B/B, V/V/T/T with middle on neck tone-volume or...

or N/N+B/B with a Dial in Middle, V/V/V and Master Tone. Neck is "always on" and you volume it in and out.

I like having the Bridge + Middle combo for a meatier rhythm sound that is not a woofy as Bridge + Neck, available at the flip of a switch.

Try to put complimentary pickups in the Bridge and Middle, meaning...

If a Full Shred bridge, put a invader in the middle (Highs + Bass-Mods)
Or if a Custom Custom bridge, put a C5 in the middle

Something that "fills out" the EQ curve for a super even when bridge and neck are on

In Duncan, think about a Custom Bridge, a Distortion neck in the middle, and an A2P or PG in the neck.
 
I always found them extremely ugly.

The only ones I find look decent for HHH are the PRS narrowfield, or single sized humbuckers.
They normally seem to be layed out SSS/HSS style. (I don´t even like the looks of HSH especially)
 
So...

If I do build one...

SG body. All full size humbuckers.

5-way rotary giving:
bridge only
bridge plus middle
middle only
middle plus neck
neck only

Or a 3-way toggle with a push-pull to give the following on "push":
bridge
bridge plus neck
neck only

With the push pull on pull:
bridge plus middle
all three
neck plus middle

I would add a second push-pull to phase flip the middle.

I would wire it with three independent volumes and a master tone.

Assuming either a Pearly Gates set or a Seth Lover set for neck and bridge, what would you put in the middle?

Off the wall idea - three Dean "Lights Out", as I have a spare set of two already and would buy a neck for the third.
 
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