Three Humbucker Guitars

[GuitarDoc]

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)

I was being mild to say I don't like the looks. But you hit it on the head with "extremely ugly"!

 

[Mincer]

I always thought they looked a bit ugly, too. But ultimately, I am a function over form guy, and if it looked weird but worked fantastically for me, I'd be fine with it. It just fails both ways for me.

 

[Clint 55]

Phat Cat in the middle.

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

I couldn't play it, my pick would catch and drag all over the place on any 3 pup guitar. I've tried a few over the years. I'm probably just not good enough to adjust around it.

I think they look cool enough.

 

[maug2122]

I routed out the middle for a third humbucker, installed a 5 way Fender style switch and I plan to add a Seymour Duncan Triple Shot Pickup Ring in the neck position , so I can have a very convincing acoustic guitar sound with an Behringer AM100 Acoustic Modeler.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Proves my point.

 

[beaubrummels]

I routed out the middle for a third humbucker, installed a 5 way Fender style switch and I plan to add a Seymour Duncan Triple Shot Pickup Ring in the neck position , so I can have a very convincing acoustic guitar sound with an Behringer AM100 Acoustic Modeler.

Wow, with the Floyd and 3 pickups it looks like there would be so little wood left down the center where the string tension is, I'd be concerned it might snap in half!

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Never been a fan of the Gibson middle+bridge wiring for three-humbucker guitars.
Am not a high-gain player except for leads, and the extra tightness isn't really helpful for me.
I only have the one three-humbucker guitar so I rewired it for familiar neck+bridge middle position like my other Gibsons.

Set it up with a master tone and the fourth pot is now a push-pull giving center pickup only, on its own volume control.
Pulling up also bypasses the tone control, allowing for a cleaner/brighter preset, with normal operation otherwise.

 

[JOLLY]

I've always liked the look of these.

 

[Mincer]

I've always liked the look of these.

I do like the way these look. And I like an old LP Custom in black (like Fripp's), but neither would be a good guitar for me.

 

[Sirion]

I would be interested in trying to rewire one to have the neck and middle positions working together. In general, I find neck pickups so boomy and lacking in detail as to be borderline unusable. I like them in other people's hands, just not my own. The middle pickup on my Nightswan works better, but there is just something missing. Perhaps that something could be reached through a mixture?

 

[Clint 55]

^ Use the appropriate form factor hum for each position.

 

[Sirion]

I would agree that I generally get better results using something single-coil sized for the neck. This is a different matter, though, as I love the looks of a three-humbucker Les Paul, and I am wondering if I might actually get more leverage out of it than of a regular LP.

Just thinking out loudly without much experience, I think what I would have the following options on a three-way switch: bridge, bridge + middle, middle + neck. If they were well adjusted to each other, the middle and neck could probably share volume and tone knobs.

Has anybody tried anything like this? Or the middle + neck combo in general?

 

[Clint 55]

The notch positions are more wooly than neck or middle on their own. It wouldn't help. You'd have to use minis or single coil size to reduce the wool. But then you wouldn't have the triple fat humbucker look.

 

[Sirion]

Well, there is always the possibility of having a sheep in wolf's clothes... :bigthumb:

 

[Clint 55]

:bigthumb:

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

The notch positions are more wooly than neck or middle on their own. It wouldn't help. You'd have to use minis or single coil size to reduce the wool. But then you wouldn't have the triple fat humbucker look.

Can't see why they would be any "woolier" than another pair of humbuckers, like, say, an SG or a LP in P2.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Wow, with the Floyd and 3 pickups it looks like there would be so little wood left down the center where the string tension is, I'd be concerned it might snap in half!

It's easy to see your concern, but there is still more wood in the body than there is in the neck and I don't expect the neck to snap.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

It's easy to see your concern, but there is still more wood in the body than there is in the neck and I don't expect the neck to snap.

Added to which, the net effect of the string tension should be to put the body and neck into compression, which wood is quote good at sustaining.

It's the sudden bending (tensile) stress imparted on the neck when you whack your vocalist* with your axe that breaks the neck.

*Legend has it Bernie Marsden got thrown out of UFO, at least in part, for whacking Phil Mogg in the back with his guitar.

 

[Securb]

I want to play with my switching options more, but my guitar is an ES, making wiring changes a pain in the butt. It is not as simple as removing a plate and opening a control cavity.