triple coil pups, the holy grail?

Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

It gives options. You want more horsepower and for that you really need to stick to high output humbuckers etc. I don't care for horsepower and only want tonal variety along with a little variation in output. Three coils won't add up to more output than two really. Just more complexity AFAICS. For greater punch, you are much better off with the livewire hot pickups. If you want to scorch the earth with your guitar, that is the pickup to do it with. Three coils will NEVER get you there like a livewire hot will.

i'm really looking for just different. to try something new.
"just becouse its different doesnt make it wrong"
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

I'm not saying it's wrong, but if you use all three coils at the same time, you will likely have a hum problem to deal with. If not, you will likely have the same output as any other bucker will.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

but will tones be different from whats out there now. that is the question. i mean i got fx out the wazzu, to make up for most things. i'm just want to hear something different.
you never know if someone will fall on to something great, while messing with this stuff.
it's allways worth a try
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

There's something you and I both agree on. Everything is worth a try just once IMHO.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

DiMarzio make the Multi-bucker which is a combination of any 2 of their rail style pickups on a single base.

DiMarzio alos made a 3 coil pickup for Ibanez in the late 80's, but it was more of a humbucker with a single really close to it.

Mighty Mite made the original "Mother Bucker" which was 3 coils.

I don't know how you'd keep the 3rd coil from humming tho... but then again, I'm no pup designer...
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

Easy. Don't run all three at once unless you're willing to deal with hum.

I view the middle coil more like a pivot point than anything else. It allows you to have two very different humbuckers in one slot plus lots of single coil/parallel options as well.
 
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Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

I know the general consensus on the late 70s Ibanez triple coils is that they sound like crap, but I've never actually gotten to even see one in person.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

DiMarzio make the Multi-bucker which is a combination of any 2 of their rail style pickups on a single base.

DiMarzio alos made a 3 coil pickup for Ibanez in the late 80's, but it was more of a humbucker with a single really close to it.

Mighty Mite made the original "Mother Bucker" which was 3 coils.

I don't know how you'd keep the 3rd coil from humming tho... but then again, I'm no pup designer...
I remember the Mighty Mite pickup. Yes, I don't know how it would have been hum cancelling.

I don't remember the Ibanez.

People call that pickup arrangment that Hamer used on some of their 80's shredder/metal guitars a Mother Bucker. It wasn't. It was a middle position single right up next to the bridge humbucker. It didn't have all three coils in series. It was two separate pickups. Those guitars were really just H-S-S arrangement, which was hugely popular at the time, but they slid the middle pickup closer to the bridge, right next to the bridge humbucker, and as I recall, they usually slanted the neck single coil.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

How many guitarists would want to route out their guitar to install a 3 coil bridge humbucker?
Just for more output? Aren't distortion type humbuckers hot enough? Amps have much more gain available than they did in the 70's. And what if it sounded terrible?

There are probably good reasons why 3 coil humbuckers didn't really catch on.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

i just say give it a try, you never know. i'm sure someone can figure out how to take the hum out of it. and i mean go buy some old pawnshop guitar that looks bad for cheap and route it. you never learn if you dont try. and hell tech is way more advanced than it was in the 80's. someone say you'll make me one i'll use it.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

i think i'm starting to side with gr8scott i dont see using all 3 at once, but if this thing would work like ithink it would one coil bassy,one coil middy,and one coil trebly. to be able to use 2 at a time in any combonation, would be quite nice. just think of it as a 3 way split coil. jazz and blues players would love it. hell country guys too. and in te end you still get to keep your hum canceling. i think.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

i think i'm starting to side with gr8scott i dont see using all 3 at once, but if this thing would work like ithink it would one coil bassy,one coil middy,and one coil trebly. to be able to use 2 at a time in any combonation, would be quite nice. just think of it as a 3 way split coil. jazz and blues players would love it. hell country guys too. and in te end you still get to keep your hum canceling. i think.

Probably not all the hum cancelling will be in effect with any two coils running at the same time as they will all be slightly off balance from each other. That being said, the hum cancelling effect would still be pretty decent overall and they would sound open and complex and would have a suprising amount of output for their size because there wouldn't be quite as much cancellation as in a regular humbucker.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

so it will work in any combo with the coils. and still get the hum canceling. i think it would be better suited for a more versitile guitar. i like we are getting on the same page here. now i just have to find someone to build it for me. does frank work for sd? or is indepndant? i'd like to talk with him about it. i really want to try this.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

3rdRail.jpg


This is what I have in mind. I don't know if the magnet layout would work well with this kind of a setup, but I'm dead certain that SD can wind the coils with ease. They could probably adapt a P-rails plate to make a one-off to see if the idea has merit. The hardest part would be getting the ceramic magnets laid out right and getting the coils just right as well so they match up well with each other (though I don't care if the strat/hot coils match up well together really). MJ has the talent to wind it probably on the first try I'll bet and so long as you can get the magnetic layout to work ok, it could be two very versatile buckers in one space with loads of single coil options to boot. the sizes are right on.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

so that is the mini bucker size right? and yeah i'm having trouble figuring the magnet out myself. ceramic from what ive been reading is the way to go. you guys where right about that. i hate being new to this stuff, i cant even figure out the polarity on em.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

Ibanez did make a triple coil pickup, it was the Steve Miller Signiture Iceman. They look amazing if you can find one in good condition. as far as i remember it has a 5 way rotary switch to choose different tones from that one pickup, as well as volume and tone. i want one so baddddddddddddd


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ndexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

yeah but what guita would you put it in youd have to route it. we are trying to fit it in a normal humbucker route. with a minibucker and a single of somesort
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

yeah. and acutally, if you find any of these guitars that were actually played, most people modded it to fit a regular humbucker.:scratchch
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

ive seen them in music stores bibb music here in macon has a hammer with a tripple coil,
but they wont let anyone touch it.
 
Re: triple coil pups, the holy grail?

ive seen them in music stores bibb music here in macon has a hammer with a tripple coil,
but they wont let anyone touch it.

probably a guitar they plan on selling off of looks and collectability rather than tone:nervous:
 
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