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

[Artie]

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

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?

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.

 

[dg27]

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

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.

 

[Artie]

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.

 

[dg27]

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.

 

[donaldr]

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.

 

[Artie]

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

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.