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Post new topic 12 string guitar using 6 string pickups?
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Author Topic:  12 string guitar using 6 string pickups?
Greg Gefell


From:
Upstate NY
Post  Posted 7 Jan 2009 9:42 am    
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Anyone have any pictures of 12 string steels they've seen where two 6 string guitar pickups were used?

I've been toying with building a 12 string and using Kinman's tele relacement pickups instead of the usual humbucking steel pickup. (All the single coil spank and none of the noise.)
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Jerry Hayes


From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
Post  Posted 9 Jan 2009 9:16 am    
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Greg, that would probably work OK if used like the old Fender Precision bass pickup(s) It's a couple of 2 pole single coils sorta overlapping. I think I'd use all plain strings on the first six and wound strings on the other if possible!...JH in Va.
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Earnest Bovine


From:
Los Angeles CA USA
Post  Posted 9 Jan 2009 10:33 am    
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I like the idea. If you use 6 plain and 6 wound strings, you could EQ the two differently for a better balanced sound. And you could turn one around to cancel some hum.
I had steel guitar like that, with two 6 string Lawrence 705 pickups. The sound was excellent but unfortunately the builder had mounted the high plain string pickup closer to the bridge so the high strings sounded much too thin vs the low strings. It was all in a block of epoxy so I couldn't change it.
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David Doggett


From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
Post  Posted 9 Jan 2009 12:03 pm    
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Yes, I'd want the opposite of that. I'd want the low string pickup closer to the bridge to give them a little more bite and definition. And I'd want the high string pickup further from the bridge to give them a thicker, mellower sound.
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Greg Gefell


From:
Upstate NY
Post  Posted 9 Jan 2009 12:26 pm    
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I agree - you could even apply seperate tone knobs for each pickup to really tailor the high end.
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Dave Zirbel


From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
Post  Posted 9 Jan 2009 11:16 pm    
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I've been thinking about trying that with a 12 string pedal steel. Can you wire two pickups together to one output jack and still get full power from the pickups?
DZ
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Fred


From:
Amesbury, MA
Post  Posted 10 Jan 2009 9:52 am    
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Quote:
Can you wire two pickups together to one output jack and still get full power from the pickups?


Two pickups can be wired either in series or in parallel.
In series the output may be higher (louder) than one pickup but there will be a loss in the high end and the sound will be thicker with less overall clarity.

In parallel the output will be lower and cleaner sounding. The Low end will tend to be clearer.

It's easy to wire a series/parallel switch to get both sounds.


Quote:
you could even apply seperate tone knobs for each pickup to really tailor the high end


This doesn't work very well as the two tone controls will interact with each other, essentially adding up. This is how a Gibson Les Paul is wired. With both pickups on both tone (and volume) controls affect both pickups. I've always preferred to disconnect one set of controls. It's a lot easier when I'm playing. If you want that much control I'd suggest active electronics.

Fred
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Paul Arntson


From:
Washington, USA
Post  Posted 10 Jan 2009 10:20 pm    
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oops double post

Last edited by Paul Arntson on 10 Jan 2009 10:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Paul Arntson


From:
Washington, USA
Post  Posted 10 Jan 2009 10:25 pm    
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I think Framus used this idea on several of their guitars if I recall correctly... Not sure how it sounded.
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=141913&highlight=framus
-paul
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