This comes as a follow up to a previous thread called "You who know of pick-ups" www.steelguitarforum.com/Forum11/HTML/006833.html which has not turned out very succesful (IMHO)... meaning the question is still unanswered.

I still want to try to have a 12 string pick-up built with 4 independent coils with tone controls each... 1 for strings 1 thru 3, another for strings 4 thru 6 and so forth.
Manufactureres are also invited to come up with a solution too.

Thanks! ... J-D.

[This message was edited by J D Sauser on 30 May 2005 at 01:26 PM.]

Battery-powered gear is more likely to let you down on a gig. In the case of an effect, like a stomp-box, this isn't a big disaster. But when it's your guitar battery that just crapped out, that's quite another matter. In short, I won't use active pickups until they offer some significant advantages (which they currently do not).

If you're willing to pay a considerable sum, there's probably a pickup manufacturer out there who will custom-build you a magnetic pickup with 4 separate coils . That's not an "active" pickup, it's just 4 passive ones in the same package. Realizing there's always the possibility that it won't do what you want, and that you would not be entitled to a refund on your "custom design", would you still want to pony-up many hundred dollars just to try?

Something to think about!

[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 30 May 2005 at 03:58 PM.]

For example, one can wind a thin (e.g., strat-like) humbucker with the same or smaller number of total turns as a regular single-coil. This sounds different than the usual 'two-coil' humbucker. Even a single coil produced with a lot less windings has less noise, since electromagnetic interference coupling is roughly proportional to the number of turns in the coil.

In another example, one can change the pickup magnet material or even omit the magnet. This decreases the pickup's inductance, which decreases high-frequency attenuation from inductive reactance, but also lowers the output. Some of Bill Lawrence's pickups are the best example I can think of of this approach, which is not exactly 'active', but also not 'high-impedance'.

In either of these approaches, one can get the volume and tone changes desired using an active preamp/eq. With low impedance active designs, especially, one can get a number of different tones, drive a longer cable, more consistently drive effects, etc.

Now I love Bill Lawrence pickups, especially for steel or jazz guitar. Clear, balanced and sweet-sounding, IMO. On the other hand, I usually don't care as much for typical guitar 'active' pickups. To me, they tend to sound a bit 'sterile', at least straight into an amp. It's probably got a lot to do with the fact that most guitar amps are designed for high impedance pickups. Really, the interaction between pickup, effects (if present), and amp are critical. Most people I know who use 'active' pickups also use effects heavily.

So, to make a compromise... could one just used standard pickup (high imp.) and add the active controls to it?
What would be a good source for quality on board controls (mid and treble + & - plus vol.)?