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That'd be one scenario where a blend pot is really useful...
I need to check a few books but I am sure that there are photographs of Jazz Bass prototypes with dual coil pickups - almost like precursors of the Musicman Sabre Bass and G&L L-2000.
It also seems apparent to me that a bass with a pickup switch is more useful than a blend pot. However, a three-band active EQ could be very beneficial for dialling in various tones. Would that be a fair assessment?
On a Rickenbacker 4001/4003, Gibson EB-3 or those Gretsch Electromatic Jet Junior short scale jobbies, I would agree. When the two pickups are physically different and/or provide markedly different sounds, switching between them makes sense.
On a Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude bass, the pickups warrant separate signal chains, allowing a deep, clean rumble to underpin the overdriven mid range and high frequencies. (The Sheehan basses are, essentially, a rock Precision with the second pickup providing "sub-woofer" lows without recourse to onboard boosters.)
On a Fender Jazz Bass, decades of habit means that I can dial in what I require more quickly with individual pickup volume pots than I could with a panpot/balance control.
Mostly, it depends on the flexibility - or lack of it - in the EQ section(s) of your amplification.
I’ve got a Sire V7 (Jazz-a-like with the traditional 2 single coil pickups and blend pot but with added active electronics) and I’ve found the blend thing a lot easier to get on with than I thought and don’t miss the pickup switch. As others have suggested it turns out to be a pretty much set and forget thing (and so far at least ends up with enough of both pickups for single coil noise not to be a problem) and have found that the active EQ (three bands with sweepable mid frequency) surprisingly intuitive and easy to get on with as well - the nice thing is that it’s powerful enough, and easy enough to use that so far, when I’ve got up to play at jam nights[1] I can dial in a sound I like without touching the amp controls…
[1] Which you absolutely should do, just as soon as you feel ready, if not a bit before - playing bass at stage volume is a whole different thing to playing at home - huge fun but even more of a challenge keeping the dynamics under control with 500 watts behind you. :-)
- Ibanez SR3XX series (I tried SR300E, felt good)
- Yamaha TRBX 3XX series
- Jackson JS3 Series
- Hofner Ignition Violin Series (I tried it, felt good, sound very hot, although my inexperience may be at fault)
- Epiphone Viola
- Sire Marcus Miller M2 (are those active 'buckers?)
When I will get the time to try them I do not know, but I shall try. Any insights on any of these?
Like the Sire, it has passive pickups and active tone controls.
Aside from its many positive points, the only negative I could find is that the pickups pick up or generate (which, I am not sure) a little hum in some (but not all) selector positions.
My impression is that I would leave it in the list of possibilities.
Series mode is normal, full output, hum-cancelling.
Parallel would be reduced output, hum-cancelling.
Single coil mode is not hum-cancelling EXCEPT, POSSIBLY, if the chosen coils are of reverse magnetic polarity and coil winding direction to each other and, then, only with the balance pot in the middle position.
"Power Single" mode is also not hum-cancelling but is also given some active low frequency boost. Thus, it could prove noisier than plain single coil mode.
Additionally, the active EQ will contribute hiss at maximum boost.
Someone here had an explanation:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ibanez-sr300el-powertap-why.1306753/#post-20488305
"The tap position is single coil, the center is humbucking and the power tap position is single coil with boosted lows."
For me, agreeing with @ICBM's comment, I think that a switch that does series and parallel coils would cancel the hum, which would make it more usable outside of the middle position for the balance.
The switch modification could prove tricky.
2) Simultaneous mode switching of two dual coil pickups via one switch demands the use of a 4PDT on/on type.
But if I get my mitts on one, there might be options...
Based on the diagram above, if the switch can boost the lows, as per the description I found, it must have some reactive components inside, unless it does a parallel coil connection, but I can't see how that would boost the lows, quite the contrary.
The solution might be to physically prevent the DP3T switch from deflecting to either of the single coil modes. Gaffa tape is your friend.