Just a quick question about the new Kellybird basses: I really prefer passive pickups, but was interested in the new JS3 with active electronics. I really want to take out the pickups and put in some passive Lace/EMG pickups, but still have the active circuit manipulation. In a demo video, David Ellefson said they were passive pickups, but with active circuitry. Is it really passive pickups, active circuit?

you are correct, passive pickups that can be replaced with pretty much anything that will fit in the holes.

why not get a js2bird and save 100bucks and put your choice of pickups in and if you want a preamp, add it later?

I'm just not sure about how much wood they'll have to scoop out, I like the JS3 finishes, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Besides, with my setup, it's really about "let's go with something that'll not only sound great and one of a kind, but'll also make people scratch their heads and ask why". That would explain my amp setups: practice rig: 2 small combos and a stack all at once; big rig: 3 heads, 1 modded cab.

a radical change is not changing pickups to something else that would create a "why did you do that" IMO.

now, if you added a 3rd HB on it, that would draw some interest

I'd like to add some reverse P pickups, too, one right in front of the neck humbucker on the thicker strings, the other right behind the bridge pickup(between the p/u and the bridge) on the thinner strings, and put on 130, 100, 80, 65 strings tuned down to A-D-G-C, but that just seems silly. The strings, though, that is part of the plan.


EDIT: ok, I have to admit, I was making that stuff up about the split P pickups, but that does sound pretty cool, now that I think about it....

something weird like this one?

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