The Gibson G3 pickups, and the innovative electronics associated with them were the product of Gibson designer Bill Lawrence, for a "bright/low" tonality. The pickup itself was simple: a single coil around a Alnico magnet, both embedded in clear resin. Thanks to the translucent covers used in early examples, we can see exactly what is inside. Although the pickups were single coil, they were wired together into various humbucking configurations: the controls did not allow for any pickup to be selected alone - see the description of controls for more information on this.
The three pickups are slightly different, with different part numbers, different coloured leads, and presumably slightly different characteristics: 13109 (front - one black lead), 13110 (middle - two orange leads), 13111 (back - one red lead).
Later examples had black covers rather than the clear. Dimensions (excluding mounting tabs): 79mm x 20mm x 16mm.
Soundclips
Have a listen to a 1976 G-3, all three pickups activated - Gibson described this setting as a "buck-and-a-half". More G-3 soundclips here.
List of Gibson bass guitar pickups
Gibson G-3 bass pickup for sale
Vintage 1970's Gibson S-1 Guitar or G-3 Bass NECK Pickup 5 50
Miami, Florida, 331**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$280
Sales tax will be added by ebay. I will ship most of my items to many countries other than... more
Vintage 1970's Gibson S-1 Guitar or G-3 Bass MIDDLE Pickup 5 45
Miami, Florida, 331**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$280
Sales tax will be added by ebay. I will ship most of my items to many countries other than USA, but I ask that all buyers contact me before making ... more
Vintage 1970's Gibson S-1 Guitar or G-3 Bass BRIDGE Pickup 5 348
Miami, Florida, 331**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$280
Sales tax will be added by ebay. I will ship most of my items to many countries other than USA, but I ask that all buyers ... more
Vintage 1970's Gibson G-3 Bass or S-1 BRIDGE Pickup 5 41
Cincinnati, Ohio, 452**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$175
Vintage 70's Gibson Grabber G3 Bass Guitar Pickup
Graham, North Carolina, 272**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$130
... more
I would like to know the ohm reading for just one of these pickups so I can find something comparable. Bartolini makes blade style single and dual coil pickups that may fit the bill. Harmonic content for the G3 is better than anything I have ever heard and yes it is better than a USA MTD.