A magnetic recording disk drive uses side-by-side read/write heads formed on head carriers that are identical for both top and bottom disk surfaces. Thus, a common head carrier functions as a single manufacturable part usable for both top and bottom disk surfaces. The common head carrier has a trailing end with a pattern of components formed on it that includes three side-by-side transducers (two read elements equally spaced about a center write element) and five terminal pads, one of which is a common pad, and all of the electrical connectors interconnecting the five terminal pads with the three transducers. There are only three terminal pads for the two read elements, with one of the read terminal pads being a common terminal pad that is electrically connected to both read elements. During assembly of the disk drive, the common carrier, when used as the top carrier, has a first read terminal pad and the common terminal pad connected to the leads on the suspension. When used as the bottom carrier, the second read terminal pad and the common terminal pad are connected to the leads on the suspension. Thus, only one carrier common to both top and bottom sides of the disk needs to be manufactured. The uniqueness of the top and bottom carriers is obtained by the wiring connection of the read terminal pads to the leads on the suspensions.