Thanks in advance! :help:

First off- I though I had all the tools that would make for an aweseom sounding bass with not alot of effort.


One Piece swamp ash body - tung oil finish
Maple neck block inlays
(both from warmoth)

Nordstrand NJ4SV pickups

I figured I'd leave this one passive , vol/vo/tone

I was told that wiring for these pups is white = + black and gray connect together and are attached to the vol pot casing.

prob 1. is that there is a HUGE difference in vol between neck and bridge pup. neck is very very quite. not even a noticable difference when I turn it up or down.

prob 2. although these are supposed to be hum cancelling I still get noise when my hand isn't on the bass strings or bridge. for all the shielding, re shielding I've done...still noise.


This thinkg should thump and growl...doesn't even snarl. What could I be doing wrong? :mad:

Pretty sure your wiring is incorrect. The case is where you solder the grounds. What did you solder to the tabs on the pot? Did you ground the bridge?

If you post a pic of your wiring, it will be easier for someone to diagnose the problem.

Pretty sure your wiring is incorrect. The case is where you solder the grounds. What did you solder to the tabs on the pot? Did you ground the bridge?

i was told by Brian at Bestbassgear (a guy who has been a great resource - please dont get me wrong) that the gray and black get connected and soldered together.

Two wire single coil?

Two wire single coil?

split coil

If you post a pic of your wiring, it will be easier for someone to diagnose the problem.
http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/61/l_4422ba856cab4f94947408b61fe0cc7b.jpg
I realize the soldering look crazy but this is after solder, unsolder, re-solder, etc.. :-(

Not sure if it would be any different. Singles are wired white to the middle tab on each volume pot. Black grounded to the case on each volume pot. Tab on the right side of each volume pot bent back to the case and soldered to ground. Then the left tab of volume 1 soldered to the left tab of volume 2, which is also soldered to the middle tab of the tone pot, which is soldered to the jack. The right tab on the tone gets the capacitor soldered between it and the case (ground). Bridge wire grounded to case on tone pot. This is standard jazz wiring. Hope it helps, but I am not sure about split coils.

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/61/l_4422ba856cab4f94947408b61fe0cc7b.jpg
I realize the soldering look crazy but this is after solder, unsolder, re-solder, etc.. :-(

I can't really see what's going on there.

It's wired just as you described actually. - minus that gray wire. I'm amazed that there are no diagrams on the nordstrand site

How many and what colors from the neck pickup? How many and what colors from the bridge pickup? Is that other gray wire from the bridge?

How many and what colors from the neck pickup? How many and what colors from the bridge pickup? Is that other gray wire from the bridge?

each pickup has three wires
1 white
1 black
1 gray

the most i've been told is that the black and grray should be connected together.

This thing sounds like CRAP....:-(

Man, I am not sure about the gray wire. As for the hum, it sounds like there is a ground problem. Does your shielding extend over the edge of the rout cavity so that it actually touches the control plate? Is there a solid bridge connection to the ground? If you get hum until you touch the strings, there is usually a bridge to ground issue.

I dont mean to sound ignorant but couldnt you follow one of the wiring diagrams from Seymour Duncan's website? They have a wiring diagram for wiring up 2 passive j pups with a vol/vol/tone control

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=std_jazz_bass

I admit I dont have any experience whatsoever with Nordstrand pups but I really hope this helps ya out a bit! :) Good Luck!

I dont know about the gray either. the anwer to your other question is not. the shielding doesnt go over but this still doesn't explain why, even with a little hum that these pickups that are supposed to be so great don't seem to be doing anything other than aggreavating me :-( and I have the flu! how fun is that :-)

The seymour duncan wiring schematic for the passive soapbar seems to be the one you're looking for. Make sure that your bridge ground goes to the tone pot case and then to the jack. Is it possible that you overheated the neck volume pot with all of that soldering?

Email Nordstrand....


Mike

badB - first of thanks fgor hanging in there with me. 2, re over heating - you could have a point there!

BUT - the pickups didn't sound "good" before, hence the soldering, resoldering...I'm confused :crying:

Email Nordstrand....


Mike

cuz I'm trying to get some progress made tonight...not wait all weekend. but thanks mike

The seymour duncan wiring schematic for the passive soapbar seems to be the one you're looking for. Make sure that your bridge ground goes to the tone pot case and then to the jack. Is it possible that you overheated the neck volume pot with all of that soldering?

that's the exact wiring!

I would guess (and it's only a guess) that the neck volume pot is cooked, which could explain that problem. I would also guess that your hum is from the bridge ground and/or shielding like we talked about. If I were you, I'd get some sleep. You're sick and frustrated. Pots are cheap. I'd replace them all and start over. I'd also go out of my way to make sure that the pots only get enough heat as necessary to make your connections. I have no idea how durable they are. Those pickups are good choices and should sound phenomenal when you are finished. Good luck, and I hope you feel better.

I just though of something. Are any of your volume pots 500K? The SD site shows 250K for all volume and tone pots. I always understood that for passive volume you use 500K, and 250K for tone. However, my jazz has 250K for everything.

hey I think you're right - the sleep thing. thank you so much for hanging in. I'll let you know, if you're interested, how it turns out!
happy thanksgiving

just so you know - I tested a 500k pot on the neck vol. same thing.....LOW volume compared to bridge pickup

How about the pickup height? The closer you get to the strings, the more output. But not too close.

naw...that ain't it. there'a just a HUGE difference in vol between the two pickups when only one is on. I know I should be sleep but I can't go yet

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/61/l_4422ba856cab4f94947408b61fe0cc7b.jpg
I realize the soldering look crazy but this is after solder, unsolder, re-solder, etc.. :-(Well, I can't see anything well enough, but it looks like you have dry solder connections everywhere. In other words, the wires moved while the solder was cooling. If the solder doesn't look nice and shiny when it cools, odds are the connection is not good. I suggest you go back and solder everything correctly.

What wattage soldering iron re you using? Because a 25 watt pencil isn't hot enough to do a good job on pots. I use a minimum of 45 watts. A 100 watt gun does the best job, but you have to be careful because you can damage the pot if you overheat it.

Well, I can't see anything well enough, but it looks like you have dry solder connections everywhere. In other words, the wires moved while the solder was cooling. If the solder doesn't look nice and shiny when it cools, odds are the connection is not good. I suggest you go back and solder everything correctly.

What wattage soldering iron re you using? Because a 25 watt pencil isn't hot enough to do a good job on pots. I use a minimum of 45 watts. A 100 watt gun does the best job, but you have to be careful because you can damage the pot if you overheat it.


I agree a bad or cold solder connection is probably the problem.

I agree a bad or cold solder connection is probably the problem.

Nahh, it should sound good even without solder, could be a bad pickup.
Have you tried just going straight from the pickup to the output jack? If it doesn't sound good that way than it's definitively the pickup.

On a side note: What wattage soldering iron are you using and with all the soldering desoldering, could the pot have been damaged?

On a side note: What wattage soldering iron are you using and with all the soldering desoldering, could the pot have been damaged?

I'm sure that the pot was damaged and I'm pretty sure that the soldering was a problem. it's a 25 w iron. but still....

will pickups that have spent, maybe a day, a few hours touching each other damage them? ( I realize how many dirty jokes came to my own mind...but let's try to stay on topic here...lol)

I have a propane powered solder iron :-D

Anywho, what do you mean by if the pickups were touching each other?

EDIT: When i replaced the pickup in my OLP to an EMG, i used the old OLP as a magnet to keep the pickguard screws from going everywhere and all that good stuff. Occasionally, the pickups would attract each other but it did not cause any damage what so ever.

will pickups that have spent, maybe a day, a few hours touching each other damage them? ( I realize how many dirty jokes came to my own mind...but let's try to stay on topic here...lol)

That shouldn't be the problem. Well, maybe in a thousand years or so.

A few ideas:
1- If the dual coils are of the 'stack' type, the wrong coils (bottom instead of top in a s/c configuration) may be engaged (wiring). You also may have a bad/miswired unit.
2- In regards to the noise until your hands touch the strings: this is a common issue. I installed several dual coil p/u's in various instruments having this issue. A star/ isolated grounding system works wonders on that. See www.guitarnutz.com for grounding procedures. I've done this on two Strat's and it quieted the noise right down. It will eat up about 2 evenings, but is well worth it. Basically, you isolate the 'chassis' ground from the p/u return via a mylar cap and sheild the cavity.
I've heard great things about Nordstrands.......I hope all works out good for you!

ok, so FIRST off THANK YOU ALL who have contributed top helping me out ! I really appreciate it.
After a pretty restless night I've decided that I'm gonna go from scratch. New wires, new pots, new iron everything

so far I know I need 3 250k pots Vol vol tone, right?

is there a certain gauge of wire that I should use?

yep...I'm super numb when it comes to this but I really would like to do it myself and not pay someone else.

Nahh, it should sound good even without solder:rollno:

sonofabass: The 25 watt soldering iron didn't damage the pots. It's just not hot enough to do the job correctly. I use a 45 watt pencil all the time with no problems.

So - I pulled out the multimeter once my head clear and discovered that all of the pots - however nasty looking were fine the Neck pickup, however, was not. - fried. Since they're new I'm working that whole thing out with Nordstrand to get that solved. I put some bartolini 's in in the meantime, just for sanity and neatness sake I spent 10 buck on some fresh new pots and rewired the whole thing. :hyper:
http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/56/l_4ef56f76a3b041e5b8124e991fbc9967.jpg

I'm still pretty anxious to experience the Nordstrands but not sure when it'll happen.

I really REALLY want to thank all of you folks who chimed in with helpful info!!!! (sorry I meant to put that in my last post.)

Nahh, it should sound good even without solder, could be a bad pickup.


Told you! ;) :D
The bass looks good, why don't you like barts that you have on?

I just put some antiquity's in my jazz, mine works perfectly but i noticed i used the other lead connection on the input jack and i grounded the bridge with the cap leg on the tone pot. It looks like you connected the bridge ground to the input jack...if thats the case ground the bridge to the bottom of the tone pot.

never mind...didnt realize you found the problem. oops

Told you! ;) :D
The bass looks good, why don't you like barts that you have on?You were right about it being the pickup, but not about it sounding good without solder. That's just plain silly.

Good call. :)