L2000 modded for Series/Parallel/SC Inside/SC Outside (Diagrams & Sound Samples)

Femto · #1 02-28-2009, 09:17 PM

Hey there folks,

I've been doing some reading of the posts made by DavePlaysBass and Sunbeast and took it upon myself to modify my L2K Tribby to allow all 4 modes at once. Those modes being Series, Parallel, Inside Single Coils and Outside Single Coils. After quite a lot of getting-my-head-round-it, I've succeeded.

I've made a web page with sound samples that you can listen to just in case you're wondering if the mod is for you or not. It sure was for me. It's made this L2000 which is a versatile instrument, tone-wise as it comes from the factory into a very versatile one.

Here's the link to my L2K mod page.

Thanks go to DavePlaysBass and Sunbeast for the inspiration.

Here's a photo of my L2K Tribute with the extra 3-way switch:

francisl2500 · #2 02-28-2009, 09:53 PM

Greeeeeaaaaaaattt job man, nice clip and nice diagram to
Francis

Bulltrout · #3 02-28-2009, 09:58 PM

Yeah, well done. Very interesting mods.

Mick Markey · #4 02-28-2009, 10:40 PM

Very surprising how much variation there is from inside to outside coils !

Excellent job all around !

abrahamseed · #5 03-01-2009, 08:26 AM

hmmmm........i might need to get out my tools.............

DavePlaysBass · #6 03-01-2009, 10:02 PM

Nicely done. I think your clips capture the essence of the mods well. You should get your page linked up top.

The one thing I will add is that if you add the bass boost caps things will not work as expected. This is because the series setting is not like the orignal Leo wiring. Which is fine if you do not use the bass boost caps.

excane · #7 03-01-2009, 10:07 PM

Sweet.

Femto · #8 03-02-2009, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavePlaysBass

Nicely done. I think your clips capture the essence of the mods well. You should get your page linked up top.

Thanks Dave. Glad you like the clips. The page is gonna be there permanently and if I move to a different webspace provider (which I have no plans to) the link will be maintained.
Also, it'd be an honour to have my post stickied.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavePlaysBass

The one thing I will add is that if you add the bass boost caps things will not work as expected. This is because the series setting is not like the orignal Leo wiring. Which is fine if you do not use the bass boost caps.

Yeah, I realised that the bass boost caps would affect the circuit in such a way that it would no longer function but in all honesty, I can't see anyone needing a bass boost on these instruments. I find my L2K Tribute to have an abundance of low-end anyway and I sometimes have to dial the lows down a bit - especially in Series mode.

The new single coil modes give, in my opinion anyway, a selection of very useable tones. Both pickups together, set to the outside coils seem very close in tone to a Jazz Bass, which I'm quite pleased with. As for the inside coils, the clarity of the tone in that setting is really quite impressive. Those inside coils have a tone all of their own.

I was worried at first that the way I've modified the circuit, i.e. intercepting the ground wires and selectively lifting either the outside or inside coils' grounds would produce a hum but as you will have heard in the clips, fortunately, there is none. Even when using headphones, the only noise is a slight hiss from my Roland amplifier's preamp.

By the way Dave, I've updated my page with your comments so thank you for that. I've also sent you an email with your document attached but I've converted it to a PDF file just in case some people don't have a program that opens Word docs.

millahh · #9 03-02-2009, 12:34 PM

Femto, I think you're my new hero.

I'm going to see if i can figure out a way to do this with a push/pull pot. I modded to have SC inside as an option with the big switch, and have OMG mode (i.e. single coil with bass-boost, using the capacitors) available using a push/pull. However, I've found OMG mode to be a bit unwieldy...yes, I can simulate earthquakes with it, but it doesn't seem practical. So I want to see if I can reappropriate the push/pull for this purpose instead.

cb56 · #10 03-02-2009, 03:56 PM

As requested I added a link to this thread in the stickied G&L FAQ and links thread.

fender3x · #11 03-06-2009, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millahh

Femto, I think you're my new hero.

I agree totally. Really an inspiration, and nice to hear the clips so you can really get a sense of how worthwhile the mods are.

Quote:

I'm going to see if i can figure out a way to do this with a push/pull pot. I modded to have SC inside as an option with the big switch, and have OMG mode (i.e. single coil with bass-boost, using the capacitors) available using a push/pull. However, I've found OMG mode to be a bit unwieldy...yes, I can simulate earthquakes with it, but it doesn't seem practical. So I want to see if I can reappropriate the push/pull for this purpose instead.

That's close to what I want to do... I haven't done the mod yet, but this is how I mapped it out based on DavePlayBass's chart. Got some help from Sunbeast as well.

I am had to "connect" the wires to see how everything worked, so the ugly additions to DavePlayBass's nice diagram are mine...

This is DavePlayBass's SC-inside/parallel/series mod with bass boost on the Series and SC-inside settings. The DPDT switch adds SC-outside without bass boost.

I bought a 1 meg pot with a push-pull switch that I plan to put in the bass eq position. The idea is to leave it down (on-on) all the time except when I want single coil-outside without bass boost. To do that, I need to put the "big" switch in "parallel" mode, and put the push-pull into the "up" position.

The proveso is that the push-pull switch will only work in the parallel position, but I think I can live with that ;-)

DavePlaysBass · #12 03-08-2009, 11:42 AM

That will work. I have considered doing exactly with a 250K push pull on the volume pot. And if you want the series mode bass boost caps, this will not interfere with them.

But I have two kids and a job that make it hard to find practice time, let alone time to rewire.

millahh · #13 03-08-2009, 11:59 AM

That sounds cool, fender3x. But where'd you find a w meg push/pull pot? I didn't even think such a thing existed...

My idea for outer coils is to use a push/pull to kill the inner coils. In parallel mode, when the switch is thrown, it'll leave just the outer coils. In the other modes, it will act as a kill switch. I wouldn't even need to remove my bass-boost mode to do this (the two options wouldn't interfere, and I have an extra p/p pot lying around).

fender3x · #14 03-08-2009, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millahh

...where'd you find a w meg push/pull pot? I didn't even think such a thing existed...

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/e...shpullpots.htm

It's even solid shaft--the only push/pull pot I could find that was. The main reason for putting it on the bass pot, however, was that it seemed to require moving the least amount of stuff in that overstuffed control cavity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavePlaysBass

That will work. I have considered doing exactly with a 250K push pull on the volume pot. And if you want the series mode bass boost caps, this will not interfere with them.

Nice to have that endorsement!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavePlaysBass

But I have two kids and a job that make it hard to find practice time, let alone time to rewire.

Me too. That's why I am still planning this, but haven't started. I have all the parts, been playing my backup bass while the back stays off my ASAT... just need to find the time to do it ;-)

fourstringbliss · #15 04-03-2009, 11:29 AM

I'm very interested in doing this mod on my L2500 Tribute, but I've got some wiring questions. Hopefully someone here can help me with it.

Here are the wiring diagrams:

It looks to me like the black neck pickup wire goes to pin 2 on the series/parallel switch and pin 11 on the single coil switch. Is this right? Should I attach it to pin 2 and run another wire from there to pin 11, attach it to pin 11 and run another wire from there to pin 2, or should I run separate wires from each pin and solder them to the end of the neck black wire?

The single coil switch diagram says that on the neck side I should connect the "green + bridge backplate wire" to pin 8. Would that be the neck green + bridge backplate wire or the bridge green + bridge backplate wire? I assume it's the neck green wire because that's the neck side of the switch, but I just want to be sure.

Thanks!

fourstringbliss · #16 04-04-2009, 06:27 PM

Anybody?

eatcg · #17 04-04-2009, 09:45 PM

More solid shaft push-pull pots:

http://www.torresengineering.com/ampsolshafpu.html

1 Meg available.

fender3x · #18 04-06-2009, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fourstringbliss

Anybody?

I am not an EE, but I think it will work. You are basically disconnecting the ground on the coil you don't want to hear from. What I am not sure about is the wisdom of disconnecting the ground plate. I wonder if it would be better to break the connection to the yellow when you don't want the neck-facing coil, than to break the ground. I have been reluctant to chime in, though, since I figure other's "get" this better than I do!

This has given me ideas, though...

Ken Baker · #19 04-06-2009, 08:16 PM

This is a wiring diagram of Dave's circuit I used for Series/Single-Outer/Parallel.

Click the image for a PDF suitable for high quality printing. Or, seeing as how my hosting has decided to go all latent & crap, click the friendly link.

http://www.bassesbyleo.com/images/l2...ries_outer.jpg

http://www.bassesbyleo.com/images/l2...ries_outer.pdf

Ken...

eatcg · #20 04-07-2009, 01:37 PM

Here's another parts question:

DavePlaysBass specifies the CKN1139-ND switch ($17 from DigiKey) and Femto mentions 1M46T1B5M1QE ($4.65 from Newark). They are, for our purposes, equivalent, right?