Balancing P+MM pickups

[renniw]

Hi all,

I just finished my last bass and wanted to try something else as far as pickups goes.

So here I am with a P+MM combo with the following problem:

The P is a bassline SPB-2 and the MM is a Bassline SMB-4D.

The P by itself sound wonderful, the MM by itself is also a great sounding pickup, but much louder (I'd say almost twice the output) than the P. But when I mix both pickups, I ear 90% the MM and 10% the P.

Anyone has an idea how to balance the output of those 2 pickups?

For now, the electronic setup is as simple as it gets : pickups -- three way switch -- volume.

[line6man]

Probably not the answer you were looking for, but you could individually buffer the pickups and adjust the gain for each so that they blend nicely.

[Cannabass]

or just wire them to separate volume pots and do whatever you gotta do with the knobs to even it out

[renniw]

Originally Posted by line6man

Probably not the answer you were looking for, but you could individually buffer the pickups and adjust the gain for each so that they blend nicely.

I was thinking about that too, but I like the simple passive approach and there's not enough space to fit a preamp in the bass (the bass is a headless style , a mix between the steinberger paddle and the Zon Vinny).

Anyone even put some resistor in series (or parallel) to balance pickups resistance (an maybe even the output)??

[line6man]

Originally Posted by renniw

I was thinking about that too, but I like the simple passive approach and there's not enough space to fit a preamp in the bass (the bass is a headless style , a mix between the steinberger paddle and the Zon Vinny).

Anyone even put some resistor in series (or parallel) to balance pickups resistance (an maybe even the output)??

The resistance of the pickup means nothing.

If you want to try experimenting with resistors, it would be best to mount trimmer pots inside of the control cavity.

[johnk_10]

you could install a small internal trim pot on the output of the MM pickup to adjust its volume to balance with the p pickup.

i installed one on my stingray for when it's only in the series mode to balance with the parallel and split modes.

[cybersnyder]

Two output jacks and an outboard blender that you could add to attach to your strap? Or a stereo output jack and you don't have to hack any more wood.

[Brendan5]

Subscribed. I'm interested in the P+MM combo.

[renniw]

A few good ideas here. Thanks for the replys.

I'll give a shot to johnk's idea, seems to be good and it's been tested. I'll go to the electronic shop, they must have some kind on ultra-super-mini pots that I could cram in my smaller than usual cavity...

[johnk_10]

the ones that i used are about 1/4"x1/4"x1/8" so i don't think you'd have a problem fitting one in there.

[colcifer]

Originally Posted by johnk_10

you could install a small internal trim pot on the output of the MM pickup to adjust its volume to balance with the p pickup.

i installed one on my stingray for when it's only in the series mode to balance with the parallel and split modes.

But wouldn't that roll off some of the highs?

[johnk_10]

not necessarily, since on mine it didn't, but you can always experiment with a 2200pf cap/220K resistor across the input/output of the trim pot to make sure that it doesn't.