Jaguar replacement electronics

[jdyoung3]

I am making a bit of a experimental project out of a Fender Jaguar bass. I want to get as much tonal variation out of it as I possibly can.

My understanding of electronics is pretty bleak, so I probably won't actually be doing the work, but I want to know what is possible before I take it to my local tech.

I was thinking that I could use a set of DiMarzio Model J humbucker pups and rewire the stock pickup on/off switches to series/parallel switches for each pickup. If I did so, would the stock series/parallel switch still have any practical use? Would there be something more useful to use that switch for?

I was planning on adding a concentric volume/tone knob where the current volume knob is and changing the tone knob to a blend or maybe a three-way switch.

Maybe even a five-way switch, if the stock series/parallel switch would still be useful and there is something else I could put in the current series/parallel switch's position. Maybe a coil tap, though that would require different pickups, I believe.

I guess my basic question is, if you wanted to make a Jaguar have as much tonal variation as you could give it, what would you do?

Please forgive any stupid questions or ideas I've posted. Educate me!

[M0ses]

If I were going to make a Jag (or really any bass) as tonally versatile as possible, it would require a lot of routing. And a LOT of switches...

Think three humbuckers, each with a separate volume, tone, and cap-changing (varitone) knob (unless you want to go active, in which case I would have a three-band for each pup). As well as a the ability to make each humbucker independently series, parallel, single coil, or tapped single coil (for both coils). And a phase switch for each.

NO IDEA how I would wire that up, I'd have to think about it for a while. But it would be sweet.

[jdyoung3]

Originally Posted by M0ses

If I were going to make a Jag (or really any bass) as tonally versatile as possible, it would require a lot of routing. And a LOT of switches...

OK, maybe "versatile as possible" is too strong of a sentiment. What would you do that wouldn't require adding switches, but maybe re-routing wires to existing switch locations and plates?

I don't mind a little routing, but I'd like to keep it to a minimum. I wouldn't mind an extra switch or two, but I think the on/off pickup switches in particular could be used for something more interesting and be replaced with one control.