Marcus Miller fender jazz pickup and electronics upgrade?

[nubs]

i just picked up one of these, been reading reviews that suggested doing some re-wiring......any suggestions or comments about this?
Marcus Miller Fender Jazz

[Jazzin']

MIM?

[nubs]

Marcus Miller Fender Jazz

[tplyons]

Most people recommend swapping the preamp, I particularly enjoy what's in there.

IMO the only thing missing is a passive tone knob.

[pyrohr]

Originally Posted by nubs

i just picked up one of these, been reading reviews that suggested doing some re-wiring......any suggestions or comments about this?
Marcus Miller Fender Jazz

Earlier MM basses had a wiring problem, The bass didn't play in "true passive" mode but with the pre-amp flat when switched off, it also drained batteries if the bass was being stored and the switch was still in active mode (bass not plugged in) I have one of the early basses that had this problem, If I remember correctly if you removed the battery on mine it would not work even in passive mode due to the wiring defect. I believe somewhere along the line this was rectified. I have done the wiring mode and ended up with a new bass, My bass plays in "true" passive mode now (bypasses the pre-amp) and I haven't changed a battery in about a year!

[nubs]

this is the information i have read......now i am wondering if this is all necessary.....right now everything sounds great, BUT.....i am curious if these upgrades are made what kind of improvements will this make? any suggestions??


1. Pickups - stock Fender jazz pickups are FINE. In my humble opinion, NEW pickups are not necessary, just OPTIONAL(personal preference).

COMMENT: DON't BUY new pickups. Wait(at least 6 to 12 months) to see how your MM bass sounds, supports the band, or records, then decide if you want to invest your money in new pickups.

2. Pots - volume pots(250 kohms-ideally)and control pots(500 kohms-ideally).

Volume pots - are ideally 250 kohms(rare case), please measure. There are 3 modes for the volume pots - A) INDIVIDUAL MODE - MOST IMPORTANT, B) full-up, and C) OFF.

A) The individual mode.
The INDIVIDUAL MODE is the MOST IMPORTANT mode for a jazz style bass(bass with 2 pickups). In my case, my bridge pickup over powered my neck pickup. It was not because the brige pickup was MORE Powerful, but because the Bridge pot(275 kohms) was much greater than the Neck pot(206 kohms).

CORRECTION: Swapped the pots. Neck Pot(275 kohms) and Bridge Pot(206 kohms). The neck pickup provides support, and the bridge pickup provides flavor. :-)

B) Full-UP
The Fender jazz bass is wired in a quasi- parallel mode. To me, this is not true parallel. The output of the two(2) pickups is more of a compromised sound. In real parallel wiring, it truly "does not" make a difference about the resistance of the pots. In a Fender jazz bass, the ARRANGEMENT of the POTS make a BIG DIFFERENCE.

C) OFF
The values of the pots DO NOT matter(logical).

CONTROL POTS(500 kohms)
Treble and bass pots(values specified by manufacturer).

3. PREAMP - active/passive switch, battery connection, and the output jack

A). Active/passive switch - stock configuration is FINE. However, I prefer true-bypass. True-bypass means passive(no EQ), and active(with EQ).

B). Battery connection
1) solid bare lead(HOT) from preamp(FMEQ) should be covered (insulated by tape, or heat shrink tubing).
2) battery ground(black wire) should be connected to the STEREO output jack. If the battery ground is connected to the common ground, the preamp is in a 24/7 "on - mode." Therefore, the battery is engaged all the time.

C) Output Jack - STEREO output jack(3 pronges)
Should be a STEREO output jack. Three(3) connections are: battery ground, common ground(center), and HOT wire.

[middlebit]

I had the controls in my Miller Jazz modded to have a passive tone pot instead of the bridge PU volume (which I always leave on full anyway) - I hardly ever use the preamp. The aforementioned problem with the battery has been rectified from Fender Japan (I've had mine for about a year).

[3NotesAbar]

I've been reading up on some archived posts about the MM wiring problems. Recently, i bought a used MM 4, removed the battery and the bass still worked in passive mode. It appears they also rectified the true-bypass issue.

[nubs]

what year is your Marcus?

[daveonbass]

Nubs, that MM bass is awesome - you really wanna mess with it? Pull the battery out, see if it still works. You're using a Sadowsky outboard preamp with it anyway. So - you could - theoretically - play the bass in passive mode never having to buy a battery again using the Sadowsky outboard preamp with the power adaptor you got with it. I still think it'll sound better used active flat into the Sadowsky, but you play around with it and see what's best for you personally.

TWO bass players from Waupun, WI on the board.

Whod'a thunk.

[nubs]

yeah i know man! i am on my continous journey for the "ultimate" sound!!
thanks for your all your help "DOB"!!

[Nino Valenti]

Originally Posted by nubs

this is the information i have read......now i am wondering if this is all necessary.....right now everything sounds great, BUT.....i am curious if these upgrades are made what kind of improvements will this make? any suggestions??

Leave it alone. Don't fix it if it ain't broke.