Nordstrand wiring question

lostrings · #1 02-27-2009, 03:19 PM

I have a bass with Nordstrand dual coil (parallel) pickups and a Aguliar OB3 preamp. The pickups are not tapped and I want to tap the pickups. Which would be best...Single coil, Humbucking or Parallel, Single coil, Series. Which of these two would be best?

maurilio · #2 02-27-2009, 06:17 PM

what you don't like from the sound you have right now? what kind of sound are you looking for?

I love DC in parallel and the best thing, IME/O, is when you switch them to single coil......

What you could do is install a switch for each pup and wire them for par/sc/ser

M

RedLeg · #3 02-27-2009, 07:47 PM

+1
maximize your options Parallel, Single coil, Series

lostrings · #4 02-27-2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maurilio

what you don't like from the sound you have right now? what kind of sound are you looking for?

I love DC in parallel and the best thing, IME/O, is when you switch them to single coil......

What you could do is install a switch for each pup and wire them for par/sc/ser

M

Don't get me wrong, I love the tone as is, I just wanted to add alittle variety. I just wasn't sure which way to go but I think I will go par/sc/ser.

maurilio · #5 02-27-2009, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostrings

Don't get me wrong, I love the tone as is, I just wanted to add alittle variety. I just wasn't sure which way to go but I think I will go par/sc/ser.

It's allright man!

What bass (specs)?

M

quee · #6 02-28-2009, 05:04 AM

You may well find that you will have your pickups switched to parallel all the time after you make the alteration. It is the setting with the widest frequency range. I guess you can blend between the pickups already which makes the biggest difference in tone. Try out a bass with switchable pickups first to see if you actually like the single coil and series settings before getting into rewiring. If it aint broke....

lostrings · #7 02-28-2009, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quee

You may well find that you will have your pickups switched to parallel all the time after you make the alteration. It is the setting with the widest frequency range. I guess you can blend between the pickups already which makes the biggest difference in tone. Try out a bass with switchable pickups first to see if you actually like the single coil and series settings before getting into rewiring. If it aint broke....

You have a very good point....I thought about that also. It is wired parallel right now and the tone is excellent. I just thought giving the bass a few more options would open up some doors....Having the single coil option interests me, but I don't really want the noise that goes along with it. Although, my electonics cavity has copper shielding.

quee · #8 03-01-2009, 02:31 AM

If you have two identical hum cancelling pickups it would be possible to combine the single coils within them nearest the bridge and nearest the neck, which would be hum cancelling if both were at full volume.
You could probably get a very similar tone by simply cutting a little bit of mid eq. Switching can be useful but you can do a lot with eq.
If you want a rough idea of how single coil might sound on your bass, angle the pickups steeply to one side. Record the same line with the pickups set flat and have a listen.