PJ bass: switch to eliminate/solo each pickup?

konaboy · #1 06-07-2009, 12:16 AM

Hi all!

I have a Cort Performer bass with a precision pickup at the neck and a jazz pickup at the bridge. Both are Select Series "Designed by EMG".

The bass is wired with two volume controls and a global tone control - VVT. I assume the pickups are wired in parallel.

I am curious if there would be any advantage in adding a switch to allow me to disconnect the jazz pickup and its volume control. Would this make any difference to the tone of the solo precision pickup and perhaps give a more authentic P-bass sound?

How do these EMG pickups perform in comparison to a standard Fender precision pickup?

What I am aiming for is to get the best P-bass sound from my Cort. Eventually as my skills develop I will by a Fender precision or jazz. For now I want to experiment and get the best possible result from my current gear and perhaps learn something in the process.

Thanks.

**line6man** · #2 06-07-2009, 09:02 AM

The problem people usually have when adding a Jazz pickup to their P bass is that they are no longer able to maintain the true P bass tone.
The reason for this is that the volume pot from the Jazz pickup decreases the resistance from the pickups to ground, giving you a lower output and less high end.
People often add in a 3 way switch so that the P pickup can be soloed, and the Jazz pickup's volume pot removed from the circuit for the traditional one volume-one tone setup.

Adding a 3 way switch to your bass will allow you a brighter/hotter tone when either pickup is soloed, and it will allow you to quickly toggle between the 2 pickups.

I have no experience with EMG pickups, however, i doubt that they would give you the traditional Fender tones. EMG pickups seem to be the opposite of traditional Fender pickups. They have a very modern/hi-fi sound.

dmusic148 · #3 06-07-2009, 09:22 AM

+1 to everything Line6man said. Another issue is the fact that a factory P/J bass will have an underwound P and/or an overwound J pickup, to balance the output- real P pickups are hotter, by design.
What would I do? Make it into a P bass. Buy a real P pickup. Remove the J pickup from the circuit. Wire the P pickup Volume/Tone, with 250k pots and a .050uF cap. You can get a whole kit for this here:
http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/item/0139

konaboy · #4 06-07-2009, 09:25 AM

THanks, just the information I was looking for.

I will try to get hold of a Fender pickup and swap out the EMG when I add the 3-way switch. Presumable it's just a case of swapping it out if the dimensions are similar.

Anybody have a wiring diagram? I can probably figure it out but I'm new to this and would appreciate some confirmation.

Is it a ""SPDT center on" switch" that I need?

konaboy · #5 06-07-2009, 09:33 AM

dmusic, i'm growing to quite like the sound of the solo J pickup therefore I don't really want to disable it permanently.

However I rarely blend the J and P pickup so I'm leaning towards the switch option. I have the pickup outputs balanced quite nicely because I have positioned the J pickup very close to the strings.

Would this switch do the job, so that both pickups are on in the center position?

3-way pickup switch

dmusic148 · #6 06-07-2009, 09:38 AM

Yep, that'll work. Click the 'Instructions' tab for a wiring diagram.

**line6man** · #7 06-07-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by konaboy

THanks, just the information I was looking for.

I will try to get hold of a Fender pickup and swap out the EMG when I add the 3-way switch. Presumable it's just a case of swapping it out if the dimensions are similar.

Anybody have a wiring diagram? I can probably figure it out but I'm new to this and would appreciate some confirmation.

Is it a ""SPDT center on" switch" that I need?

I can draw you a schematic for whatever you want.

I drew this one a while back for a Thunderbird, which is essentially the same thing, if you substitute the switch for the one you plan to use.

I'm assuming that you were going to use a mini toggle?
IME, people don't usually use mini toggle switches for pickup selection.
You can use a mini toggle (DPDT On-On-On or SPDT On-On-On ) if you want, but it's more common (and reliable in the long run) to use either a Gibson style toggle, or a Telecaster style blade switch.

**line6man** · #8 06-07-2009, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by konaboy

dmusic, i'm growing to quite like the sound of the solo J pickup therefore I don't really want to disable it permanently.

However I rarely blend the J and P pickup so I'm leaning towards the switch option. I have the pickup outputs balanced quite nicely because I have positioned the J pickup very close to the strings.

Since you don't plan on blending the pickups, buy your pickups separately rather than as a PJ set.

As dmusic148 stated, PJ sets are usually made with overwound J pickups and underwound P pickups so that the pickups will have more-or-less equal output.
This means that they sound great together, but don't sound good alone.

John Bigboote · #9 06-07-2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by konaboy

The bass is wired with two volume controls and a global tone control - VVT. I assume the pickups are wired in parallel.

If it's wired as you say, it seems to me that all you have to do is turn the V on the J pickup to zero. If they're not in series, it shouldn't affect the tone of the P at all, no? Think of all the time and money you'd save...

-jb

**line6man** · #10 06-07-2009, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

If it's wired as you say, it seems to me that all you have to do is turn the V on the J pickup to zero. If they're not in series, it shouldn't affect the tone of the P at all, no? Think of all the time and money you'd save...

-jb

Did you read post number 2...

konaboy · #11 06-07-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Since you don't plan on blending the pickups, buy your pickups separately rather than as a PJ set.

As dmusic148 stated, PJ sets are usually made with overwound J pickups and underwound P pickups so that the pickups will have more-or-less equal output.
This means that they sound great together, but don't sound good alone.

So is your regular Fender P pickup overwound then? Same for a Fender J pickup?

konaboy · #12 06-07-2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

If it's wired as you say, it seems to me that all you have to do is turn the V on the J pickup to zero. If they're not in series, it shouldn't affect the tone of the P at all, no? Think of all the time and money you'd save...

-jb

Well yes, by using the volume controls I can solo each pickup. And it actually sounds fairly decent to my ears! But if there is a potential improvement to be gained by switching out the pickups then I'll do it, the cost is not significant and although it will take time I enjoy this kind of thing and might learn something!

The reward is knowing that I am getting the best available tone from my bass which hopefully will allow me to then concentrate more on building my technique!

**line6man** · #13 06-07-2009, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by konaboy

So is your regular Fender P pickup overwound then? Same for a Fender J pickup?

The reason why the P is underwound and the J is overwound is that P pickups by nature are much hotter than J pickups, so when you blend them together, the P overpowers the J. When you buy a PJ set, they often try to equal out the pickups by making the P pickup weaker and the J pickup hotter.

As far as a "regular" P pickup goes, it depends on the pickup. Vintage spec pickups are not overwound.
Modern pickups can be overwound. The SD Quarter Pounder comes to mind as an overwound pickup.

Personally, i am against the idea of overwound pickups.
I had a guy named Curtis Novak build me an amazing custom double Jazz bass humbucker. He does amazing work, so i trust his philosophy on pickup winding.

From his website:

"I believe a pickup should NOT be thought of in terms of output, but rather of input. The function of a pickup is to sense the string and send as wide of a tone band as possible to your rig.

The problem with an over-wound pickup is that the high and low tones fall off while the middle tones become over-emphasized—resulting in a narrower tone band and a "one trick pony" guitar. This drastically limits your tone possibilities.

If it is overdrive and heavy mids that you want, you can easily get that from a pedal, when you NEED that tone leaving you free to explore other tones with your guitar. "

RFord04 · #14 06-07-2009, 10:41 AM

Not to derail the thread, but does this mean that if I switched the P-pickup out of my Aerodyne for a stand-alone p-pickup, it would sound more like a regular P-bass, seeing that it's not underwound to compensate? And couldn't I just turn down the P-pickup when blending the J with the P pickup to balance this inconsistency? I like the idea of the switch, but I don't want to make such a modification to my bass, personally.

Rick Auricchio · #15 06-07-2009, 11:24 AM

I would expect that Fender did everything within reason on the Aerodyne to get the best tone from it. Changing either of the pups probably puts you back where they started their experiments.

CoarseBass · #16 06-07-2009, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Auricchio

I would expect that Fender did everything within reason on the Aerodyne to get the best tone from it. Changing either of the pups probably puts you back where they started their experiments.

Fender did everything within reason and within a price point. A new P pickup will likely give you a better P tone...but read the thread. It may drown at the Jazz.

RFord04 · #17 06-08-2009, 12:33 AM

I did read the thread, read my post...

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFord04

And couldn't I just turn down the P-pickup when blending the J with the P pickup to balance this inconsistency?

walterw · #18 06-08-2009, 02:49 PM

it's a bit hopeful to expect factory instruments in these price ranges to customize the outputs of the pickups. chances are the pickups come out of the same bin on the assembly line for Ps, Js, and P+J instruments.

EMG selects are IMO terrible pickups. anything above say GFS would be an upgrade.

as for the switch, if he's not blending, why not bag one of the volumes and put the switch there? master volume, pickup switch, tone. simple.

konaboy · #19 06-09-2009, 06:02 AM

good suggestion walterw, I was studying my pickguard the other day and wondering where best to drill another hole and your idea actually occurred to me.

interesting comment about EMG selects. I currently have a local ad in a Swedish forum for a better pickup so we'll wait and see what i am offered. What does walterf mean by "GFS"?

Thanks again for all comments, diagrams etc.

OrionManMatt · #20 06-09-2009, 08:23 AM

One of my favorite PJ clips. Wish I could get that tone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoEdaEs9CDc

Konaboy, Walter was referring to these:
http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfsbasspickups.html

line6man, what about a push/pull knob on the P pickup volume to "solo" it? I've been considering a PJ but want to do it right and get an unadulterated P tone when called for.