Replace a Pickup switch for a Balance knob

[ODDBALL]

Hello All,

I have a Yamaha BB425X and it has a pickup selector switch instead of the balance knob. How can I take the switch out and replace it with the knob style?

Thanks

Shaun

[iiipopes]

Assuming it has a side jack which is not visible in the picture, why not just rewire it standard P/J V-V-T?

[ODDBALL]

It has a side jack. I would like to have it V V T. I have never done it before. How do I? This has a switch now but would like a knob.

Shaun

[Low Main]

I've done this a few times on Yamahas. I do not share the love for pickup selector switches that some of my favorite Japanese bass manufacturers are committed to.

I think the easiest thing to do is to remove the existing wiring harness as an intact unit. Desolder the pickups and the bridge ground wire. Leave the output jack wired as is.

It's quicker and easier to do that than to do a bunch of desoldering and re-routing of existing wires.

This gives you an opportunity to replace/upgrade the pots, cap and output jack all at once. You also get to choose the quality and gauge of hook up wire you prefer and you may be a neater solderer than the person who originally assembled the wiring.

Plus, if you ever sell the bass and want to return it to stock, you can remove the replacement harness and drop the original harness back in.

Check the value of the cap to see if you want to stay with that value or change to a different value. With a selector switch scheme, sometimes they will use a .022 cap instead of a .047 or so.

Jazz bass V-V-T wiring schemes are easily viewable online in various places. I think Stew Mac and Seymour Duncan have printable schemes.

One trick you'll need to solve is that the existing hole for the selector switch is bigger than the two holes for the pots. So you'll need to bush the threaded collar of the new tone pot to increase its O.D. so it will sit snugly in the oversized switch hole.

To make the bushing, I take a nylon washer with an I.D. that just fits over the threaded pot collar. Then I make a tapered mandrel from a piece of wooden dowel chucked in a drill and sharpened like a pencil by holding it up to a belt sander.

Then I slide the washer snugly onto the mandrel and go back to the belt sander and grind down the O.D. of the washer until it just fits into the switch hole.

At that point, you have a rather delicate small ring of nylon on the mandrel which can be carefully slid off and put on the pot.

Also, before you desolder anything, play the bass through headphones if possible to hear how much (if any) hum you're getting from the bridge pickup. Some of the BB series single coil bridge pickups are very noisy.

If the neck PU hums a lot, you'll want to shield it as well as you can, and this is the time to do it, while you've got the tools out and have the bass opened up.

[ODDBALL]

Thanks for the help. What are the differences in CAP sizes? Tone Wise?

Shaun

[ODDBALL]

CAP Differences?

Shaun

[Low Main]

One click to search.

Second click to select result.

Total elapsed time: a sneeze and a half.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefie...ize-your-caps/

[ODDBALL]

Thanks my good man.... your a gentleman and a scholar.

Thanks

Shaun

[Low Main]

As luck would have it, the new Stew Mac newsletter vid showed up today, and it is about testing and selecting tone caps.

Here 'tis:

http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0...ampaign=ts0190

[ODDBALL]

Thanks great video. Which do most prefer ?

Shaun

[ODDBALL]

Is there a video that shows how to change CAP's and Pot's in a passive bass?

Shaun

[ODDBALL]

Is there a specific wire kit I can get?

Shaun

[ODDBALL]

Bump