Thinking of wiring Jazz pickups for series...

benjammin420 · #1 10-16-2010, 02:27 PM

I did a quick search, sorry if this has come up before. I'm looking to get a CV Jazz bass, and thinking about having it wired for series or parallel operation. Is this possible with the stock pickups, or I would I need some pickups with extra conductors on them?

Slax · #2 10-16-2010, 02:39 PM

Same pickups. You would swap out one of the pots to a push pull and rewire to the schematic. The link below uses a switch, same idea.

Helpful link: http://www.lordgoogle.com/bass/s1_mod/

**line6man** · #3 10-16-2010, 02:46 PM

It is possible with any pickup, so long as the shielding (if any) does not share a common ground with the coil's - lead.

gjbassist · #4 10-16-2010, 02:53 PM

I did this with a Jazz bass I built a while back using this Seymour Duncan diagram:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...c=jass_bass_sp

Fairly simple to do and works great!

benjammin420 · #5 10-16-2010, 02:55 PM

great, thanks for the info guys, I have 2 of my guitars with series switches, but they required after-market pickups. I think I'm one step towards buying the Jazz

iiipopes · #6 10-16-2010, 03:02 PM

It can be done either with a DPDT toggle switch or a push-pull. I like the push-pull on the neck pickup volume like the Seymour Duncan diagram so I can readjust "on the fly" and not have to fiddle with stuff in the middle of a gig or set. I also recommend a Rickenbacker pushpull, because it is 500kohms, which will bring out the series wired top end a little better, and the body of the switch is not so deep, so it will fit in the control routing of a J-bass.

pig · #7 10-28-2010, 11:29 AM

Is there a way to wire a jazz bass in series without a switch. Instead of having series/parrallel, just having permanent series wiring?

**line6man** · #8 10-28-2010, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pig

Is there a way to wire a jazz bass in series without a switch. Instead of having series/parrallel, just having permanent series wiring?

Wire it like a P bass.

pig · #9 10-28-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Wire it like a P bass.

Genius. I'll try it out

benjammin420 · #10 12-13-2010, 05:50 PM

Does anyone know of somewhere to buy pre-assembled wiring harnesses, so I dont have to do the wiring myself (I'm not good at it, and would prefer to pay someone else for better work)

I talked to one vendor on a guitar forum, I frequent, I have bought rigs from him for 2 of my guitars, he said he could wire one for the bass. But on my Geddy Lee sig, there is a metal plate inside the control cavity, it appears to be for ground or sheilding (as far as I can tell) but when I described it to him he didnt know what I was talking about, so I'm not sure I want to risk buying a rig that could potentially not be compatable with the instrument I'm putting it in

Can someone help point me in the right direction?

Chrisk-K · #11 12-13-2010, 08:45 PM

Print out the Geddy wiring diagram from Fender.com and bring it to a local luthier.

The serial/parallel wiring is really easy. With no previous soldering experience, I managed to install a push/pull pot in my Geddy. It took about 20 minutes. I just looked at the diagram at Duncan and followed it.

**line6man** · #12 12-13-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjammin420

I talked to one vendor on a guitar forum, I frequent, I have bought rigs from him for 2 of my guitars, he said he could wire one for the bass. But on my Geddy Lee sig, there is a metal plate inside the control cavity, it appears to be for ground or sheilding (as far as I can tell) but when I described it to him he didnt know what I was talking about, so I'm not sure I want to risk buying a rig that could potentially not be compatable with the instrument I'm putting it in

Either you described it very poorly, or the guy doesn't know what he is doing.

If there are any metal parts in your control cavity, they are grounds. All you have to do is ground them to the control plate in one way or another.

benjammin420 · #13 12-13-2010, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Either you described it very poorly, or the guy doesn't know what he is doing.

If there are any metal parts in your control cavity, they are grounds. All you have to do is ground them to the control plate in one way or another.

I described it to him the same as I did here, and his reply was "you mean the plate that the pots are mounted to?", so I think its he who isnt getting it. He is knowledgable when it comes to guitars, but in this case, i'm a bit worried about how well his rig would apply to my setup.

Taking a schematic to a local luthier is probably my best bet, I'll have to look one up

**line6man** · #14 12-13-2010, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjammin420

I described it to him the same as I did here, and his reply was "you mean the plate that the pots are mounted to?", so I think its he who isnt getting it. He is knowledgable when it comes to guitars, but in this case, i'm a bit worried about how well his rig would apply to my setup.

Taking a schematic to a local luthier is probably my best bet, I'll have to look one up

The wiring of a passive J with a series/parallel switch is about as simple as it gets. The only way anything would be "incompatible" would be if you used the wrong pot values for the output impedance of your pickups, or a ridiculous capacitor value.

Here is a diagram for a J with a series/parallel push/pull.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...c=jass_bass_sp

benjammin420 · #15 12-13-2010, 09:56 PM

I mean incompatable in the sense that, if the second, internal plate is for grounding, and he gives me a rig that requires a different method of grounding, then I wouldnt know what to do with that. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, but this is my first bass, and I dont know what to expect.

That diagram you posted doesn't make any mention of a ground plate, and it has a ground going to the output jack, mine doesnt. Is that ground wire simply connected to the plate instead of the output jack? I really have no idea. if I had a dollar for everytime someone said "thats simple" for something that ends up turning into a headache for me, I would have many more dollars than I do now haha

**line6man** · #16 12-13-2010, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benjammin420

I mean incompatable in the sense that, if the second, internal plate is for grounding, and he gives me a rig that requires a different method of grounding, then I wouldnt know what to do with that. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, but this is my first bass, and I dont know what to expect.

That diagram you posted doesn't make any mention of a ground plate, and it has a ground going to the output jack, mine doesnt. Is that ground wire simply connected to the plate instead of the output jack? I really have no idea. if I had a dollar for everytime someone said "thats simple" for something that ends up turning into a headache for me, I would have many more dollars than I do now haha

Grounds are grounds. It doesn't matter how, just make sure they all interconnect in one way or another and you're fine.