Wiring in a Squier VMFJ

jlane72t · #1 08-29-2008, 08:43 AM

Has anybody else noticed atypical wiring inside their Squire Vintage Modified Jazz?

Last night I was installing new pickups (Model J's) and I was surprised to see the stock pots were 500k instead of the usual 250k...then I immediately noticed the wiring setup was completely different from the usual Jazz config. Each pickup had one wire to each volume pot, among other things.

What would the purpose of this setup be? Didn't matter to my installation as I was replacing all the electronics anyway, I just wasn't expecting the see something that wasn't the norm.

Thunderscreech · #2 08-29-2008, 09:12 AM

It's so you can blend the sound of the two (supposedly).

jlane72t · #3 08-29-2008, 09:15 AM

How would that be different than adjusting the volume of each individual pup to suit your sound-blending needs?

Thunderscreech · #4 08-29-2008, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlane72t

How would that be different than adjusting the volume of each individual pup to suit your sound-blending needs?

that is the difference. That's why it was set up like that.

jlane72t · #5 08-29-2008, 10:08 AM

I'm confused.

In the standard jazz setup - with each pickup wired to their own volume - you can use the two volume knobs to set individual volume levels for each pickup, affecting the blend of your overall sound. All the other jazz's I've owned over the years has worked this way.

In this SVMJ setup - with each pickup having one wire leading to each volume - it worked exactly the same way as a standard jazz setup. I played it stock for months, sometimes using just the neck by turning down the bridge volume, sometimes using both but just backing off the bridge volume a little bit. I didn't know it was wired differently until I opened it up, it seemed to work exactly the same as all of my other standard-wired jazz's.

So you saying this SVMJ setup is so you can blend the two pickups. So my question to you is, blending in what way that is different from the standard setup?

Thunderscreech · #6 08-29-2008, 10:28 AM

It's not different at all. The wiring is different, that is all.

jlane72t · #7 08-29-2008, 10:52 AM

Then it leads to the question of, if Fender has used the same wiring on standard Jazz models since 1960, why would they switch to 500k pots and a different wiring system for this particular model, just to achieve the same thing? There has to be some reason.

jazzmod007 · #8 09-30-2008, 05:44 PM

I have a vintage modified jazz bass, at first I didn't notice the extreme (unpleasant) tone control. 0 was muddy, 1-2 was usable but still muddy, 3-10 was just too trebly. What to do, I thought of changing pickups, dropping in a new preamp, but I decided to change the 500k pots to the 250k. The difference was minimal, the tone control was still extreme. I was just about to sell it but I decided to try one more thing, I took out the control plate from my mim jazz and put it in the squire, and let me tell you, the difference is profound. The tone is smooth, output was increased. Jaco growl to Marcus slap tones.
Over the years, I've changed pickups,preamps, bridges, etc...but most of the time I was disappointed, but changing the whole control plate has been the most dramatic change of anything I've done. So before you drop in audere or jretro
try changing control plate. ebay has a lot of different ones; 77jazz, 60's, american standard, etc...
Peace

Webtroll · #9 09-30-2008, 08:16 PM

The control plate? The metal with the holes in it for the pots and jack? Am I missing something?

jazzmod007 · #10 10-01-2008, 01:11 AM

I mean the whole volume, tone, input jack, harness. with pots, already prewired along with capacitor. sorry i didn't make that clear but if you go on ebay and input "fender jazz control plate" you would get several examples. iguess you could call it fully assembled control plate harness. trust me , a lot of the sound comes from this point. i'd love to try out a vintage 60's or 77 plate but its kinda pricey.