Best way to do this?

[JACink]

In my planning of the refurb of my cheapo P/J, I would like to mod it into something that I will use, this way learning and also using the bass for more than a dust trap. (First bass, not worth much, so not interested in selling it).

What would be the best/easiest solution to have the following:

- P Volume
- J Volume
- Master Tone
- Switch that offers P solo, J solo, Both
- On/Off switch (could this be added to the selector switch, saving a hole?)
- Kill "button" (possibly, but not essential).

This bass currently has active pickups with 4 control knobs and a rather large access compartment but no preamp.

I plan on stringing this BEAD (to add to the usefulness) and would like to change the pickups also, any advice on going active or passive, and info on what electronics I would need to change, would be greatly appreciated!

Let me know if you need fotos.


(NOTE: I also posted a question about a crack on this bass here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/what-causes-crack-833963/ just in case you have any info, and are feeling extra-helpful!! )

 

[JACink]

No sugestions?

 

[Stealth]

Use this schematic, done by line6man as a starting point:

The output of the schematic can be connected to a DPDT switch (that can be part of a push/pull tone pot, for instance) and then to the jack.

I use that same wiring on my own PJ-bass. It works well. note that this is a passive wiring. For advice on pickups and active/passive options, you really need to go search through the threads because your choice depends on what tone you like.

 

[JACink]

Thanks Stealth for the schematic (and line6man!).

I am guessing (after reading other posts) that the orange part is a resistor? I would need to order all this online as I can´t source this kind of stuff locally, does this depend on pickup type?

Mainly I would like to use this bass for HipHop type music. I thought about the EMG sets as they come with all the bits, but I would prefer to go passive. Also, it may just be me, but the EMG´s don´t seem to get a lot of love around here, especially on the lower frequencies, so my guess is that they wouldn't be the right choice for BEAD tuning?

Sorry for being a pain, but I can´t try any of this stuff, so anything I buy will be online.

Thanks again!!

 

[Dave W]

- P Volume
- J Volume
- Master Tone
- Switch that offers P solo, J solo, Both
- On/Off switch (could this be added to the selector switch, saving a hole?)
- Kill "button" (possibly, but not essential).

The pickup switch, the On/Off switch , and the kill button all seem redundant to me. Especially the On/Off and Kill...they're both the same thing.

Having separate P and J volumes would take care of the pickup selector switch as well. Just roll off the P volume, and you've got a solo'd J.

I am guessing (after reading other posts) that the orange part is a resistor?

It's a capacitor. The one in the drawing is an Orange Drop cap, no value is given so you'd use whatever you wanted. A stock P bass would be an .047

 

[JACink]

The pickup switch, the On/Off switch , and the kill button all seem redundant to me. Especially the On/Off and Kill...they're both the same thing.

Having separate P and J volumes would take care of the pickup selector switch as well. Just roll off the P volume, and you've got a solo'd J.



It's a capacitor. The one in the drawing is an Orange Drop cap, no value is given so you'd use whatever you wanted. A stock P bass would be an .047

Thanks for that bassgod0dmw!

The reason for the on/off switch is to turn off all output, the "kill button" would just be a toy! (I used to do a lot of DJ'ing, and used the kill button alot on the mixer!!)

I see what you mean about the vol controls working as the 3 way switch, however, the idea for the switch was to not change the volume values, making it easy to swith pickups without changing volume levels (I hope I explained that right!!).

 

[Stealth]

First off - I apologize for posting the wrong schematic up there - you asked for a P Vol, J Vol, 3-way switch and a master tone, and I provided a 3-way switch, master Vol, master Tone.

This is the schematic you need, again by line6man.

The letters on the left connect to the appropriate type of switch on the right. The topmost switch is in case you put a Telecaster-style switch. The middle switch is in case you use a Gibson-style three-way toggle. The bottom switch is in case you use a DPDT on/on/on type switch.

The orange bit is a capacitor, to be exact, an unpolarized capacitor. In order to get a low-pass filter of any kind (a tone control), you need a resistor with a capacitor in parallel between the signal and ground. In your case, the resistor is variable (that's what a potentiometer does), so you can dial in the tone you want, from bright to thumpy to deep.

The standard value for a capacitor in a bass is 0.047 uF, and it can be commonly found anywhere, but any one would do. If you're looking for a brighter or deeper tone, check this video and see which of the capacitor values sounds best to you, then just buy that one and wire it up.

As far as EMGs go, some like the tone and the fact you can play them harder than passive pickups before they start compressing the sound, and they have their own, unique, wide-range voice. Others dislike it because it sounds sterile, but I don't recall anyone saying they have low-range issues. Personally I'd go for a good set of passive pickups and go with the above wiring schematic, you'll get a lot of mileage out of that.

 

[Dave W]

The reason for the on/off switch is to turn off all output, the "kill button" would just be a toy! (I used to do a lot of DJ'ing, and used the kill button alot on the mixer!!)

Right, but a kill button turns off all output. You'd have two off switches if you got both...

I see what you mean about the vol controls working as the 3 way switch, however, the idea for the switch was to not change the volume values, making it easy to swith pickups without changing volume levels (I hope I explained that right!!).

I would consider using a global volume, unless you play both pickups often with different volume levels on each one.

 

[JACink]

@Stealth: Thanks for that explanation, it just got a lot clearer (I think!). I would definitely like to go the passive route, and something with as much low end as possible (without breaking the bank, as the bass itself is not worth as much as a set of pup´s!!)

@line6man: Thanks!

@bassgod0dmw: Currently I do usually set the pickups to different volumes, but that may change with new pup´s.

I get what you are saying about the switch and button doing the same thing, but the switch would be for when you put the bass down, or between songs etc, and the button would be a toy to use whilst playing, but that idea may be scrapped.


Thanks again gentlemen!

 

[Stealth]

You're right in that regard - the switch would be an on/off solution, while the button (kill-switch) is a momentary toggle that kills the sound when you press it, and brings it back when you release it.

It can be done - just give me a few hours to get home and think of a rewire. Bear in mind you will need new pots if you want to cram everything into four holes on the bass - we're talking one stacked pot for the volumes, one push/push pot for the tone and on/off switch, one DPDT on/on/on for the pickup selector and one momentary push-button for the kill-switch.

 

[JACink]

Drilling another hole wouldn´t be much of an issue as I am planning on a refinish anyway, and there is plenty of room spare! The control cavity is about half the size of the body, and there is plenty of "comfortable" space on the front.