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Advise about pickup wiring wanted
- Thread starter Gary chivers
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- bass build build
What bass are these going into? Or, what configuration do you want them in? Finally, what kind of sounds do you want?
Wiring them together is fairly straightforward once you know what you want...
Wiring them together is fairly straightforward once you know what you want...
Do you have a photo of the bass you're putting them in?
specifically the body, so the pickup cavities & controls are visible
specifically the body, so the pickup cavities & controls are visible
Ive made the body myself so everything is possible. This is my first build from scatch so i'm very naive in terme of electronics. The pickups come from upgrading two other basses i have. I made the body useing my jazz bass as a template and ordered a neck online. As for what sound i want i guess i'm limited by the quality of the pickups. But as punchy as possible.
I used my jazz bass as a template so i can configure It as i like. Ive just recieved the neck and bridge so as you can see all the routing is yet to be done. This is my first build from scratch so any help and or advise will be most appreciated.
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I'd recommend ditching the single-coil pickup & using the humbucker at the bridge.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/P_J_STKJ_2V_1T.pdf
This drawing shows what looks like a single-coil pickup at the bridge, but if you look at the wires, it's a humbucker.
I'd recommend using 500K Ohm linear taper volume pots & a 500K Ohm audio taper treble cut pot.
Someone will come along & argue that 250K Ohm is enough, but wouldn't you rather have it too bright & be able to dial it back, or not bright enough & nothing you can do?
Another will argue the linear taper isn't necessary, but that's up to you. Here's a chart to show the difference:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/P_J_STKJ_2V_1T.pdf
This drawing shows what looks like a single-coil pickup at the bridge, but if you look at the wires, it's a humbucker.
I'd recommend using 500K Ohm linear taper volume pots & a 500K Ohm audio taper treble cut pot.
Someone will come along & argue that 250K Ohm is enough, but wouldn't you rather have it too bright & be able to dial it back, or not bright enough & nothing you can do?
Another will argue the linear taper isn't necessary, but that's up to you. Here's a chart to show the difference:
I think we all have different ideas what punchy is, do you have a reference for the sound you like?
The quality of the pickups is not necessarily a limitation, many cheap ones sound just fine. The sound has a lot to do with their placement, so you should focus on that first (and wiring second). You can later upgrade pickups if you want.
Browse these forums for custom builds and modded basses, people have tried many configurations. A couple threads are even dedicated to three pickup basses, which can be an interesting approach. There are some sound samples. Then there’s YouTube... Anyway, the point is, try to get a good idea of what might get you close to what you want.
Just from the top of my head, a few options I’d cosnsider promising:
- J/MM/P, with MM in the traditional Stingray position.
- MM/P/J, with MM and P slightly more towards the bridge, and J towards the neck (from traditional positions)
- MM/J/P, with MM and J in traditional positions or slightly towards the bridge, and P in the extreme neck position...
Then again, two pickups are typically sufficient and imo look better. Or just one pickup! So think carefully what you want to do, and don’t do too much. One alternative is a swimpool rout, try all combinations till you find what you like, then build a pickguard/top to cover it... you can later build a new body too...
The quality of the pickups is not necessarily a limitation, many cheap ones sound just fine. The sound has a lot to do with their placement, so you should focus on that first (and wiring second). You can later upgrade pickups if you want.
Browse these forums for custom builds and modded basses, people have tried many configurations. A couple threads are even dedicated to three pickup basses, which can be an interesting approach. There are some sound samples. Then there’s YouTube... Anyway, the point is, try to get a good idea of what might get you close to what you want.
Just from the top of my head, a few options I’d cosnsider promising:
- J/MM/P, with MM in the traditional Stingray position.
- MM/P/J, with MM and P slightly more towards the bridge, and J towards the neck (from traditional positions)
- MM/J/P, with MM and J in traditional positions or slightly towards the bridge, and P in the extreme neck position...
Then again, two pickups are typically sufficient and imo look better. Or just one pickup! So think carefully what you want to do, and don’t do too much. One alternative is a swimpool rout, try all combinations till you find what you like, then build a pickguard/top to cover it... you can later build a new body too...
