I'm about to put together a Franken-J. To me, the standard Volume-Volume-Tone configuration has a huge problem, which is that any deviation from dead-even volume between the two pickups wrecks the humbucking-ness. Would it be possible to instead have it be Overall Volume-Tone-Tone, with the Volume pot closest to the strings but last in the electronic chain? Would the two tone controls also interfere with the humbucking-ness? Or would it make more sense to wire it like a P, with the two pickups wired together with opposite polarities, one volume pot, one tone pot, and the third pot's a dummy?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Alternate J Wiring?
- Thread starter Brent Hahn
- Start date
Assuming you are talking about a passive guitar you will have a problem with any setup where there are two tone controls as they will interact with each other and not act like two seperate tone controls but like one master tone control.
You could consider, Volume-blend-tone, that way you still have the master Volume and Tone control, but the option to venture into hum land if you feel like it instead of having a complete dummy control.
You could consider, Volume-blend-tone, that way you still have the master Volume and Tone control, but the option to venture into hum land if you feel like it instead of having a complete dummy control.
You could have the 3 controls as - 1 volume, 2 tone, 3 tone cap selector or 3 series/parallel switch
Get three push pulls, smaller ones, three cts style pots wont fit without some cramming. VVT, but the switches are:
One with a series/parallel switch, one with a phase switch, and the third with a bass cut capacitor in series with the bridge pickup.
A bass cut cap on the bridge pickup will actually bring more low end to your output. There is some phase cancellation in the lower frequencies when both pickups are full up, thats the jazz bass’s scooped tone. When the bass cut is engaged, the low end is only coming from the neck pickup, while the highs and mids still have the blended pickup tone.
Larger cap values remove less bass, so you can experiment. This affects the series tone as well. Using a larger cap value (.022uf - .047uf) while in series can help attain a level volume to parallel, if you are concerned about your bass’ output.
A phase switch sounds useless unless you engage the bass cut cap. The cap removes lows from the bridge pickup, so when you're out of phase, the lows in the neck pickup won’t be cancelled out, you’re out of phase but retain your lows. Its actually a great tone. The bass cut cap can also be used in parallel and it sound great there too. Rickenbackers have a bass cut cap and it works on them. Try a value from 0.0047uf-0.01uf.
series out of phase has similar output to parallel in phase, just a weird tone that may be useable for weird stuff.
One with a series/parallel switch, one with a phase switch, and the third with a bass cut capacitor in series with the bridge pickup.
A bass cut cap on the bridge pickup will actually bring more low end to your output. There is some phase cancellation in the lower frequencies when both pickups are full up, thats the jazz bass’s scooped tone. When the bass cut is engaged, the low end is only coming from the neck pickup, while the highs and mids still have the blended pickup tone.
Larger cap values remove less bass, so you can experiment. This affects the series tone as well. Using a larger cap value (.022uf - .047uf) while in series can help attain a level volume to parallel, if you are concerned about your bass’ output.
A phase switch sounds useless unless you engage the bass cut cap. The cap removes lows from the bridge pickup, so when you're out of phase, the lows in the neck pickup won’t be cancelled out, you’re out of phase but retain your lows. Its actually a great tone. The bass cut cap can also be used in parallel and it sound great there too. Rickenbackers have a bass cut cap and it works on them. Try a value from 0.0047uf-0.01uf.
series out of phase has similar output to parallel in phase, just a weird tone that may be useable for weird stuff.
Last edited:
