Curtis Novak DS BS wiring with coil tap

[Huw Phillips]

i am interested to know how I would wire a Curtis Novak DS BS into a P bass with the coil tap, I am good with a soldering iron but not so great a design of wiring, here is the said pickup my preference is passive with a pull on the volume I think unless this is not logical thanks BS-DS

 

[ctmullins]

Do you have the pickup in hand? Or are you going to order new? The coil tap is an optional feature that isn’t included with every BS-DS.

For wiring, the coil tap option gives you the choice of two different hot wires. A simple SPDT switch will let you select one or the other of them to go to the volume pot.

 

[Huw Phillips]

I am about to order in the next day or two, with the coil tap option It seems fairly straightforward with a SPDT switch I assume this is a standard function on a pull up volume pot.
Edit, something like this would work I assume
250K Push/Pull Volume - Best Bass Gear
Thanks h

 

[ctmullins]

Yes, push/pulls are usually DPDT, so you only need to use one side of it.

 

[Huw Phillips]

Ok great thanks, I am just about to order the pickup $355, here is the idea

 

[PawleeP]

Ok great thanks, I am just about to order the pickup $355, here is the idea

355 for this tappable pup? WOW$$$ sounds pretty nice.. BUT! that's a lot of cake!

 

[Huw Phillips]

For me it’s justified by the bass in the links costs $4500 I think I will get the same for about $900 so ...

 

[Huw Phillips]

So I now have the pickup and the wiring explanation that came with it and I am no wiser, I am British so I get confused by hot wires and so on we talk live and neutral... I also have Lyme disease and this effect my mental capacity to a certain extent, I am drawing a blank can anyone help me out please, I have the following bits in stock
Tone pot 250k
Volume pot 250k this is an spdt with a pull up to engage the coil tap
A 0.47 orange capacitor
The photo shows the wiring info I received with the pickup.
Many thanks in advance for your time, I am finding this v frustrating, I have lost a lot of memory and will be very grateful for any help of link that will help me get this playing.

 

[ctmullins]

Hey man, I’ll try to put a diagram together for you in the next day or two.

 

[Huw Phillips]

Many thanks I much appreciate you taking the time to help me
Thanks h

 

[BBKINGBASS]

Did you get the newer humbucker version of this because it is traditionally just the single coil variety? Those instructions don't make sense if it's the single coil. I did the coil tap with mine and you just have to go Red (hot) on the one end of the spdt switch and the White to the other side. The middle goes to your volume pot. That way you are either selecting the full wind of the coil (red) or the lower amount of winds on the coil (White-tap) to send them to the volume pot and then to tone and then to your output jack.

 

[huwnyc]

Hi, thanks for your help it’s the coil tap version, I am really confused as I asked Curtis to explain the wiring and he seems to have put in the wiring for two pickups from what I can work out
Thank you all for your help

 

[Huw Phillips]

I have looked at this and it seems to make sense aside from the bare wire is not accounted for

 

[Huw Phillips]

I now have the following new info
The Black and green wire go to ground. White is the tap (Darkstar) and Red wire is the hot full coil (Starfire)
Thanks h

 

[ctmullins]

That Seymour Duncan diagram isn't quite right, as the switch controls whether the two halves of the P pickup are wired in series or parallel.

Your BS-DS with the coil tap is a little different. A little simpler, actually. Here's the basic diagram - the switch just chooses between the two hot wires (red and white) coming from the pickup.

 

[Huw Phillips]

@ctmullins many thanks sir you are a great gentlemen
Thank you I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me out h

 

[Huw Phillips]

@ctmullins unfortunately I am still not getting any sound, the earths I have wired to the back of the volume pot and then the Vol to the jack and the bridge earth to the Vol pot does this make sense ? Also looking at the spdt it seems only one side is live/hot, sorry to be so demanding h

 

[ctmullins]

That’s right, only one side of the switch is needed here.

For now, leave the tone control disconnected, so we can start with a simple circuit. Make sure the grounds - sorry, earths - are all connected to the sleeve of the jack (earth), including the black and green wires from the pickup. If the pickup earth wires aren’t connected to the jack earth, that will definitely kill your signal. You can use a meter to test for continuity - some meters have a setting that beeps when the connection is good; otherwise look for zero ohms.

 

[rllefebv]

That Seymour Duncan diagram isn't quite right, as the switch controls whether the two halves of the P pickup are wired in series or parallel.

Your BS-DS with the coil tap is a little different. A little simpler, actually. Here's the basic diagram - the switch just chooses between the two hot wires (red and white) coming from the pickup.

Look, I know this is 18 months past your post and you've all but forgotten it by now, but I just wanted to show a little love as this wiring diagram that you shared is so straightforward and REALLY REALLY helped me wire up my BS-DS (which I bought used with no documentation ) Thanks again @ctmullins !

-robert

 

[ctmullins]

Oh cool! Glad to be helpful!

Would love to see a pic...