Favorite PJ bass wiring

[jongor]

Line6man,

Thanks for the diagram!

Can you show which lugs of the switch are connected when it's in the various positions?

 

[line6man]

Line6man,

Thanks for the diagram!

Can you show which lugs of the switch are connected when it's in the various positions?

In position 1, the common terminal connects to terminal 1.
In position 2, the common terminal connects to terminal 2.
In position 3, the common terminal connects to terminal 3.
In position 4, the common terminal connects to terminal 4.

Each "C1234" row represents a pole on the switch.

 

[jongor]

Would a Les Paul style 3-way switch work for P, P-J, J wiring?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Would a Les Paul style 3-way switch work for P, P-J, J wiring?

Yes. They use them on the Fender Aerodyne basses.

 

[dave_bass5]

Ive just got my DJ5 back with a split coil in the neck position and and push/pull knob for the bridge pup.
While the neck pup works fine the bridge (original Lakland SC) buzzes a lot. The only way i can stop it is to turn it down. Is this normal for a PJ? It didnt do this even before i had the work done.
Im no good with wiring so cant really tell if something isnt wired correctly. Its RF noise and not earth hum.

 

[fenderfunker]

I've had a PJ for 30 years with TV3way and just about always run it with both pups flat out and full treble. I'm now building a PJ with just TV (no 3 way). Wiring the jazz to the some spot and pot as the Ps. Should work...me thinks??? Any problem you guys can foresee, apart from lack of versatility??

 

[RockBoxBass]

Im about to build a PJ and Im thinking of doing a 3 knob set up...V/T , V/T , +/-Bass/mid stack with an aggie pre. any issues with this??

 

[line6man]

Im about to build a PJ and Im thinking of doing a 3 knob set up...V/T , V/T , +/-Bass/mid stack with an aggie pre. any issues with this??

That should be fine, but having two tones is pretty useless, as whenever the pickups are at equal volumes, whichever tone control is at the lower setting will affect both pickups.
The tones are really only independent if you have the pickups at different volumes or soloed.

 

[line6man]

I've had a PJ for 30 years with TV3way and just about always run it with both pups flat out and full treble. I'm now building a PJ with just TV (no 3 way). Wiring the jazz to the some spot and pot as the Ps. Should work...me thinks??? Any problem you guys can foresee, apart from lack of versatility??

That should work fine.

 

[RockBoxBass]

So...I cant have a darker P and a brighter j?

That should be fine, but having two tones is pretty useless, as whenever the pickups are at equal volumes, whichever tone control is at the lower setting will affect both pickups.
The tones are really only independent if you have the pickups at different volumes or soloed.

 

[RockBoxBass]

That should be fine, but having two tones is pretty useless, as whenever the pickups are at equal volumes, whichever tone control is at the lower setting will affect both pickups.
The tones are really only independent if you have the pickups at different volumes or soloed.

So...I cant have a darker P and a brighter J?

 

[line6man]

So...I cant have a darker P and a brighter j?

Not unless the pickups are at considerably different volumes.

You can isolate the tone controls from each other with resistors, but it will give a big drop in output, the resonant frequency will shift downward and the treble will be reduced.

The only other way is to actively buffer the two volume/tone circuits from each other.

 

[BioDriver]

Ideally, a stacked volume/tone knob for each pickup.

 

[RockBoxBass]

Ideally, a stacked volume/tone knob for each pickup.

thats what I wanted to do. I was hoping to have the ultimate in tone flexability. but if they cant be independent of each other...theres no point. Is that why leo Fender went to the one tone control?

 

[FaithNoMan]

To put it plain and simple, if you use a second volume or a blend, the P bass tone will change.

I'm building my Warmoth P/J and am planning on putting a "no-load" volume for the P pup, and a higher value volume for the J(500K or 1meg) so I can blend it in as needed for extra cut.
The P pickup will almost always be "full on", so this should take some of the resistance out of the circuit.

Problem is, I'll have a 3rd hole in my control cover, as the jack is side-routed. I don't want a tone pot, but can't decide what to put in there now.

No-load master volume? Series Parallel switching(Dimarzio P/J)? Rubber plug?

 

[line6man]

I'm building my Warmoth P/J and am planning on putting a "no-load" volume for the P pup, and a higher value volume for the J(500K or 1meg) so I can blend it in as needed for extra cut.
The P pickup will almost always be "full on", so this should take some of the resistance out of the circuit.

Problem is, I'll have a 3rd hole in my control cover, as the jack is side-routed. I don't want a tone pot, but can't decide what to put in there now.

No-load master volume? Series Parallel switching(Dimarzio P/J)? Rubber plug?

What exactly do you mean by "no-load volume"?
A no load volume would mean wiring the pickup directly into the circuit without using a volume pot at all.
Unless you meant something like a push/pull to select to use either a regular volume pot setup, or wire the pickup straight into the circuit and remove the pot's resistance to ground?

There are plenty of things you can do with the extra hole.
Series/Parallel, phase, killswitch, etc...

 

[FaithNoMan]

What exactly do you mean by "no-load volume"?
A no load volume would mean wiring the pickup directly into the circuit without using a volume pot at all.
Unless you meant something like a push/pull to select to use either a regular volume pot setup, or wire the pickup straight into the circuit and remove the pot's resistance to ground?

There are plenty of things you can do with the extra hole.
Series/Parallel, phase, killswitch, etc...

Thanks for the ideas on the 3rd switch.

The "no load" pot I was talking about was a 250K Fender type that switched out of the circuit when dimed. I figure since I'll have the P all the way on most of the time it will essentially be like not having the pot in the circuit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/im...ge_0?ie=UTF8&n=11091801&s=musical-instruments

 

[line6man]

Thanks for the ideas on the 3rd switch.

The "no load" pot I was talking about was a 250K Fender type that switched out of the circuit when dimed. I figure since I'll have the P all the way on most of the time it will essentially be like not having the pot in the circuit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/im...ge_0?ie=UTF8&n=11091801&s=musical-instruments

Hmm, provided that the third terminal is the one that gets removed, that actually might work.

 

[Diogenes]

The "no load" pot I was talking about was a 250K Fender type that switched out of the circuit when dimed.

I've done this with regular pots. Gain access to the contacts on the waferboard by removing the back housing, apply a little nail polish to the area where the wiper contacts the 3rd terminal and reassemble the pot. Now when the pot is 'turned all the way down', the electrical contact is interupted.

 

[Uncle J]

Have a strange bass that has staggered 4 pole pickups in both the neck and bridge positions (similar to a B.C. Rich Eagle). Appears to have separate volume pots for each pair of pickups, and one master tone pot. Also a 3-way switch that looks like it's wired to use each set of pickups separately, or all pickups in the center position. Bass was stored for a long period of time in humid condition, and I'm replacling all the electrical components. Bass seemed to to have been rewired or modified, and I'm not sure of the way it was wired. Need a wiring diagram that could be used with this setup.
All sugestions are appreciated. Uncle J