Is this normal for VVT operation?

[eastcoasteddie]

I've been messing around with MM wiring configurations in my Affinity JV

And never really paid too much attention to this before when I had the MM wired in Series, noticed it when wired in Parallel...but...
With both volumes up 100%, it barely sounds any different than if the neck volume was off. If I tap the neck p/u pole pieces, I can hear it throug the amp clearly.
If I pull both volumes back just a bit, this BEEF comes out...like this is what it should sound like with both volumes up 100%
Is my neck pickup volume pot futzed up at 100%? Or is this a normal nuance of VVT with the loading of the pickups and such?
Or is this normal due to the new total resistance and impedance of the pickup in parallel?

 

[bholder]

Sounds like you're getting some sort of partial phase cancellation with both pickups on full. I find that's the case to some degree with all 2 pickup basses - roll either volume off (or tweak the balance to one side) a bit and you get a much thicker sound - perfectly normal. I guess the question is why don't we notice the effect when they're in series?

 

[line6man]

It's either insertion loss or phase inversion. First try putting one of the pickups out of phase from the other. If that doesn't help, then put a small resistance in series with each pickup to reduce their load on each other, at full volume.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I first wired the MM out of phase accidentally, and it was very noticeable....with both pickups on, t was like the bass frequency was cut 100%.

I'm guessing that in a series, the total resistance of the MM coils somehow overcame whatever is going on in Parallel.

I have to double-check, but don't believe the issue rears while I'm using the MM in single coil mode...

 

[line6man]

I have to double-check, but don't believe the issue rears while I'm using the MM in single coil mode...

Insertion loss is the problem, then.

The pickups have different impedances, so when you put the J pickup parallel to the MM, the relatively low output impedance loads on the MM, dropping its output. Things go back to normal when you roll the volumes down, because the volume pots introduce a series resistance that effectively raises the impedance of the J pickup. This stops the loading problem. This is actually a very common issue with the MM/J pairing.

As I mentioned, the fix is to put a small resistance in series with the J pickup, to raise its impedance.