I'm looking to wire my jazz bass in series to get a little more thickness and oomph out of my pickups. I'm guessing by wiring in series, the two pickups essentially become one, defeating on of the volume knobs (both knobs on full). Only problem is, i'm not a fan of the jazz tone with both pickups full open, i usually keep the bridge pickup about 50-75%. Is there anything that can be done to remedy this?
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Jazz bass wired in series
- Thread starter Beardsley
- Start date
The 2 pickups in series won't sound much like the both pickups full on wired in parallel, so chances are you'd like it anyway.
I can say wiring my 5 string Ibanez Mikro's 2 J pickups in series changed the tone drastically, from something I really didn't like to something that sounded no short of amazing and didn't have much in common with the tone I got from any combination of the 2 pickups wired in parallel.
One way to adjust the balance between the 2 pickups when wired in series is adjusting the pickup height though, but in my experience the best results when wired in series is still obtained by keeping the 2 pickups relatively balanced with each other.
I can say wiring my 5 string Ibanez Mikro's 2 J pickups in series changed the tone drastically, from something I really didn't like to something that sounded no short of amazing and didn't have much in common with the tone I got from any combination of the 2 pickups wired in parallel.
One way to adjust the balance between the 2 pickups when wired in series is adjusting the pickup height though, but in my experience the best results when wired in series is still obtained by keeping the 2 pickups relatively balanced with each other.
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Probably, but I don't know.
Try it in regular series and see if you like it. Just because you like the pickups a certain way when they're in parallel doesn't mean that you'll like it when in series. The neck alone, and both in series are my favorite sounds from a JB. Both combined as a HB is a completely different sound than both single coils in parallel.
You're right about losing one volume control in series.
Get a push/pull pot and wire it so you can run it series or parallel. Thats what I do to my jazzes and PJ's.
Warning: push/pull pots may require deepening of the control cavity, but it's worth the trouble if you can do it.
I found that jazz in series didn’t really sound like jazz parallel with Pickups full on. It was its own thing; big and beefy. (Great at home, but I ended up selling the bass, the tone was a little muddy for my taste live.)
series/parallel switch or push-pull seems smart, then you have both. You could also lower the bridge pickup away from the strings to make it less present in the mix. I’ve also found plucking up towards the neck can make just as much difference in warming the tone as tweaking pickup levels. (To a degree, of course)
series/parallel switch or push-pull seems smart, then you have both. You could also lower the bridge pickup away from the strings to make it less present in the mix. I’ve also found plucking up towards the neck can make just as much difference in warming the tone as tweaking pickup levels. (To a degree, of course)
Is the process the same on a PJ? Just connect one pickup’s ground to the other’s lead? I succeeded on the jazz in series but when I tried on my PJ I got a hum. Could have been another spot entirely, but even on a few tries I couldn’t ferret out the problem
It's the same, yes.
Personally though, unlike 2 series wired J pickups, I found the combination of a P and J in series way too boomy, dark and muddy for my taste, some seems to like it though.
The J's in series on the other hand seems like just the perfect combination for me, much prefer it to them wired in parallel, and even liked it better than a traditionally wired P/J, which until I tried the J's wired in series was my favorite pickup configuration.
I guess me wiring the 2 series J pickups directly to the output jack socket of my bass helped with getting more high frequency content though, which might have given me a more balanced result than if I had put a cab and a tone pot between it, like you traditionally would, as wiring pickups in series not only give more output volume and more low end and mids but also tend to subdue the high frequencies some.
You have to flip the hot and ground on one of the pickups in a PJ.
Oh, right, you are correct.
Sorry, for claiming otherwise, contributing to spreading false information.
This. It's not really the same as backing off one of the pickups, but it'll help warm up the sound a bit.
Jazz bass wired in series does sound great, but can get a bit muddy if you already have hot pickups to start with. +1 adding a push/pull switch to be able to go back and forth.
First off, have you ever heard a Jazz Bass wired in series? If not, I'd listen to some youtube first or something.
You should be able to series wire up your J with a blend pot so that you can blend and have the bridge pickup dominant.
As we start mixing off one pickup or the other, we loose the hum cancelling on the J Bass.
Didn't Fender make a J Bass (and P bass too) about 10 or 15 yeas ago with some kind of parallel/series pot and/or switch. Called an S-1 switch or something?
Genuine Fender 250k Split Shaft S-1 Guitar/Bass Switching Pot, 006-1256-049 885978546749 | eBay
You should be able to series wire up your J with a blend pot so that you can blend and have the bridge pickup dominant.
As we start mixing off one pickup or the other, we loose the hum cancelling on the J Bass.
Didn't Fender make a J Bass (and P bass too) about 10 or 15 yeas ago with some kind of parallel/series pot and/or switch. Called an S-1 switch or something?
Genuine Fender 250k Split Shaft S-1 Guitar/Bass Switching Pot, 006-1256-049 885978546749 | eBay
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It is possible to have series wiring & maintain independent volume controls:
DiMarzio Model J's...wire in series?
DiMarzio Model J's...wire in series?
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Jazz pickups are winded to run in parallel, both conected in series would result in a very high resistence, output, not clear sound.
In a humbucker, the two coils are wired in series but not winded as a J pickup
In a humbucker, the two coils are wired in series but not winded as a J pickup
Remember that a DiMarzio Model J pickup is a split-coil pickup: two coils in each pickup housing, one for the E-A strings, and one for the D-G strings. The pickup comes as a 4-conductor, so any number of wiring possibilities may be utilized. In "standard" wiring, with the coils on each pickup wired in series, each pickup is a ballsier version of a J pickup. Because of this, series/parallel wiring to both pickups is not necessary with a pair of Dimarzio Model J pickups.It is possible to have series wiring & maintain independent volume controls:
DiMarzio Model J's...wire in series?
The drawing is valid with or w/o DiMarzios.
The comments that you can't have independent volume controls are incorrect.
If you want the highs back in a series setup, just roll back the volume on the neck pickup.
The comments that you can't have independent volume controls are incorrect.
If you want the highs back in a series setup, just roll back the volume on the neck pickup.
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I have done this to all my Alinco pickup basses but 1.
I love the sound.
I love the sound.
Not really.
Traditionally and typically a J pickup will have much lower resistance than your typical humbucker pickup, and wiring 2 typical J pickups in series will typically not result in much higher resistance than that of a typical humbucker pickup.
In any case the sheer amount of people who like their J pickups wired in series, and even the existence of double J pickups wired in series, ought to speak for it self and debunk your claims, regardless of weather or not there is any truth to them from a technical point of view.
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