Jazz bass wired in series

[iiipopes]

If the OP wants independent volume controls & Series wiring, I posted WalterW's drawing for that configuration on the first page.
If you don't understand how it functions, please ask questions, but don't argue about it.
It works, I've used it in more than one bass guitar & you can basically have your cake & eat it too. If you want some highs that Series takes away, just turn down the volume on the neck pickup.

All the arguing & contrary stuff after that is just fodder to make some of us laugh & some of us shake our heads in disbelief.

The problem is that if that is an accurate rendition of Walter's diagram, it doesn't necessarily do that. Because you have the hot lead of the neck pickup connected to the second volume pot without some sort of buffer or bypass, then turning down the neck pickup volume knob will also bleed signal from the neck pickup, on the posted diagram.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Yeah, turning down the neck pickup bleeds signal from the neck pickup, that's accurate, and as it should be.
Hands-On user of that configuration here & it works as specified.

 

[iiipopes]

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.

The original Fender Jazz pickup had enough wire to read @ 7 to 7.5 kohms. The original Gibson humbucker had enough wire to read @ 8 kohms. I have played and measured both early '60's J pickups and a real 1957 Gibson humbucker on a 1957 ES175. So the first part of the post is not necessarily correct, because I have also owned, seen and measured stock Gibson pickups that only read @ 7.5 kohms, and many of the "vintage neck" copies also read about the same.

As to the subjective effect of the tone of two traditional J pickups wired in series, that is in the ears of the beholder. The electronic result that inductance is increased, lowering the resonant frequency of the circuit as a whole, is measureable, and to many people, that results in a "fatter" tone to their ears.

 

[JohnArnson]

The original Fender Jazz pickup had enough wire to read @ 7 to 7.5 kohms. The original Gibson humbucker had enough wire to read @ 8 kohms. I have played and measured both early '60's J pickups and a real 1957 Gibson humbucker on a 1957 ES175. So the first part of the post is not necessarily correct, because I have also owned, seen and measured stock Gibson pickups that only read @ 7.5 kohms, and many of the "vintage neck" copies also read about the same.

As to the subjective effect of the tone of two traditional J pickups wired in series, that is in the ears of the beholder. The electronic result that inductance is increased, lowering the resonant frequency of the circuit as a whole, is measureable, and to many people, that results in a "fatter" tone to their ears.

Looking up some examples on Seymour Duncan's home page something could indicate that I was wrong and that you are right, but then again we have something like this, a hum cancelling jazz pickups with a resistance of whole 25KOhm: Hot Stack® Jazz Bass

As to your point about inductance , the original argument I was responding to went on resistance alone.

And in this argument, about 2 Jazz pickups with a typical resistance of somewhere about 8Kohm each, giving about 16-17KOhm wired in series, being the cause of an issue, the above would actually still prove my point about it not causing an issue, since there are single jazz pickup with a resistance of 25KOhm alone out there.

 

[iiipopes]

Looking up some examples on Seymour Duncan's home page something could indicate that I was wrong and that you are right, but then again we have something like this, a hum cancelling jazz pickups with a resistance of whole 25KOhm: Hot Stack® Jazz Bass

As to your point about inductance , the original argument I was responding to went on resistance alone.

And in this argument, about 2 Jazz pickups with a typical resistance of somewhere about 8Kohm each, giving about 16-17KOhm wired in series, being the cause of an issue, the above would actually still prove my point about it not causing an issue, since there are single jazz pickup with a resistance of 25KOhm alone out there.

Yes, Seymour Duncan does have a "hot stack" pickup that has that much wire, and therefore that much resistance. I would in no way ever call that a "typical" J pickup. I have played one. Muddy lows, no highs, all mids. The antithesis of what we all consider good J tone.

 

[JohnArnson]

Yes, Seymour Duncan does have a "hot stack" pickup that has that resistance. I would in no way ever call that a "typical" J pickup. I have played one. Muddy lows, no highs, all mids.

That was not my point though, as I think the post you quote me for makes pretty clear.

It was an example of a single mass produced pickup by an acclaimed pickup company that had a resistance that is higher than 2 typical J pickups, which proves the actual point I made in the original argument.

And frankly I don't understand what it is that makes some people so eager to prove that something obviously must be wrong with a lot of people's ears since they like the tone 2 J pickups wired in series give them.

Wan't to try to prove and convince me that a bumblebee can't fly as well?

 

[fig]

What I dismissed was the assertion that you automatically must sacrifice one of the volume controls on one of the pickups when the wiring is switched from stock parallel to series.

Thank you for clarifying. I was me not getting the whole point LOL.

 

[spaz21387]

This sounds like the pickup leads on one of the pickups got wired backwards, resulting in out of phase, which would make the tone thinner instead of fatter.

Maybe my discription just was wrong. I did try flipping the wires both ways. Either way i dont play that bass anymore. I have the ric4003s and stingrays that get the job done...

 

[NKBassman]

Guys, I think we scared off the OP a while ago.

 

[El Güero]

I've only done the JB series thing with SD Ant IIs, and liked it a lot. Iirc they were in the 7.25-7.75kOhm range.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

@Beardsley are you having fun yet?

Ha-Ha!
The OP's head has exploded by now.
I just wanted to bust the myth that Series wiring cannot have independent volume controls, which happens in EVERY one of these threads.
It's a shame that "What I've heard." gets ahead of facts, especially in a discussion where someone is basically asking for help.

 

[NKBassman]

Ha-Ha!
The OP's head has exploded by now.
I just wanted to bust the myth that Series wiring cannot have independent volume controls, which happens in EVERY one of these threads.
It's a shame that "What I've heard." gets ahead of facts, especially in a discussion where someone is basically asking for help.

I'll admit I tuned all this out a while ago, so forgive me for asking, but I assume with the two-volume series diagrams that have been posted, this would assume permanent series wiring, correct? As in, it wouldn't be switchable back-and-forth with standard parallel wiring.

 

[iiipopes]

Wan't to try to prove and convince me that a bumblebee can't fly as well?

Huh? All I did was teach my son how to tie a string on a June bug so it would fly in circles.

 

[JKos]

There is yet another way to wire pickups in series with blend in this thread:
Jazz bass wiring question...... Wilde Pickups

it wouldn't be switchable back-and-forth with standard parallel wiring.

Anything is possible. For example, the Danelectro circuit posted in this thread can easily be switched to parallel with, I believe, a DPDT switch. Now, it would be the typically less desirable version of parallel wiring in which either volume can kill the volume, but parallel none-the-less.

- John

 

[fig]

I assume with the two-volume series diagrams that have been posted, this would assume permanent series wiring, correct? As in, it wouldn't be switchable back-and-forth with standard parallel wiring.

Yes, the diagrams are for permanent series. I started to tackle the series/parallel thing awhile ago. If I remember, it needed like 4 sets of contacts. It's do-able, I'm sure, but it got convoluted for me and I gave up 'cause I'm a simple minded kind o' guy LOL. Btw, that previous effort was on the Danelectro circuit, not Killed_by_Death's posting. May revisit this. I think Jazz Ad said he had it figured out for a passive, but it took like 6 contacts.

I just wanted to bust the myth that Series wiring cannot have independent volume controls, which happens in EVERY one of these threads.

Yeah, I'm kind surprised that's still around. You were posting WalterW's circuit long before I got interested in the Dano circuit.

 

[Beardsley]

@Beardsley are you having fun yet?

LOADS

 

[bradtv]

Ok fair enough...
Same song as a studio recording...
My I suggest headphones, ect...
I have several basses with Nordstrand Big Singles and they are all in series. The panpot is bypassed.

Your tone is authoritative and lush at the same time. You still know it’s a JBass sound, but with more!

 

[TonyP-]

Your tone is authoritative and lush at the same time. You still know it’s a JBass sound, but with more!

Thank You @bradtv
Its what I was shooting for with that bass.

 

[rogypop]

I wired a 77 jazz with SD antiquity 2's in series for a funny reggae project band a while back. Sounded quite fat and beefy.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Quick question - I know Jazz basses are prone to humming when soloing either neck or bridge pups in parallel mode but what about series? Has soon as I engage series mode, I get the same type of humming - is this normal?