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L2000 modded for Series/Parallel/SC Inside/SC Outside (Diagrams & Sound Samples)

#24
Here's a transcript of a PM I sent off to Sunbeast - our resident G&L wiring expert:

sunbeast said:
Yeah- I think you have it! Just wire the backplate wires directly to ground and the pickup grounds go to the "-" connections on the Audere.

I'll be interested to hear how it all works out- sounds like it'll be a pretty amazing setup!

Karl

fourstringbliss said:
sunbeast said:
The black coil wires from the pickups should only go to the single coil/parallel switch. The black wires on the series/parallel switch are replaced by the 2 jumper wires that go between the 2 switches. It is easy to understand if you look at what is occuring in the different orientations of each switch. When the series/parallel switch is in parallel normally, there is one end of each coil going to hot and one end of each going to ground (a total of 4 coils, 2 per pickup). When you add in the single coil/parallel switch, in each (up and down) position one of the grounds gets lifted (ungrounded) and one of the hots gets grounded.
Click to expand...
I'm actually splitting the outer singles/parallel/inner singles switch into two on-on-on DPDT switches. You're saying that each of the on-on-on DPDT switches should have a green pickup wire left-center and a black pickup wire right-center, right? The black wire at pin 2 and 8 of the series/parallel switch are the wires from pin 10 of the neck singles switch and pin 3 of the bridge singles switch, right? This helps so much!

sunbeast said:
As far as the 2nd question about the green wires- the neck green wire should go on the neck part of the switch, and the bridge to the bridge side. I'm not sure what the "backplate wire" refers to, but I'm assuming Tributes must have a ground wire soldered to the copper plate on each pickup? If so, it is my opinion that these should always be grounded, and not subject to changes in the coil switches- they are acting to shield the pickups, and therefore don't need to be "lifted" from ground for any reason. Especially with the Audere preamp, where the "ground" connections from the pickups are not actually wired to ground. I have never had a G&L that had these "backplate wires" wired independently of the coil wires from the factory- on both my US L2000 and L2500, the backplate wires were hard-wired to the green coil connection on each pickup, so I needed to add a new permanently grounded backplate wire to each pickup to do the single coil modification. It is quite possible that Tributes are wired differently to begin with though...

Hope that all makes sense :cool:,
Karl
Click to expand...
The backplate wire comes from a copper plate behind each of the pickups. There are five wires coming from each pickup area - a black, green, yellow, and white pickup wire and a thicker black backplate wire. Right now the two backplate wires are soldered together - should I connect them to cavity ground? The pickups grounds are connected to the Audere, right?

Thanks again! I'm so glad I got your PM before I started work on this project.


Series-Parallel.gif


SCSwitch.gif
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

So, the "black" wires on the series/parallel switch only come from the single coil/parallel switch. The backplate wires need to be grounded.

Cool.
 
#26
I wired my switches just like your (Femto) wiring diagram and it didn't work. I was very careful to wire it up just like the diagram and no go. Then I discovered that my DPDT ON-ON-ON switches worked the opposite way as the ones that Daveplaysbass used in his wiring diagrams - and probably opposite of they way your (Femto) switches worked.

Attached is the original wiring diagram and a diagram of how my switches work. Could you please tell me how to change the wiring diagram so it will work with my switches? Do my DPDT ON-ON switches work like yours? Do I just need to reverse the wiring on the DPDT ON-ON-ON switches?

Thanks!
 

Attachments

#27
Success!

I wired up separate DPDT ON-ON switches for series/parallel and separate DPDT ON-ON-ON switches for outer coil/parallel/inner coil switches. I tried this a few weeks ago but I didn't know that DPDT ON-ON-ON work in reverse of 4PDT ON-ON-ON switches, and my wiring didn't work.

Now I can individually choose series, parallel, outer coil, or inner coil for each pickup. The controls are a bit busy looking but I like the variety.

I'll post pics soon.
 
#28
When I originally did this project I pulled the pickups out to copper foil shield the pickup cavities. I figured that the thick black wire that comes from each pickup cavity was somehow connected to the pickups themselves, but instead it's connected to a ring terminal and screwed against the shielding paint in the pickup cavity. I connected those to the control cavity ground and things are running pretty quietly - even in soloed single coil mode.
 
#29
fourstringbliss said:
When I originally did this project I pulled the pickups out to copper foil shield the pickup cavities. I figured that the thick black wire that comes from each pickup cavity was somehow connected to the pickups themselves, but instead it's connected to a ring terminal and screwed against the shielding paint in the pickup cavity. I connected those to the control cavity ground and things are running pretty quietly - even in soloed single coil mode.
Click to expand...

Apparently G&L wires and shields the Tributes better than the US models! All my US G&Ls have had the pickup chassis ground connection is series with the ground from one of the coils, and also had absolutely no pickup cavity shielding from the factory!

Karl
 
#30
Matt020.gif


The controls area is a bit busy with the two extra switches, but there's no tone I can't get now! Three band Audere 3ZB preamp with active blend. Z-mode switch. Separate series/parallel and coil tap switches for each pickup so that I can choose series, parallel, outer coil, or inner coil for each pickup. It's great!
 
#31
I've now joined the club!

A while back, I made DavePlaysBass's mod to add the option for single coils (inner).

Last night, I replaced my original volume knob with a push/pull, that cuts the inner coils. So in parallel, I can have just the outer coils. In either series or inner-coil mode, the new switch acts as a kill.

I also put the 10k resistor in front of the pre-amp, so I don't accidentally fry it. And of course, this is all in addition to me already having swapped out my original treble pot for a push/pull that give me the option of OMG mode.

Now, my only problem is trying to get the cover back on the cavity...
 
#33
Wow! You guys beat me to it! Nice! I am impressed that you dudes were willing to drill with such beautiful finishes. It's a lower threshold for me, since the finish is bubling up...

I have heard about putting in a resister...but I can't remember where. Can someone share a reference to this...and clue me in to exactly where the resister goes?

Thanks!
 
#34
fender3x said:
Wow! You guys beat me to it! Nice! I am impressed that you dudes were willing to drill with such beautiful finishes. It's a lower threshold for me, since the finish is bubling up...

I have heard about putting in a resister...but I can't remember where. Can someone share a reference to this...and clue me in to exactly where the resister goes?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Actually, I didn't even need to drill...the bass boost and the inner-coil cut are operated vial push-pull pots. Though I did need to bore out the existing holes slightly to accommodate the new pots. Until you get up really close, the instrument appears stock.

The resistor goes in line between the volume pot and the pre-amp (inserted into the white wire). 10k.
 
#36
millahh said:
Actually, I didn't even need to drill...the bass boost and the inner-coil cut are operated vial push-pull pots. Though I did need to bore out the existing holes slightly to accommodate the new pots. Until you get up really close, the instrument appears stock.
Click to expand...

That makes sense... I want to be able to control each pup individually or that's the way I would do it too. I figured out a way to do it with rotary switches, without drilling any new holes, but it would have involved replacing EVERYTHING in in the control cavity pretty much and just seemed like too much work. The finish on my bass is shot, anyway, so hole is no biggie.

millahh said:
The resistor goes in line between the volume pot and the pre-amp (inserted into the white wire). 10k.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Any particular kind/brand of resistor you favor?

fourstringbliss said:
I think I'm the only one with extra holes in his bass. I don't regret it, though - lotsa tones I got!
Click to expand...

Don't forget Femto, who started this thread ;-) I am guessing that mine will be the biggest offense. I plan to put a battery box in, and put the new switch in the battery cavity. I have made a jig, and once I do a couple more practice runs with the router, I'll be putting that in.
 
#39
millahh said:
As long as it's 10k ohms, I don't think it makes alot of difference...I just got the 5/dollar from Radioshack. I didn't notice any effect on tone, and it's nice knowing that I'm not going to accidentally cook my preamp.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Was out shopping and got a couple of both. The good news is that they were really cheap. For what it's worth to others, even the 1/2w resistors are larger than any resistor on the pre or in the cavity, for that matter. I suspect that means that even 1/2w is overkill.

fourstringbliss said:
I eventually want to install a battery box on the back of my L2500 Tribute because I never want to try and pack all those wires inside again!
Click to expand...

Then we'll just have to see who is the biggest offender of the Bass Gods. I'll have one less hole than you in the front. Mine's an ASAT with a finish that's bubbling up, cracking and chipping.
 
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