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Mudbucker with PJ pickups wiring

shutt24

shutt24

May 3, 2023
18
7
22
Flagstaff, Arizona
#1
Hi there, I want to "Frankenstein" my EB-0 and add PJ pickups for more versatility. I have genuinely no experience with pickups or electronics in general, so I'm interested in seeing what the optimal way to wire all three pickups would be.
I was entertaining the idea of doing 3 vol and 1 tone pot, but I think that route will force me to clear a lot more space out for the pots. Now I'm thinking it might be smarter to do a 5-way pickup selector. Part of me wants to hear all the pickups at once, just for fun, but I'm sure it's not a useful tone.
If I decide to go with the 5-way switch, will I have to worry about any of the more complicated details of electronics? I know the vol and tone pot currently on the bass are 500k, but the PJ pickups I'm gutting from my old bass were wired with 250k pots. And do I have to worry about the output of the mudbucker vs the other pickups?
Thank you!
 
#2
shutt24 said:
Hi there, I want to "Frankenstein" my EB-0 and add PJ pickups for more versatility. I have genuinely no experience with pickups or electronics in general, so I'm interested in seeing what the optimal way to wire all three pickups would be.
I was entertaining the idea of doing 3 vol and 1 tone pot, but I think that route will force me to clear a lot more space out for the pots. Now I'm thinking it might be smarter to do a 5-way pickup selector. Part of me wants to hear all the pickups at once, just for fun, but I'm sure it's not a useful tone.
If I decide to go with the 5-way switch, will I have to worry about any of the more complicated details of electronics? I know the vol and tone pot currently on the bass are 500k, but the PJ pickups I'm gutting from my old bass were wired with 250k pots. And do I have to worry about the output of the mudbucker vs the other pickups?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
If I was going to do this, I would probably do a master volume, master tone, and a pickup selector with more than 5 positions. The reason is, 5 positions will not give you all possible combinations of 3 pickups, which to me is an important part of the versatility of 3 pickups. Personally, my preference is to have individual switches for each pickup on/off, like a Bass VI or Jaguar/Jazzmaster. You could use mini toggles for this.

(Side note: The sound of 3 pickups is often quite nice, you should try it!)

As far as the pot values: Pot values are just something to experiment with. Higher pot value will give a brighter sound. Electronically speaking, you can turn a 500k pot down to a position where it perfectly mimics a 250k pot turned all the way up. Since a 500k pot and a 250k pot have the same amount of travel but the 500k pot covers a wider value, the 250k pot will give you slightly finer control over the sound (albeit it will not be able to get as bright). If your aim is a warm sound, most people would go for 250k pots anyway. Some would recommend 500k for humbuckers and 250k for single coils, but since you have "all of the above" on your bass, that points again toward experimentation.

Balancing the volume of the mudbucker with the other pickups is probably a valid concern. You might have to be careful with the height of each pickup, which will aid you a bit in finding the right balance. It shouldn't be a huge issue assuming the wiring is done correctly and the pickups are installed correctly.
 
#3
My favorite three-pickup setup is a master volume, (optional) master tone, and a Freeway Switch wired like this:

FWS3.PNG


What kind of EB do you have? The original mudbucker in the old Gibsons doesn’t balance well with more “normal” pickups. But the newer mudbucker in Epiphones is much more compatible.
 
#5
shutt24 said:
Thanks for all the valuable information! I appreciate it. When I looked for these online, there's a ton of options. I'm imagining a setup with 3 ON-OFF switches for each pickup, but I can't seem to find that exact description anywhere. Any tips? Thanks again :)
Click to expand...


If all you want the switches to do is turn each pickup on and off you need 3 single pole single throw (SPST) switches. Depending on what’s available you could use almost any other switches you have to achieve that. SPDT or DPDT could be connected to work as well.

If you want to do other switching or have the pickups in series you’ll need something different.
 

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