NBD, but not a happy one!

[fishdreams]

The wiring of that bass has definitely been tampered with. I'd follow @Crater's simple suggestion first and/or redo the wiring completely following the Seymour Duncan scheme, while bringing in a grounding wire from the bridge (there would be a hole for that under the bridge) and removing the alu foil. 250K is the standard resistance value for pots in jazz basses, and if you want a jazz bass tone, that is supposed to work. If you still dont like the tone, then I'd move on to swap out pots with different values and/or install new pickups.

 

[Claymore]

Try a set of Dunlop Marcus Miller super brights; I put them on a passive Reverend, and couldn't believe how much high end they added.

+1 on the Dunlop Super Brights... I was ready to kick a bass to the curb until I put a set of these on. Now that bass isn't going anywhere! Really woke it up.

 

[LoTone]

Either bring the bass to a reputable luthier and have the luthier redo the wiring. Or, maybe, if you are a do-it-yourselfer, you could simplify everything by getting one of these...
Pro-Wired | Bass Guitar Wiring Harness | Plug, Play & Enjoy

In my main P-Bass, I installed one of those ObsidianWire solderless wiring harness and even a clumsy hack like me was able to do it by himself!

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Hello Bass friends, this is my first NBD during 5 years activity here.
I have a Yamaha BB424X which i love it so much. I want to put falts on my yammy for Funk and soul stuffs so i need a bright sounding bass for pick style and maybe slap, so I pulled the trigger on a used Squier VM 70's Jazz bass. Sorry for low quality pictures.
View attachment 3713236
It's in a very good condition, everything is working and no major dent or dings.
But 2 things are annoying me and prevent the joy of New Bass.
1-this bass is very dark sounding, I know new set of steel strings would help but to my ears it's very dark that i don't have much hope. when i open the tone pot max, it's like it's on 50%. My Yamaha in bridge position is much much brighter and Jazzier . I checked the wiring because I guessed the previous owner changed the pots to lower values like 100k but pots are original i think but i'm confused about wiring. I checked the seymour duncan jazz VVT schematic and it's different. Main confusion is about three black wires(one from bridge ground, one from bridge pu and one from neck pu which soldered to neck pu volume pot(1 in picture below). Also i'm confused about output jack. It's just a naked wire!!! (2 in picture below)
View attachment 3713491

2- previous owner put a piece of aluminum foil under the bridge!!! I know he did it for making a good electric contact with bridge but i think it's pretty unacceptable. Maybe just maybe the top end is dampening because of that!! You can see the edges of aluminum foil.
View attachment 3713495
What do you suggest? I appreciate any input. Thank you.

Get CTS pots NEW WIRING A SWITCHCRAFT OUTPUT JACK AND REDO IT!

 

[Sixgunn]

Replace those 250k Ohm pots with 500k Ohm, & put some Stainless strings on it, Voila! new-sounding bass

Stainless what?

 

[dkelley]

You rewired it yet? I want to hear this puppy

 

[iiipopes]

I have a VM J-body. Being maple, and with the maple/maple neck, the OP's bass should be so bright that he is asking to darken it (as I did, replacing the pickups with DiMarzio Model J's and 250 kohm pots to temper the top end), not brighten it. I agree with all the above that everything in the bridge and wiring has been f*****, and needs a complete re-wiring to stock to see how bright the bass really is.

 

[bhendrix]

Emerson Custom Prewired Kit for Fender Jazz Bass

 

[bassstrangler]

You can buy a wiring kit from Amazon(and others)that has the good CTS pots, a Switchcraft jack, and the right capacitor. Might as well start with the good stuff. I buy those kits for every bass I buy (always used)

Search for the one by The Art of Tone TAOT.

 

[gidbass]

Hello Bass friends, this is my first NBD during 5 years activity here.
I have a Yamaha BB424X which i love it so much. I want to put falts on my yammy for Funk and soul stuffs so i need a bright sounding bass for pick style and maybe slap, so I pulled the trigger on a used Squier VM 70's Jazz bass. Sorry for low quality pictures.
View attachment 3713236
It's in a very good condition, everything is working and no major dent or dings.
But 2 things are annoying me and prevent the joy of New Bass.
1-this bass is very dark sounding, I know new set of steel strings would help but to my ears it's very dark that i don't have much hope. when i open the tone pot max, it's like it's on 50%. My Yamaha in bridge position is much much brighter and Jazzier . I checked the wiring because I guessed the previous owner changed the pots to lower values like 100k but pots are original i think but i'm confused about wiring. I checked the seymour duncan jazz VVT schematic and it's different. Main confusion is about three black wires(one from bridge ground, one from bridge pu and one from neck pu which soldered to neck pu volume pot(1 in picture below). Also i'm confused about output jack. It's just a naked wire!!! (2 in picture below)
View attachment 3713491

2- previous owner put a piece of aluminum foil under the bridge!!! I know he did it for making a good electric contact with bridge but i think it's pretty unacceptable. Maybe just maybe the top end is dampening because of that!! You can see the edges of aluminum foil.
View attachment 3713495
What do you suggest? I appreciate any input. Thank you.

These are great basses. Once you sort out the wiring I think you will be very happy. Lots of good advice here.

Good Luck!

 

[fretno]

I would desolder all of it and rewire it cleanly . I would also remove the foil and put in a proper bridge ground and call it done .

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hello Bass friends, this is my first NBD during 5 years activity here.
I have a Yamaha BB424X which i love it so much. I want to put falts on my yammy for Funk and soul stuffs so i need a bright sounding bass for pick style and maybe slap, so I pulled the trigger on a used Squier VM 70's Jazz bass. Sorry for low quality pictures.
View attachment 3713236
It's in a very good condition, everything is working and no major dent or dings.
But 2 things are annoying me and prevent the joy of New Bass.
1-this bass is very dark sounding, I know new set of steel strings would help but to my ears it's very dark that i don't have much hope. when i open the tone pot max, it's like it's on 50%. My Yamaha in bridge position is much much brighter and Jazzier . I checked the wiring because I guessed the previous owner changed the pots to lower values like 100k but pots are original i think but i'm confused about wiring. I checked the seymour duncan jazz VVT schematic and it's different. Main confusion is about three black wires(one from bridge ground, one from bridge pu and one from neck pu which soldered to neck pu volume pot(1 in picture below). Also i'm confused about output jack. It's just a naked wire!!! (2 in picture below)
View attachment 3713491

2- previous owner put a piece of aluminum foil under the bridge!!! I know he did it for making a good electric contact with bridge but i think it's pretty unacceptable. Maybe just maybe the top end is dampening because of that!! You can see the edges of aluminum foil.
View attachment 3713495
What do you suggest? I appreciate any input. Thank you.

Jazz basses are dark. 250k pots mute all your high end. Up the treble and high mids. Or, do what I just did, and slap some 500k pots in it. I love it. I also slapped a set of quarter pounders in it as well to counteract the low output. It's a jazz bass. They suck. Now, it rocks on up there with my P. Different, but similar enough to keep me happy.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

!!! That bare wire is soldered to the Jack Tip !!!!!
This is wrong and why you have audio problems.
Compare that wiring with the Duncan Diagram.
View attachment 3713553
It looks like the cap is soldered to the center lug of the tone pot, compare to the diagram above.
there should be a wire leading from the same connection as the red wire going to the Jack Tip where the bare wire is soldered.

Also, there should be a ground wire from the Jack ground (the other lug on the jack) to the tone pot case.
Correct these first and foremost!!!


Those three black wires should be soldered one to each pot...
Bridge ground to tone pot, bridge pickup to bridge pot, neck pickup to neck pot. It’s not technically wrong, but not really clean...

each pot should be grounded to each other, also with soldered wire. I’m sure you can see it in the Duncan VVT diagram.


you’d have to pull the bridge to see what the pervious owner did with the foil. It could be for trying to get a “better” connection, but it is not needed. I thought maybe he wanted to get the bridge up higher, too...maybe he was having string buzz issues and he didn’t know how to correct. How is the truss rod working? Is the neck straight? How is playability and strong height?

Ha, I followed that diagram. My knobs are now backwards. Up is down and down is up. I could fix it, but it doesnt hum, and sounds great so...whatever.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

Ha, I followed that diagram. My knobs are now backwards. Up is down and down is up. I could fix it, but it doesnt hum, and sounds great so...whatever.

It worked fine for me...

 

[bumperbass]

!!! That bare wire is soldered to the Jack Tip !!!!!
This is wrong and why you have audio problems.
Compare that wiring with the Duncan

It doesn't matter if the wire is bare.
It also doesn't matter that the tone pot is on the center leg.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

You may want to experiment with the pup heights also.

 

[Mili]

You rewired it yet? I want to hear this puppy

I'll rewire it ASAP.

 

[Mili]

You may want to experiment with the pup heights also.

I balanced the output of pickups that way.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

It doesn't matter if the wire is bare.
It also doesn't matter that the tone pot is on the center leg.

I see that you are taking my words at face value, rather than reading what I wrote and using it in the context of the wiring at hand and trying to make a point that I’m wrong in some way. But I guess as a technician, you sometimes take joy in pointing out where others are wrong. I get it...I’m a technician as well and work with a bunch of guys that do the same.
Where have I mentioned that fact that the wire being bare is wrong? Did I write that the position of the tone cap is wrong?

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

!!! That bare wire is soldered to the Jack Tip !!!!!
This is wrong and why you have audio problems.
Compare that wiring with the Duncan Diagram.
View attachment 3713553
It looks like the cap is soldered to the center lug of the tone pot, compare to the diagram above.
there should be a wire leading from the same connection as the red wire going to the Jack Tip where the bare wire is soldered.

Also, there should be a ground wire from the Jack ground (the other lug on the jack) to the tone pot case.
Correct these first and foremost!!!


Those three black wires should be soldered one to each pot...
Bridge ground to tone pot, bridge pickup to bridge pot, neck pickup to neck pot. It’s not technically wrong, but not really clean...

each pot should be grounded to each other, also with soldered wire. I’m sure you can see it in the Duncan VVT diagram.


you’d have to pull the bridge to see what the pervious owner did with the foil. It could be for trying to get a “better” connection, but it is not needed. I thought maybe he wanted to get the bridge up higher, too...maybe he was having string buzz issues and he didn’t know how to correct. How is the truss rod working? Is the neck straight? How is playability and strong height?

Huh? That's actually not the diagram that came with my pickups. In my package came a diagram with standard, and active set ups on one side, and my sjb-3 diagram on the other. It shows routing the hot on the right down all three pots, and the ground down the other. Connecting the hot pickup leads to the centers. This one is different than what was given to me from duncan. Which, in turn, caused my pickups to be wired backwards.