New '55's

[Jamvan]

I've had these Fender Jazz '55 split coils sitting around for a while so I decided to replace the Duncan Designed pups on my Squier VM Fretless along with the Santellan Elek-Trix series/parallel wiring harness I just picked up. Well, I ran into serious cavity size limitations with the wiring harness and I don't have the time nor the inclination to try and route the cavity to make it all fit so I just wired them back to the standard harness and I must say that I don't know why I've waited so long. Very pleased with the results (but would like to get the other wiring harness in there in time!)

Any thoughts on DIY cavity routing or should I find a local luthier?

 

[iiipopes]

If all you want is series/parallel, then a push-pull pot may be all you need, and the compact model should fit without needing routing. I'd wire it as the tone knob, but each player has individual preferences in this regard. The Fender S1 switch (the one where the center of the knob is the push button) also does this, and is specifically designed to fit.

 

[Jamvan]

I considered that initially but I was trying to avoid having to add the push/pull pot myself as my soldering skills are a bit green and the Elek-Trix was a solderless implementation...but again, it doesn't work so...I think it's probably a good idea to take try the push/pull versus routing. Thank you, @iiipopes!

 

[walterw]

ehh, series is a bit of a novelty on a jazz anyway; it sounds all big and huge at home, but you find it has boomy, uneven lows and loses definition in the band mix.

especially wiring two (already series) humbuckers in series, it tends towards murk.

now if you had the option of wiring each '55 pickup in parallel, and then putting the two in series with each other, that can sound pretty good, fat but still tight and even.

then the problem becomes switching back to normal parallel, all-parallel sounds kind of anemic.