New guy - need wiring help - Push/Pull for pups

[Gadget_Guy]

Hi,

Been scouring this forum for a couple days and just registered so I could as a question.... (sorry.. typical newbie move, I know)

I am a guitar player and just picked up an old Washburn Bass to learn on. (Very excited) It needs some TLC as the wiring needs to be completely re-done.

Something I want to do is re-wire the bass to fit my needs a bit more and figured I would do it now while I had it all apart.

It is a P-J style (P Pups at Neck, J at Bridge) (I think that is what you call it)

It has VVT right now and I want to change things up.

Can someone help me with a wiring diagram so I can put in Push/Pull pots to control the PUPs? (I don't want to drill the body to add a switch as there is no pick guard and POTs load in via a cavity in the back)


What I want to do is be able to completely shut off the P pups and the J pup so I can run either one or the other only or both.

*It would be neat to be able to also utilize the "series/parallel" config that I have been reading in other threads as well*


I will have to buy all new components so if you can guide me as to what to buy:

Push/Pull POT value for P-Pups (What taper? Audio/Tone)
Push/Pull POT value for J-Pup (What taper? Audio/Tone)
POT for Tone (What taper? Audio/Tone)
Capacitor value?
etc.

It would be much appreciated.

I also need to really understand the exact wiring I need to do in terms of the switch pins and pot leads.

Sorry for the newbie stuff.... I tried searching but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for in other threads. Or with a diagram that I could easily follow.


Thanks,

D.

 

[line6man]

Trying to do on/off switches and a master series/parallel switch together will be problematic. You will need both pickups on to do series wiring.

I can post a diagram within the next few days, however.

As for pots and capacitors, that is a personal preference. Passive high impedance pickups call for 250k or 500k pots, and a capacitor somewhere between 0.022uF and 0.1uF, depending on where you like your frequency cutoff. A capacitance of 0.047uF is pretty much standard, and works well for most people. 250k is the standard pot value for P and J pickups, but many prefer 500k for a brighter tone. You will want an audio taper tone pot, but the preferable taper for volume pots is debatable, and apparently quite subjective, from the information you'll find on this forum. Audio taper would be standard, but many feel that linear taper is superior for pickup blending. Personally, I would go for linear taper pots.

 

[Gadget_Guy]

Your guidance is much appreciated.

I was having a good look at the cavity today and I have changed my opinion as to not drilling an extra hole if needed.

Also, in reading other threads I think my preference may have been adjusted by reading what others have to say.... there is so much to absorb and learn it is mind boggling...

From all my reading I think my initial thoughts were way off the mark....

Bass setup is all new to me and until I really grasped what others were writing I didn't realize the versatility in the PJ setup I have. (I bought this Bass not knowing a thing about Bass guitars)

If I digested what I have been reading, a good setup for me would look something like this:

P pups with 250K (linear taper) volume POT (then turning them off by dialing it down to 0)
J pup with 250K (linear taper) volume POT (then turning it off by dialing it to 0)
Master Tone 250K (audio taper) POT
.047uf Orange Drop

What I want to do is then add the ability to put the P&J pups in series or parallel by using a Push / Pull for the Master Tone POT to avoid drilling.

Does this sound like I am on the right track and a good setup for a PJ bass?

I thought this may give me the best of all worlds.... or am I once again out to lunch?

This is the diagram I was going to follow:

Invalid Link Removed

D.