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New Pickups, odd effect

mattpnolan

mattpnolan

Supporting Member
Mar 5, 2005
1,338
105
New Jersey
#1
I have a MIM Jazz that I've had for a few years. I decided to put new pickups in it. So, I bought some Barts. I love the sound, but I'm wondering if it is odd that I now turn both my pickups all the way down to get the round warm sound I want. Is this weird?
 
#9
Something like this would cause what's normally rolling off the treble to be the other way around. You would have to rotate the knob counterclockwise to get the sound you want instead of clockwise.

I did this by accident when I rewired my P-bass a long time ago.

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#10
They are wired correctly, but thanks for mentioning that because I had to check :smug: Maybe, I'm just weird and want an uber-rounded tone. My motto is "You know you've got your levels right when the audience can't even hear the bass...They just feel it down to their bones." :bassist:
 
#12
So, I was right the first time? :eyebrow: Okay, so then if the bottom-most two knobs are down, then that is the volume of the bridge pickup and the tone? It's been a long time since I had messed with my knobs and I no longer have factory knobs with labels on them :p
 
#13
mnolansoc said:
So, I was right the first time? :eyebrow: Okay, so then if the bottom-most two knobs are down, then that is the volume of the bridge pickup and the tone? It's been a long time since I had messed with my knobs and I no longer have factory knobs with labels on them :p
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The two pots closest to the jack. Yes. And if that has happened, your wiring is screwed. Check www.seymourduncan.com for a proper jazz bass wiring diagram.
 
#15
FWIW:

If all you've done is drop in a standard set of 2 lead Bart J's, and the wiring is "correct" and the tone is wierd and controls don't respond as they should, about the only thing that can be wrong is the pups are wired out of phase. Reverse the connections to the hot and ground wires of one of the pups and see if that resolves the issue.

To determine basic controls when unknown (confused): with your amp on low volume simply turn all knobs off (till you get no sound) and turn one full on and off at a time. Only volume controls will produce any sound. What's left has to be a blend or tone. If there are two volumes then what's left is tone. If one volume then to distinguish a tone from blend, turn the volume control up audibly and turn what's left full on and off one at a time and tap on each pup with a small steel object (allen wrench whatever) in the process before and after each rotation. If the pups are alternately turned on and off, it's a blend. Alternately you can just look inside the control cavity and a blend will basically look like a stacked pot (2 rows of lugs).

Also, you can use a volume as a tone pot but using a tone as a volume pot can result in volume increase that does not graduate smoothly.
 
#16
Thanks guys, that definitely changes everything. I had everything backwards, because I was thinking that the tone was the far left instead of the far right. So, really, what I have my settings on is not too weird. My neck pickup (I play directly over that with my fingers) is turned 3/4 way up, my bridge pickup is turned all the way down, and my tone is turned all the way down. This way, I get a really round, warm, and increadibly low BOOM! :bassist:
 

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