Nordstrand Zen Blade

[chadhargis]

I had Zen Blades with series parallel switches and found the same thing. Parallel had good clarity but no booty so the switches always stayed in series.

Yeah. I can't imagine a time when I'd ever want parallel mode.

I have a G&L L-2500 that has a series/parallel switch...but those MFD pickups have two banks of magnets per pickup (basically two pickups in one cover), so the series mode is VERY bassy and loud. So I run them mostly in parallel mode. The ZenBlades being a single sensing pickup only has one source of string sensing, so when you run them in parallel, you get a drop in output and low end.

 

[JES]

My Zen Blade is also permanently wired in series.

 

[daddymactx]

This Modulus has a set of Zen blades paired with a custom 3B Nordstrand preamp. It has series/parallel switches (each pup), active/passive switch and a old school jazz style roll off under the volume. IMHO it's the most versatile, quietest, instrument I own.. Mo at Nordstrand did this install.. Clean accurate and no guess work... & Everything works... Series and parallel have different tones which work in different situations and even when I cross pickups (one series and one parallel) its still super quiet. But both in series gives the fattest tone across the board!!!

 

[XLunacy]

I personally use the pickups internally wired in parallel a lot when I have them wired in series with each other! Otherwise it gets too boomy for my taste very quickly.
Zen in parallel has quite a single-coily tone that helps achieving a J type tone, or even a stingrayish kind of sound with 2 of them next to each other at the right spot
I do love the neck pickup in series to achieve a fat P bass tone though

 

[MovinTarget]

My Zen Blade is also permanently wired in series.

Same:

 

[cataract]

Same:
View attachment 4741723

I love this bass, looks like so much fun!

 

[MovinTarget]

I love this bass, looks like so much fun!

Thanks! Took 3+ years from idea to build. 27" scale, 31" total. Not floppy like one would expect!

I was going to have the vol knob do series/parallel but I am glad I didn't as I find the tone very balanced in series.

 

[5StringPocket]

I personally use the pickups internally wired in parallel a lot when I have them wired in series with each other! Otherwise it gets too boomy for my taste very quickly.
Zen in parallel has quite a single-coily tone that helps achieving a J type tone, or even a stingrayish kind of sound with 2 of them next to each other at the right spot
I do love the neck pickup in series to achieve a fat P bass tone though

I think two pickups internally in parallel but in series with each other would sound excellent.

 

[XLunacy]

I think two pickups internally in parallel but in series with each other would sound excellent.

It's very interesting to listen to the different combinations!
I will provide samples when possible. I meant to do so for some time now, because this thread helped a lot in deciding which pickups I wanted

 

[Johno Dunn]

So, Zombie thread brought to life. I have an Ibanez SRF700 fretless that I am converting to a single bridge pickup (Zen Blade) running into an Underhill filter based preamp. I am eliminating the piezos and just going to the single mag. I’m putting a p/p volume/filter bypass, Variable Q, Filter adjust and a series/parallel switch as my on board controls. I’m going to add a ramp, sort of a Gary Willis set up.

 

[MovinTarget]

Sounds very cool!

 

[Alex Masters]

I'm in the process of upgrading the pre in my Ibanez SRMS805, fitted with Zen Blades. It already sounds good but I think it's not an ideal match with the Ibanez BEQ3. I've got a John East Uni Pre 5 spare, which I'm fitting now, with serial/parallel switching for both pickups.

Stand by - I'll let you know how it works out!

 

[Alex Masters]

Installation started. The hope for the balance control needed to be enlarged to make it fit, but I've done the 'dry fit' to install all of the components and route the cables nicely

Unfortunately I can't finish the job by wiring the pickups as I need some new screened pickup cable as I forgotten that I'd previously shortened them to make things tider!.

I have options for switching series/split/parallel with a dpdt on-on-on switch - is it worth wiring for split coil mode? I imagine it's a lot quieter?.

 

[MovinTarget]

Installation started. The hope for the balance control needed to be enlarged to make it fit, but I've done the 'dry fit' to install all of the components and route the cables nicely

Unfortunately I can't finish the job by wiring the pickups as I need some new screened pickup cable as I forgotten that I'd previously shortened them to make things tider!.

View attachment 4851711

I have options for switching series/split/parallel with a dpdt on-on-on switch - is it worth wiring for split coil mode? I imagine it's a lot quieter?.

I must be missing something, how does one "split" on a Zen Blade as its a Humcancelling sidewinder? Do you mean taking a pair in single coil mode and humcancelling?

 

[sikamikanico]

never tried it, but series-single-parallel seems to work fine:

 

[tom-g]

never tried it, but series-single-parallel seems to work fine:

It works fine as it has two coils. I have done it.

 

[Alex Masters]

While waiting for some new pickup wire to connect the series/split/parallel switching, I wired then in series for a quick test.

Unfortunately it seems I have a problem with my John East Uni Pre 5 - in active mode, the sound is weak and the volume control doesn't work.

Passive mode works correctly - pan pot, volume and tone work normally. I've got to say - it sounds bloody good in passive mode. Bass is strong with good clarity in the mids and top end. It sounds great with both finger style and slap. It feels responsive and dynamic - exact what I was hoping for and much better than the Ibanez BEQ3.

 

[XLunacy]

While waiting for some new pickup wire to connect the series/split/parallel switching, I wired then in series for a quick test.

Unfortunately it seems I have a problem with my John East Uni Pre 5 - in active mode, the sound is weak and the volume control doesn't work.

Passive mode works correctly - pan pot, volume and tone work normally. I've got to say - it sounds bloody good in passive mode. Bass is strong with good clarity in the mids and top end. It sounds great with both finger style and slap. It feels responsive and dynamic - exact what I was hoping for and much better than the Ibanez BEQ3.

I also had a similar issue with the volume control not working in active mode only: The John East preamp club
Luckily I only had to move a jumper to fix it, hopefully the same goes for you

 

[Alex Masters]

I also had a similar issue with the volume control not working in active mode only: The John East preamp club
Luckily I only had to move a jumper to fix it, hopefully the same goes for you

Well spotted that man!

One of the jumpers has gone AWOL - I'll replace it and give it another go.

 

[Alex Masters]

That sorted it - I didnt spot that one of the jumpers had gone AWOL. One of the red jumpers had previously fallen off, and I had it set to the wrong position when I replaced it. I called John, and he helped me diagnose the issue in five minutes, even though we got our orientation wrong! (Thank you, John).

With the Bass/Mid control installed, looking into the electronics cavity, lboth red jumpers needed to be in the upper position for it to work

All is working perfectly now, and active mode is operational. These pickups sound really great in this bass, both active and passive. I'm really pleased with the improvement over rhe Ibanez BEQ3. No more muddy / hazy tones - everything sounds clear as a bell!.

My pickup cables arrived today, so I'll be taking it all apart again and wiring up the parallel/split/series switches. I'll provide an update once I've done that, but it really plays and sounds great.

Thanks to xLunacy for the suggestion - that saved me a lot of troubleshooting time!