P Bass + MudBucker, two volumes and push pull tome pot

[MikeMonterrubio]

Hi! I'm building my first bass with some spare parts and a neck/body of dubious origin. I have a set of unknown P Bass pickups, an artec mudbucker and a push pull pot. Since i'm completely lost regarding circuit design, i drew this one based on a standard pj wiring and a standard way to use a push pull pot for cap switching, but I'm not sure it's correct, so I was hoping that you guys could take a look at it to see if everything is going smoothly or if I need to correct it, I would also like to know what other capacitor can I use besides the 0.47uf one.

 

[ctmullins]

Hi MikeComplicatedSurname!

Your diagram looks fine to me, with one comment - the third lug on the tone pot should not be grounded. Remove that and it’s good.

Also, be aware that a normal P pickup and most mudbuckers have wildly different impedances, which means they will interact in funny ways when you twist the knobs. They won’t blend very smoothly in a passive circuit like this; one will overpower the other (I forget which one exactly…).

Also also, when combining pickups from different manufacturers, there’s a 50/50 chance they will be out of phase. If they are, then they will sound thin and wimpy together. If that happens, you’ll need to swap the hot and ground wires of one of them. It’s probably easier to do that with the P pickup.

 

[MikeMonterrubio]

Hi MikeComplicatedSurname!

Your diagram looks fine to me, with one comment - the third lug on the tone pot should not be grounded. Remove that and it’s good.

Also, be aware that a normal P pickup and most mudbuckers have wildly different impedances, which means they will interact in funny ways when you twist the knobs. They won’t blend very smoothly in a passive circuit like this; one will overpower the other (I forget which one exactly…).

Also also, when combining pickups from different manufacturers, there’s a 50/50 chance they will be out of phase. If they are, then they will sound thin and wimpy together. If that happens, you’ll need to swap the hot and ground wires of one of them. It’s probably easier to do that with the P pickup.

Hi! thanks a lot for the input mate! i just tested the phase of both pickups and they're in fact, out of phase, so i'm going to swap the cables of the mysterious P pickup as you said.
But before that, i have another question: If i'm not supposed to ground the third lug of the tone pot, can I ground the sleeve of the output Jack and the bridge to the chasis of any of the volumen pots?

 

[ctmullins]

But before that, i have another question: If i'm not supposed to ground the third lug of the tone pot, can I ground the sleeve of the output Jack and the bridge to the chasis of any of the volumen pots?

Sure! Ground is ground, and multiple components need grounding, so they should all be linked together one way or another. Whichever way is most convenient.

 

[sprag]

I would also like to know what other capacitor can I use besides the 0.47uf one.

0.047uf is what you'll find standard in most passive basses.
If you want a more muddy/dubby tone use something around 0.1uf
If your after more low highs/upper mids then 0.022 or 0.033uf