• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Question about PJ wiring

M

MichaelJessen

Jun 27, 2007
54
0
Copenhagen, Denmark.
www.gonzomorales.com
#1
Hey everybody.

I'm working on a new project, and I'm gonna go with a PJ pickup-setup.

I would like to wire everything, so that I can bypass the jazz-pickup completely, with a knob.

I am thinking of ordering this kit Angela Premium Wiring Kit For Fender Precision Bass

But what more do I need? The kit in the link above, is only for P-bass-pickup, so I need all the electronics for the jazzpickup, and for the option of bypassing it.

Hope you can help me, wiring diagrams are MOST welcome.

Excuse my bad english!

Michael.
 
#2
Personally, I'd go kit-less and wire the whole thing myself.
If you'd give me a moment, I can dig out the schematic you want. The classic PJ has the pickups affect each other even with the J pickup turned all the way down - but someone figured out how to either get an "unloaded" (unaffected) P pickup or to gradually add in the J pickup.

Found the original thread: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/poor-mans-master-blend-pj-wiring-mod-706231/

pvol-jblend-mtone.png


  • red wires go from the pickup to the first pot they connect to
  • blue wires go from pot to pot or pot to output
    [*]they're not necessarily that color, it's just for clarity. Red and blue wires are signal, or so called hot wires.​
  • black wires end up in the little "triangle" symbol (the ground) - they should all be connected together to the ground symbol on the right
  • the green box is the capacitor - use whatever you wish, the stock would be a .047 uF capacitor
  • the two-part black thing on the right is the output jack, the "V" shaped is the tip connector, the box to its right is the sleeve connector

So, the way this thing is supposed to work is, the Vol P pot is actually a master volume control - controlling the volume of the P pickup if there's no J tone dialed in, controlling the complete volume if there is some J tone dialed in. The Blend J pot controls how much of the J pickup you get in your sound. The Tone Master pot is a standard tone pot like any common bass.

As for pots, two 500K linear pots for volume, one 500K audio pot for tone should give it a good balance.

* hides in the corner waiting for the ire of wire gurus *
 
#7
Stealth said:
pvol-jblend-mtone.png

  • red wires go from the pickup to the first pot they connect to
  • blue wires go from pot to pot or pot to output
  • they're not necessarily that color, it's just for clarity. Red and blue wires are signal, or so called hot wires.
  • black wires end up in the little "triangle" symbol (the ground) - they should all be connected together to the ground symbol on the right
  • the green box is the capacitor - use whatever you wish, the stock would be a .047 uF capacitor
  • the two-part black thing on the right is the output jack, the "V" shaped is the tip connector, the box to its right is the sleeve connector
So, the way this thing is supposed to work is, the Vol P pot is actually a master volume control - controlling the volume of the P pickup if there's no J tone dialed in, controlling the complete volume if there is some J tone dialed in. The Blend J pot controls how much of the J pickup you get in your sound. The Tone Master pot is a standard tone pot like any common bass.

As for pots, two 500K linear pots for volume, one 500K audio pot for tone should give it a good balance.

* hides in the corner waiting for the ire of wire gurus *
Click to expand...
interesting!

the point of this variation is that the player won't ever want the J by itself (or louder than the P, even), so why not make the P volume a "master"?

i would suggest the following changes, though;

1- swap the connections on the master volume, so that both pickups and the tone pot all feed into the clockwise lug, and the center lug goes out to the jack.

this will give a more even sweep of both knobs and eliminate that weird control interaction from having the tone on the output of the volume pot.

2- lose the ground on the "slave" volume, so there's no increased load overall; that pot will just add series resistance between the jazz pickup and the rest of the circuit as it's turned down, "dimming" its sound. (this'll also make the jazz fade out a little more gradually).
 
#8
Interesting point, Walter. I'll see if I have the source file at home and modify it. You've got a good point there. I only realized the distinction between a coupled and uncoupled potentiometer a few days ago, and hadn't thought of coupling the master volume as you suggest.
 
#13
swap the pot tapers around (use linear volumes and an audio tone) and you'll have something.

wire it like any gibson 2-pickup, 3-knob guitar schematic (explorer, say), with the pickups going to the clockwise lugs of the volumes, the center lugs of the volumes going to the switch, and the output of the switch going to the jack, along with the tone pot.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back