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Wiring question
- Thread starter Deaky
- Start date
In a standard Precision bass, the coils are wired in series - that is, the end of one coil is connected to the start of the other coil, and then the outermost wires of that coil pair are treated as a "global" signal and ground pair. This, combined with the short and squat shape of the P pickup halves, is what gives it that deep tone full of low mids.
In a standard Jazz bass, the coils are wired in parallel - that is, the starts of each coil are connected together into one wire, and the ends of each coil are connected together into another wire. Then those two wires are treated as a "global" signal and ground pair. This gives the Jazz bass its classic tone with bass and treble, but diminished mids.
This is how it looks while wiring:
Yes, you can wire Jazz pickups in series, and they won't exactly sound like a Precision bass. It takes away the growl, but introduces a lot more mids into the sound which may or may not be to your liking. It also gets much, much louder.
This is what the wiring should look like. I am not the author of this, but I can confirm the wiring works. I can't find my old soundclip of a Jazz bass I modded with an S/P switch, but look around the forums as it'd been done plenty of times.
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In a standard Jazz bass, the coils are wired in parallel - that is, the starts of each coil are connected together into one wire, and the ends of each coil are connected together into another wire. Then those two wires are treated as a "global" signal and ground pair. This gives the Jazz bass its classic tone with bass and treble, but diminished mids.
This is how it looks while wiring:
Yes, you can wire Jazz pickups in series, and they won't exactly sound like a Precision bass. It takes away the growl, but introduces a lot more mids into the sound which may or may not be to your liking. It also gets much, much louder.
This is what the wiring should look like. I am not the author of this, but I can confirm the wiring works. I can't find my old soundclip of a Jazz bass I modded with an S/P switch, but look around the forums as it'd been done plenty of times.
Link Removed
Yes, I did. I have converted a few friends' basses like this (I don't have a Jazz of my own yet, I'll likely mod one of my Prec clones into a Jazz) and I do like how it sounds. It's powerful, not as thumpy as a Prec, but definitely cuts well.
At 64, I can no longer justify or pay for a Fender Jazz. If you haven't, take a look at "Rondo Music". I have their SX Ursa II sunburst jazz and I love it for $125 US dollars. Fantastic finish and plays great. Very good place to start with that circuit.
