So I've spooked around Talkbass a few days and I've found a very usefull thing.
The parallel/series modification!
huh?
It goes like this: normally you have a jazz bass (other pickups are sometimes capable too) with two pickups and those are wired in parralel. If you install a switch (either a push/pull pot or a DPDT switch) you can swap between the two things. Parallel is your normal tone and series will give you a more beefy/fatter tone. It is sometimes said as a mix between a Pbass pickup and a Musicmanpickup. This will give you (even) more tonal variations on your jazz bass.
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15665&stc=1
Basically it looks like this.
Ok now we want to achieve this.. but how? You will need:
- a switch or the pushpullpot.
- some wires
- solder equipment
- time (this is important! do everything slow and it will be OK)
Quote:
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Originally Posted by talkbass user bigbeefdog
I'll assume you have the tone pot section of your push-pull wired correctly, and just address the pickup circuit. I'll also assume you've gone down the road where "pull" is "series" (as you suggested you have).
Here's your push-pull (numbers are added to the lugs for purposes of the discussion to follow)
| | shaft
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° ° ° tone section
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°1 4°
°2 5° push/pull DPDT switch
°3 6°
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How it should be wired:
- Jumper 1 to 4.
- Cut the "hot" wire from your neck pickup "in the middle" (assumes length is sufficient); the lead coming from the pup goes to 2, and the lead coming from the neck vol pot lug goes to 3.
- Cut the "ground" wire from your bridge pickup "in the middle"; the lead coming from the pup goes to 5, and the lead coming from the bridge vol pot ground (probably the back of the housing) goes to 6.
When you push down on the new pot, the internal connections are 2 to 3, and 5 to 6. So, as per the last two bullets above, pushing down simply "re-makes" the connections of the wires that you just cut. This is the usual Jazz bass wiring, or "parallel".
When you pull up on the new pot, the internal connections are 2 to 1, and 4 to 5. So the "hot" lead from your neck pickup is now connected "in series" to the "ground" lead of your bridge pickup by means of 2 to 1 (internal), 1 to 4 (jumpered), and 4 to 5 (internal). This is series mode; your neck vol pot will go dead (bridge vol pot is now master vol).
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If you follow that, you will get your bigger, beefy, more basslike tone
Read everything careful to understand it, I will upload a picture later when I have the camera..
I hope this helped.. feel free to ask questions. I thought that it was a real cheap, but extremely good mod.
^^For a Jbass or another bass with two pickups.
And the next schematic will be for a Pbass. Read further in the thread for more information. Pbasses are already in series normally (because the Precision pickup is actually two little pickups in one), so you will install the switch to switch from series to parallel.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by doodooking
i take no credit for this, it was from bgavin from talkbass, although the following explanation is from me, the schematic isnt
basically what you want to do is the wires that are connected together on your p bass, black wire in the schematic is the corresponding one. not all wires will be the same color, and actually, none of the wires on my bass was the same. also for the "red" and "green" just connect it to the pot where the schematic says to, you dont need to connect it to the switch first
[URL=http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dpdtswitchpoints8dy.jpg]  [/url]
also about the screws, they work so i dont care, as long as they hold the pick guard down, im ok with it |
EDIT: fixed a few things.