Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

[ItsaBass]

Hello,

I have a Jazz Bass, and I literally never use the bridge pickup, alone or blended. I am new to Jazz Basses. I was wondering how to wire the thing so that the pickups are in series, but individually controllable. That is, each volume control would be turned into a spin-a-split for its respective coil. I would be able to use whatever amount of each pickup that I want, but they would always be in series.

Thank you.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Nevermind. The schematic I linked doesnt even have the the output jack hooked up

Whoops

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

^ Thank you. I have seen that diagram, but I want to verify that it is indeed the way to go, and that it is indeed abridged in that it does not show several ground wires. I would assume the back of every pot gets a ground wire, which then connect to the jack. And does any tab on the neck pickup volume pot get attached to the back of the casing?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Also, does this diagram work as I want when in the series position (i.e. each pickup's volume can be controlled)? I could possibly do this instead, if I could reverse the function of the switch such that down is series and up is stock (parallel). I don't want to be running the push/pull in the up position the 99 percent of the time I will have series wiring engaged.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

^ Thank you. I have seen that diagram, but I want to verify that it is indeed the way to go, and that it is indeed abridged in that it does not show several ground wires. I would assume the back of every pot gets a ground wire, which then connect to the jack. And does any tab on the neck pickup volume pot get attached to the back of the casing?

I dont think it is

See my revised comment,

For one, the dang thing doesnt connect the output jack. And don't anyone be saying it presumes "implied ground everythjng", because NO, thats not how series wiring works, since it goes + to -, so one of the pickups (and its pot) are connected ground-to-hot into the next one

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

This is all confusing to me. Series/parallel wiring has always been where my understanding of guitar electronics ends. That's why I was hoping Artie would see my post.

My thought about the TalkBass diagram is that it must be omitting a wire that runs from the back of each pot to the output jack.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

This is all confusing to me. Series/parallel wiring has always been where my understanding of guitar electronics ends. That's why I was hoping Artie would see my post.

My thought about the TalkBass diagram is that it must be omitting a wire that runs from the back of each pot to the output jack.

Cant be


For visualization purposes:

Parallel wiring is a straight orgy
Series wiring is a gay orgy

 

[AlexR]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

You could adapt the Brian May Red special wiring if you want on-off switches for each pickup but combined you want them series only.
I don't know what the typical Jazz bass wiring is, but if you're gutting it then maybe run pots as volumes right from the pickup so they are independently controllable. Each pickup then runs to separate pushpull switches wired the way the red special has them for selection.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Cant be


For visualization purposes:

Parallel wiring is a straight orgy
Series wiring is a gay orgy

Meatheaded analogies aside, you must be wrong. First, the tone pot must have a wire that runs from its casing to the the ground lug of the jack. If not, it simply does not function. Secondly, as you can see in the diagram, both pickups end up with their grounds going to the back of the bridge pickup volume pot, at any setting...so that pot casing has to be connected to the ground lug on the jack as well. The question is whether the neck pickup volume pot must have its case grounded. My instinct says it's not necessary for the pot to function, but possibly helpful for noise reduction.

In other words, it's fairly obvious that there is an implied ground wire that connects each pot casing and the ground lug of the jack.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

You could adapt the Brian May Red special wiring if you want on-off switches for each pickup but combined you want them series only.
I don't know what the typical Jazz bass wiring is, but if you're gutting it then maybe run pots as volumes right from the pickup so they are independently controllable. Each pickup then runs to separate pushpull switches wired the way the red special has them for selection.

I don't want switches. I want to retain the stock '64 Jazz Bass look.

It's also not important for me to be able to restore the pickups back to parallel with a push/pull...though that Duncan diagram does allow that. I just haven't really worked through it to see if each pickup retains individually controllability when blending them.

Regular Jazz Bass wiring (if not using the early wiring with stacked pots) is V/V/T, with pickups in parallel, and no switches. I want the same thing, but pickups in series. That way, I can get either pickup alone, or both pickups combined as effectively one series pickup, in any possible ratio. Theoretically, instead of the tone getting weaker and more notched as you mix the pickups, it does exactly the opposite: it gets stronger and more middy.

I'm pretty sure the TalkBass wiring will work, looking at it and thinking about what happens to the different signals as the pots are turned. I just wanted some input from the experts here before digging in. My understanding of series wiring with individual volume pots for each components is very limited, i.e. I can think through that diagram and see how it works, but I couldn't have come up with it from scratch.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Meatheaded analogies aside, you must be wrong. First, the tone pot must have a wire that runs from its casing to the the ground lug of the jack. If not, it simply does not function. Secondly, as you can see in the diagram, both pickups end up with their grounds going to the back of the bridge pickup volume pot, at any setting...so that pot casing has to be connected to the ground lug on the jack as well. The question is whether the neck pickup volume pot must have its case grounded. My instinct says it's not necessary for the pot to function, but possibly helpful for noise reduction.

In other words, it's fairly obvious that there is an implied ground wire that connects each pot casing and the ground lug of the jack.

Ugh... this is why I hate electricity

If we forget about pots and bridge grounds, a basic two pickup series is just two pickups joined P1+ to P2-, and the other two ends going to the jack.

How to introduce independent volumes into that equation and ground that correctly....hmmm, hell if I know

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

I don’t think you can have two volumes with series pickups. The volume with pickup hot on the outside and middle output to jack will kill the works when turned down.

For example, Brian May only has one volume. JP wiring doesn’t work independently when in series either. The pickup selector has to be in the center and acts like a kill switch if you throw to the neck pickup.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Here's an interesting, albeit short, TalkBass thread that provides some resolution to my confusion: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/jazz-bass-series-with-no-load-vvt.1248181/.

The wiring diagram shown there makes more sense, and it is explained better in the thread.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Here's an interesting, albeit short, TalkBass thread that provides some resolution to my confusion: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/jazz-bass-series-with-no-load-vvt.1248181/.

The wiring diagram shown there makes more sense, and it is explained better in the thread.

Either I'm confused as usual, or you still need to ground the tone pot or else it'll do nothing

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Either I'm confused as usual, or you still need to ground the tone pot or else it'll do nothing

Yes, it is left off the diagram. The two volume pots don't get grounded like normal, but the cap in the master tone control must electronically connect to ground in order for the tone pot to work.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

This makes the theory of how this works more clear (at least to me):

 

[Adieu]

Re: Jazz Bass wiring idea. Need the help of the real wiring wizards.

Yes, it is left off the diagram. The two volume pots don't get grounded like normal, but the cap in the master tone control must electronically connect to ground in order for the tone pot to work.

Gotta love incomplete diagrams