Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

[Gargo]

Hi,
New to the forum but thought it might be the best place to get an answer.
I have a set of SD passive bass soapbars, 3 wire (black, white, bare) and want to get a series/parallel push-pull pot like this Jazz bass diagram and I basically just need to know if this will work with my pups? It looks very similar just need to know what to do with the bare, combine with the black? Thanks very much for any help, truly appreciated!

Some visuals:

Have soap.jpg



Want jazz.jpg

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

Welcome to the forum!

The second schematic works fine, just put the bare wire in the same place as you would put the black wire. And may I suggest a push-push pot instead of push-pull? I find them much faster and easier to use when I'm playing.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

I was just thinking about that wiring, and I realized how odd it was that they put the push pull on the neck volume. It seems odd that they would put a push pull on a dedicated volume over a master tone control. If I drew that wiring I'd put it the push-pull on the tone control just for ease of use.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

I was just thinking about that wiring, and I realized how odd it was that they put the push pull on the neck volume. It seems odd that they would put a push pull on a dedicated volume over a master tone control. If I drew that wiring I'd put it the push-pull on the tone control just for ease of use.

I think the reason for the seemingly odd placement was just for ease of access- when you reach for the knobs, that's the closest one. The tone knob on a Jazz Bass is not only further away, but also smaller than the others.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

I've done it to a couple P-90 guitars. It gives a boost in output (for solos), and although warm, it's not a dark as two humbuckers in series. However it's not a lot different from two P-90's wired for independent volume controls, with the volume turned down a little on the neck PU.

There's a diagram for a series push-pull on this site.

 

[Gargo]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

Thanks everyone for the replies! Much appreciated. I think I'll take your advice and go with a push-push as well, sounds better all around. Just a minor clarification when you say "put the bare wire in the same place as you would put the black wire" this simply means place the bare and black together in the indicated slots? Was pretty certain but wanted to be positive before having at it. Thanks again for the responses and welcome to the forum, great resource.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

Thanks everyone for the replies! Much appreciated. I think I'll take your advice and go with a push-push as well, sounds better all around. Just a minor clarification when you say "put the bare wire in the same place as you would put the black wire" this simply means place the bare and black together in the indicated slots? Was pretty certain but wanted to be positive before having at it. Thanks again for the responses and welcome to the forum, great resource.

Yup.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Passive soapbars in series/parallel?

Just a minor clarification when you say "put the bare wire in the same place as you would put the black wire" this simply means place the bare and black together in the indicated slots? Was pretty certain but wanted to be positive before having at it.

I wouldn't do it that way. You always want all of the bare wires going directly to ground. You don't want the bare wire going to the p/p switch, you might introduce some hum. Just the black wire should go to the switch like in the second diagram. In that diagram it doesn't show the bare wires because it is assumed that they will be going to ground (usually soldered directly to the back of a pot.

Also be aware that when you are in series mode, the bridge vol pot will not work. The neck vol pot acts as a master vol for both pups.