Precision Antiquity II on a Vintage Modified Squier Jag

[deigam]

hi all!

I have a Squier vintage modified jaguar bass, with active pups.
I have a vintage P-bass, but don't want to leave that in the studio for rehearsals, so I bought a cheap one and I decided replace the active stuff with a passive p-bass pickup and pots.
I got the antiquity II, and a wiring kit with 250k pots.

Now there are 2 things I dont understand in the wiring diagrams:



1. the white (hot) signal always appears coming out of the top pickup in the diagrams, while the one I got has it on the bottom one (as from the picture here http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-ii-p-bass-3)
2. I don't have any ground wire coming from the bridge. Might be because it's an active circuit? Should I ignore that or it would result in horrible hum?

These might be noob-ish questions, apologies if I am missing the obvious.
Thanks a lot in advance.

Diego

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Precision Antiquity II on a Vintage Modified Squier Jag

Welcome to the forum.

1. the white (hot) signal always appears coming out of the top pickup in the diagrams, while the one I got has it on the bottom one (as from the picture here http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/antiquity-ii-p-bass-3)

In a single pickup bass guitar, it makes no difference which half of the split coils Precision Bass pickup has the hot conductor emerging from it. Obviously, when the pickup comes with the attached metal screening plate, the black conductor MUST be grounded.

2. I don't have any ground wire coming from the bridge. Might be because it's an active circuit?

Correct. The original circuit designer considered a ground wire unnecessary.

Should I ignore that or it would result in horrible hum?

The most obvious issue would be the possibility of electrocution! You may also experience interference whenever your skin is not in contact with the strings or the metal hardware of the instrument.

Luckily for you, it should be pretty easy to run a ground wire from beneath the bridge, into the J pickup cavity and then to the control cavity. You may need to drill a hole for this.

Finally, it is possible that the wiring instructions for the Antiquity pickup look slightly different from the standard example posted above. The Ant diagram might presume the presence of the aluminium screening plate of a vintage Fender instrument forms part of the ground path.