Members y-o-y Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 I am cobbling together a SX jazz parts bass and I don't want to bother with controls so I am going to wire the PUs straight to the jack. My questions are 1) should i solder each PU lead directly to the jack? Sr should I connect the two leads from the two PUs and then solder a single wire to the jack? Does it matter? 2) do I ground both PUs to the bridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted January 15, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 15, 2009 1) Doesn't matter, but do what involves the fewest number of connections and the least length of wire. 2) The bridge should be grounded to the output jack, just as both pickups should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james on bass Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 Kindness has it. I believe I wired the 2 pickups together, then one to the jack with one of my jazzes. I wired it back "proper" when I sold the bass. I also did this to a P-bass, but in between the pickup and the output I soldered in a mini-toggle switch for an on/off. Very cool IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roguetitan Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 Kindness has it. I believe I wired the 2 pickups together, then one to the jack with one of my jazzes. I wired it back "proper" when I sold the bass. I also did this to a P-bass, but in between the pickup and the output I soldered in a mini-toggle switch for an on/off. Very cool IMO. now I like the on/off toggle idea very cool indeed:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 You *might* want to consider wiring them in series - jazz pups really thump in series... In that case, you'd wire one pup hot to the jack's prong, that pup's ground to the other's hot, and the 2nd pup's ground to the jack's ring - along with the bridge ground... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members y-o-y Posted January 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 1) Doesn't matter, but do what involves the fewest number of connections and the least length of wire. 2) The bridge should be grounded to the output jack, just as both pickups should be. Got it. Given my terrible soldering skills I am always looking to minimize the number of connections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members y-o-y Posted January 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 You *might* want to consider wiring them in series - jazz pups really thump in series... In that case, you'd wire one pup hot to the jack's prong, that pup's ground to the other's hot, and the 2nd pup's ground to the jack's ring - along with the bridge ground... - georgestrings hmmmm...I may give this a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hamer-Bass-Head Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 You *might* want to consider wiring them in series - jazz pups really thump in series... In that case, you'd wire one pup hot to the jack's prong, that pup's ground to the other's hot, and the 2nd pup's ground to the jack's ring - along with the bridge ground... - georgestrings :cop:Unless I'm mistaken you'll have to wire one in reverse or lose the hum cancelling benefit of having both.... and it will buzz like a swarm of angry bees!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 You *might* want to consider wiring them in series - jazz pups really thump in series... In that case, you'd wire one pup hot to the jack's prong, that pup's ground to the other's hot, and the 2nd pup's ground to the jack's ring - along with the bridge ground... - georgestrings Good idea, he might as well considering he won't have independent volume control over them anyways. Hmm, maybe a series/parallel switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 :cop:Unless I'm mistaken you'll have to wire one in reverse or lose the hum cancelling benefit of having both.... and it will buzz like a swarm of angry bees!!!! You're mistaken - I described exactly as I've done it on 2 different jazz basses... One is with a series/parallel switch, the other is volume control only, no tone circuit - and neither have any noise issues whatsoever... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Good idea, he might as well considering he won't have independent volume control over them anyways. Hmm, maybe a series/parallel switch. Well, when I 1st installed the Ultra Jazz pups on my VMJ, I used a series/parallel switch - but found myself never using the parallel setting, as the series totally kicked ass... Last week, I bought another Jazz bass, and needed to upgrade it's pots and jack anyways - so I swiped the 2nd volume and tone(w/ the push pull DTDP switch) pots from the VMJ, and added another 500k CTS pot, and a Switchcraft jack - and used that control set for the "new" Jazz... Then, I just used the one volume pot on the VMJ - for muting purposes only - and ran the pups in series off that, and straight to the jack... It totally kicks ass for a modern rock 4string that way - great AIC, RATM, etc... sound... I wanted the "new" Jazz to have a variety of sounds, 'cause I'm primarily using it for 80s/90s stuff - so the series/parallel switch, working tone circuit, and both volume pots functioning were desireable to me for that bass... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members y-o-y Posted January 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 You're mistaken - I described exactly as I've done it on 2 different jazz basses... One is with a series/parallel switch, the other is volume control only, no tone circuit - and neither have any noise issues whatsoever... - georgestrings Seemed to work just fine for me thanks for the idea. I had to turn down my tiny little practice amp cuz it was getting ally fuzzy like (due to the series wiring) with I plugged it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted January 16, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 16, 2009 Seemed to work just fine for me thanks for the idea. I had to turn down my tiny little practice amp cuz it was getting ally fuzzy like (due to the series wiring) with I plugged it in. The wiring is exactly as George told you. It will be louder and more mid heavy in series mode. It will be quieter, but more "hi-fi" in parallel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Renfield Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Well, when I 1st installed the Ultra Jazz pups on my VMJ, I used a series/parallel switch - but found myself never using the parallel setting, as the series totally kicked ass. I always put the switch in because "you never know" and yet I never engage it to go back to normal parallel operation. I even started wiring the push pull so that down was series, that way it just defaulted there if bumped and people using it wouldn't look funny at the raised control and get spooked to touch the knobs. So yes, +1 to fixed Series operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members s4001 Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Kindness has it. I believe I wired the 2 pickups together, then one to the jack with one of my jazzes. I wired it back "proper" when I sold the bass. I also did this to a P-bass, but in between the pickup and the output I soldered in a mini-toggle switch for an on/off. Very cool IMO. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hi.flyer Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Well, when I 1st installed the Ultra Jazz pups on my VMJ, I used a series/parallel switch - but found myself never using the parallel setting, as the series totally kicked ass... Last week, I bought another Jazz bass, and needed to upgrade it's pots and jack anyways - so I swiped the 2nd volume and tone(w/ the push pull DTDP switch) pots from the VMJ, and added another 500k CTS pot, and a Switchcraft jack - and used that control set for the "new" Jazz... Then, I just used the one volume pot on the VMJ - for muting purposes only - and ran the pups in series off that, and straight to the jack... It totally kicks ass for a modern rock 4string that way - great AIC, RATM, etc... sound... I wanted the "new" Jazz to have a variety of sounds, 'cause I'm primarily using it for 80s/90s stuff - so the series/parallel switch, working tone circuit, and both volume pots functioning were desireable to me for that bass... - georgestrings Yea, it's all good. I just like the other scheme too (parralel) cuz I always like the classic bridge single coil sound. Series is sick too tho of course, gotta love the huge phatty humbucker tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 The wiring is exactly as George told you. It will be louder and more mid heavy in series mode. It will be quieter, but more "hi-fi" in parallel. Agreed - mine also seem to pick up some low end in series - they definitely thump that way... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Seemed to work just fine for me thanks for the idea. I had to turn down my tiny little practice amp cuz it was getting ally fuzzy like (due to the series wiring) with I plugged it in. I'm glad it worked out for you - you're very welcome... You're definitely getting a hotter signal than you're used to in series - which isn't a bad thing, IMO - you just have to plan accordingly... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 I always put the switch in because "you never know" and yet I never engage it to go back to normal parallel operation. I even started wiring the push pull so that down was series, that way it just defaulted there if bumped and people using it wouldn't look funny at the raised control and get spooked to touch the knobs. So yes, +1 to fixed Series operation. I thought about that, but pretty much only play the VMJ in the modern rock band, along with a Spector 5er - and have a P Bass Special, the "new" Jazz, and a fretless Jazz Bass Special for my other 4 bangers... So, I can afford to leave the VMJ as a "one trick pony" - on the bright side: it does that one trick very, very well... I also reversed my series/parallel so that the down position was the series setting - for the same reasons... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Yea, it's all good. I just like the other scheme too (parralel) cuz I always like the classic bridge single coil sound. Series is sick too tho of course, gotta love the huge phatty humbucker tone. If I played with fingers, I'd *probably* get more use out of the parallel setting, but series really works well for pickers like me... Still, I wanted to have all the options available for this latest Jazz, as I'm planning on using it for a workhorse bass - it certainly has alot of tonal variation available... Although the stock pups sound good, and are plenty hot enough - I'm still thinking of upgrading them with a set of DiMarzio Model Js... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 That's how my bass is wired right now. I have 3 empty holes in the control plate. And no pickguard. It's ghetto as hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roguetitan Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 You *might* want to consider wiring them in series - jazz pups really thump in series... In that case, you'd wire one pup hot to the jack's prong, that pup's ground to the other's hot, and the 2nd pup's ground to the jack's ring - along with the bridge ground... - georgestrings my next build will consist of this config coupled with an I/O toggle:thu:I pretty much use both pups and the vol and tone pots wide open any wayso there is really no need for pots, plus I like a really hot signal so this configuration should work well for me:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Renfield Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Agreed - mine also seem to pick up some low end in series - they definitely thump that way... - georgestrings that has been my experience as well. I am using Barts too so it accents that even further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Raysguitar Posted January 21, 2020 Members Share Posted January 21, 2020 I have been playing guitar for about 50 years. In all my bands and jams, I never once saw someone adjust volumn or tone knob on guitar. knobs full open and adjust tone and volumn on amp or pedal. i just wire straight to jack. Just remember to connect, someplace, a ground to the bridge or some metal part. Will cut out the Hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 21, 2020 Members Share Posted January 21, 2020 Well, after 11 years, I THINK they might have figured it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.