Jump to content

How do you wire a P bass?


Apendecto

Recommended Posts

  • Members
Posted

I've been messing with my P bass.

Drilled a hole in it and moved the input jack Gibson style. This left me an extra hole in the pickguard where the jack used to be.

 

So I thought I'd use the extra hole and buy a "Black Ice" passive distortion and hooked it to a third pot.

 

Unfortunatly, I can't find any diagrams of how to wire a volume, tone, tone P bass since that would be crazy. The Black Ice works just like a cap for a tone control so I know how to integrate that into the circuit, but how do I add an extra pot into the usual P wiring?

 

Any insight or pictures would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

  • Members
Posted

It's gonna take me while to come up with a drawing, but what I'd suggest here is to use a push/pull pot with the Black Ice so you can switch it in and out of the circuit; sort of and active/passive motif.

 

Beavs' post is a good start.

  • Members
Posted

Originally posted by beav2k2

http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/support/schematics/standard_pbass.html


I beleive you'll just follow this, and then run a wire from the middle lug of the 1st tone pot to the second one. Someone will probally prove me wrong on this, though.

 

this diagram is ok except i use a 047 cap on my P tone pot...as supplied...but never use the tone so it doesnt matter in that respect

for your icecap just add another pot similar to the tone and take a wire from the existing tone over to the other pot...this means the hot signal runs through the vol with the bleed to two tone pots...i assume you wont be using them both..together

 

the push pull is another idea but i havent used one of these..

 

just a link over to the new pot is the simplest...

 

and a earth from the pot...of course...:) ..try to daisy chain the earthing system to one pot and then to the jack..

  • Members
Posted

I've got to run off to work in a minute but thanks for the info.

 

I will definetly be using three pots. Volume, Tone, and Ice. I understand how to wire up a P but I can't figure out the extra tone pot (ice) in my head. Hmmm. I will check out the links when I get back. Thanks.

 

Yo.

  • Members
Posted

 

Originally posted by Apendecto



A wire from the middle lug of the first tone pot to...what lug on the second tone pot?


Thanks.

 

 

Middle

  • Members
Posted

So I wired it with the above picture, but my tone and Black Ice pots work backwards now? What the? :confused:

 

Any ideas how to make them work correctly?

 

Thanks.

  • Members
Posted

Originally posted by Apendecto

So I wired it with the above picture, but my tone and Black Ice pots work backwards now? What the?
:confused:
Any ideas how to make them work correctly?

Thanks.

thats easy to do as some diagrams are looking on the pots and some looking under....

i think the current method is to look on the underside of the pot..

 

keep the feeds to the middle pins and just reverse the roles of the outers...

one should be released from ground

and one should be grounded...

 

that may mean resoldering the cap and diode to the other pin

 

ps just looked at that diagram.....wire the cap to the other outer pin...you dont need to disonnect it from the body of the pot

 

as for the diode...i would say wire it similarly to the cap

and put the hot lead from the pup...red...to the middle...

 

that diagram may be looking on top of the pots in which case the vol is not right...

 

just to recap...:D pun not intended

 

looking at the pots from underside...the pin/tab numbers

middle is 2

left is 1

right is 3

 

hot to 2

cap from 3 to ground

ice from 3 to ground....

 

this way the tone will work to full on with anticlockwise rotation of the knob...and hopefully if i understand the ice...similarly

 

and as for the vol...this can be wired either the hot to pin 2 and pin 1 to jack...pin 3 is always ground

or pin 1 hot and pin 2 to jack...which is normal for a single pup P bass...and any other make for that matter...gives you a tighter vol control

the optional way is for 2 pups etc and the vol is broader and covers more rotation to the 'off ' position...

both work fine...but pin 3 is ground

  • Members
Posted

Cool. I drew that pic from the underside of the caps.

 

The volume works correctly but the other two are screwy.

 

I will try what you said and get back with you. Thanks.

 

Yo.

  • Members
Posted

Sure is a tease...:mad:

 

Lug said he'd put them up for me but I sent them to two addresses and didn't get them.

 

Any ideas how to put music up on the internet for free?

 

Thanks.

 

PS The Ice hardly does anything on 1/2. All my clips (if you ever hear them) are full on then full off.

 

Yo.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...