lobematt Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Hey there, How would I go about turning my Corvette Jazzman from active to passive? Would I need new pick ups and preamp? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 I'm not familiar with that bass but if you're going passive you won't need a new pre-amp, in fact you won't need a pre-amp at all. I presume the pickups are MECs. If they are the passive ones then you wont need new pickups, if the pickups are the active ones than you'll need to replace them with passive pickups. You'll also need some passive vol/tone wiring and decide what to do with the spare holes from the old pre-amp controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 +1. I'm pretty sure the jazzman pups are passive, so you just need to wire in some new volume/tone controls. As usual, Seymour Duncan is a good place to start: [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=musicman_pbass"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=musicman_pbass[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenitram Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 How does one know if a pick-up is passive or active? Do they look differently? Have more wires sticking out of them? Etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 [quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1339015050' post='1682568'] How does one know if a pick-up is passive or active? Do they look differently? Have more wires sticking out of them? Etc. [/quote] There are so many permutations that there isn't a cut and dried test. For instance 'many' Warwick MEC pups require a battery to operate but some don't (it's the preamp that requires the juice); active Warwick basses generally have an active/passive push/pull pot BUT that doesn't strictly mean that the pups are passive. Take the battery out of your Warwick and try it in passive mode, if it works then your pups are passive ($$ basses are afaik passive pups, most others aren't, they require a battery to power the preamp in them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Yeah I've got passive pups, confirmed by the basses specs on the WW site! I'm in talks with KiOgon ATM who can make me some wires to sort me out. I've read a lot of very favourable posts here about his work too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Get him to wire you a push/pull pot to bypass the preamp. Then you can choose active or passive on the day. You don’t have one already, do you? I had my Lakland for 8 years before I saw a post on Talkbass describing the active/passive feature! I didn’t know I could do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 I've got a pull pot that activates a mid scoop, to be honest though I'm just not really a fan of active electronics any more, sounds a bit fake to me... Also the level coming out of that monster of a bass is nightmare to DI. I think I'm just gonna passify that mother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1339059919' post='1682933'] Get him to wire you a push/pull pot to bypass the preamp. Then you can choose active or passive on the day. You don’t have one already, do you? [/quote] Yes. [quote name='lobematt' timestamp='1339062411' post='1682973'] I've got a pull pot that activates a mid scoop, to be honest though I'm just not really a fan of active electronics any more, sounds a bit fake to me... Also the level coming out of that monster of a bass is nightmare to DI. I think I'm just gonna passify that mother. [/quote] What some folks assume to be a mid-scoop feature is actually the active/passive push/pull pot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The Corvette FNA just had the 'bucker whereas the Jazzman has the added single in neck position. Only thing you can't do in passive mode is adjust tone... but tbh that's what your fingers are for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 here's the wiring diagram to show it: [url="http://www.warwick.de/media/manuals/Electronics/60055%20rev2.pdf"]http://www.warwick.d...0055%20rev2.pdf[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks for that! It looks to be a active/passive switch! So does that wiring diagram mean I could change the function of the switch too? Even though at the minute the switch is missing on my bass and since its fell off the bridge pup wont work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 It's push/pull on the vol/bal control that leaves the vol/bal inline but takes out the preamp bass/mid/treble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Why would you want to do this anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 OK, maybe I had the wrong wiring diagram, I really know nothing about Warwicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 I want the switch to be bypassed really. Is there a way that I can wire it to just have the bass set to passive, the blend still be a blend and both pickups on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 What models had a separate preamp-bypass switch? All the Warwicks I know of that have a preamp bypass have it as a push-pull on the volume control. Separate switches are usually for coil-splitting (as on the wiring diagram that ET posted, which looks like the right one for the OP's bass) or for LEDs. There are some Warwicks that do have a push-pull that [i]isn't[/i] a preamp bypass though. I can't remember which, but I remember long discussions on the Warwick forum that concluded that there are some which have a scoop or slap contour or something. Presumably if you have a bass with passive pups then it's easy to tell which sort of switch you have: take the batteries out. If it still works (with one of the switch positions) then it's a preamp bypass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 [quote name='lobematt' timestamp='1339071935' post='1683204']...Anyway. I want the switch to be bypassed really. Is there a way that I can wire it to just have the bass set to passive, the blend still be a blend and both pickups on? [/quote] Does your vol/bal pot have a pcb attached to it, or are the wires soldered to regular tabs? If it's got a pcb then it's going to be quite fiddly to hardwire a bypass to the push/pull switch. If it's regular tabs then it should be straightforward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 The easiest way you are going to get a useful answer to this is the post a photo of the front of the bass labelling what the controls do and another clear and in focus photo of the inside of the control cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 [quote name='lobematt' timestamp='1339071935' post='1683204'] I want the switch to be bypassed really. Is there a way that I can wire it to just have the bass set to passive, the blend still be a blend and both pickups on? [/quote] Isn't that already what happens when the switch is pulled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1339072637' post='1683224'] The easiest way you are going to get a useful answer to this is the post a photo of the front of the bass labelling what the controls do and another clear and in focus photo of the inside of the control cavity. [/quote] BRX on the money as usual. Let's have some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 If you've got the active/passive push/pull volume knob, why not just constantly have it pulled out so the bass is in passive. That way its going to sound no different to putting in a passive circuit. Also afaik the treble pot will then act as a tone control. Saves money, keeps the bass intact and gives you the option to have the active circuit should you ever want it in the future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 [quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1339080760' post='1683352'] If you've got the active/passive push/pull volume knob, why not just constantly have it pulled out so the bass is in passive. That way its going to sound no different to putting in a passive circuit. Also afaik the treble pot will then act as a tone control. Saves money, keeps the bass intact and gives you the option to have the active circuit should you ever want it in the future? [/quote] On a Warwick the tone controls are all active so pulling the passive knob means that you have no tone control unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 [quote name='lobematt' timestamp='1339071935' post='1683204'] Well I still have questions about it so even with everyone's googling it's just as well I'm posting here. If you don't wanna reply to any questions you deem to be dumb then nobodies forcing you! [b]Anyway. I want the switch to be bypassed really. Is there a way that I can wire it to just have the bass set to passive, the blend still be a blend and both pickups on?[/b] [/quote] the switch pulled out makes it passive. If you pull it out you have a passive bass. it would be fairly easy to bypass this... but why? why not just leave it as is and play with the knob pulled out, it does everything you've said you want to to do- but without faffing about with changing anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 If you read the specification it says the switch is for separate humbucker configuration (series, parallel, or single coil). The preamp is deactivated by push/pull on the volume/balance control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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