yorks5stringer Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 I have 2 Basses with non-matching pickups. Both do the same weird thing and I don't know why.... My Telebass has a humbucker at the neck and a Jazz in the bridge position. The Humbucker is the predominate sound unless the Jazz is turned up full, when you then get the same thin sound of the Jazz being on full and the Humbucker being off. This is despite the Humbucker being very hot, about 3 times the resistance of the Jazz. Dial the Jazz back a tiny bit and you get loads of Bass via the Humbucker with just a little treble in the sound. So I thought if I got a matched PJ set this issue would not arise but it's still the same on a SD set I've just got and put on a PJ Bass. The P bass pickups are hot on full but add in the full Jazz and the P Bass ones lose their fullness. If you dial back the Jazz just a touch it brings it back the PBass sound. Surely having the P and J pickups on full should not diminish the overall punch of the sound so much? Granted you would expect the neck P pickup to be more predominant than a J when on full due to location, but why does both on full suck the overall sound back/down so much? I had a stock Jaguar Bass with the same PJ setup and having both pickups on full did not ( from memory) adversely affect the P sound.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 It sounds like it could be a phase issue, have you tried swapping the connections of one pickup? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 Good idea will try next time I'm in there, but they are wired up as per the stock wiring diagram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 Every PJ I've ever had has always been predominantly about the neck pickup and the bridge pickup has always been secondary. The only exception to this has been my Warwick Jazzman with a jazz and humbucker, with the humbucker at the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 I have a MIJ Jazz Bass Special with P/J and they are completely even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 3 hours ago, BreadBin said: I have a MIJ Jazz Bass Special with P/J and they are completely even. What pups have you got? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 21 hours ago, Grangur said: What pups have you got? The standard ones fitted by Fender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 2 hours ago, Meddle said: A lower impedance pickup will always dominate a higher impedance pickup. It seems logical that the hotter pickup will win the fight, but the reverse is the case. Beyond a phase issue, a 30 k ohm mudbucker variant will always lose out to ~ 7 k ohm of Jazz pickup. Sounds about right. A high output but Hi-Z pickup is only "High Output" when it isn't loaded down by a low impedance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 2 hours ago, rmorris said: Sounds about right. A high output but Hi-Z pickup is only "High Output" when it isn't loaded down by a low impedance. @Meddle is, of course right. The signal takes the "path of least resistance". So if the P split-coil is low resistance, the signal will go that way. What surprises me is that a single Jazz pup bar is hi-Z compared to the split-coil. In many cases. @BreadBin clearly has one where this is not the case: Relatively unusual IME and surprising that Fender have got it right for once. Credit to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Sounds like phase - swap the leads on the J and see...still might not be great, but could be better. Its worth remembering that in a normal J set, the pickups are designed to be humbucking when equal - so one is reverse wound (and magnetically reverse) to the other..regardless of what colour the wires are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 @york5stringer What pots/controls are you using? Separate volumes or a blend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 On 10/07/2018 at 19:40, Grangur said: @Meddle @BreadBin clearly has one where this is not the case: Relatively unusual IME and surprising that Fender have got it right for once. Credit to them. Fender Japan circa 1985 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 13 hours ago, KiOgon said: @york5stringer What pots/controls are you using? Separate volumes or a blend? Pots are alpha 250's, one linear, one log, 2 separate volumes and a tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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