Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Wiring Jazz pickups direct to output jack (no vol/tone pots)


markmc87
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'd like to upgrade the electronics on my main touring bass, a MIM Fender Jazz.

I have always kept all volume & tone control pots wide open when playing live or in the studio and adjusted the tone, mid scoops etc on my amplifier or rack EQ...

So, as my pots are basically redundant, would it be possible to bypass them and wire directly to the output jack from the pickups?

Thanks in advance...

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Taking the vol and tone pots out of the circuit will change the load on the pickups and make them sound quite a bit brighter, even harsh. It will not sound the same as running it with the pots all dimed. You may like it, you may not, depends what sound you're after. Easy thing to try though and easy to reverse.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For reasons I can't remember, I think there is a slight change in tone when you do this but as @paul_5 says, it's very easy to do so why not try it.  If it does change the tone and you don't like it, just swop it back.  If it doesn't change the tone - or if it does and you like it - result.

I wired wwgringe' s African build directly and it sounded great... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your input guys...

I don't use a P-bass live or in the studio but do have one for rehearsals so I'll give it a go on that - likely won't bother me if there's a harshness to the treble on the Precision as I prefer a bassier, classic soul sound with the treble and high-mids turned down fairly low on my amp so as to stay clear of the brass section in the mix...

For the jazz, I'll try with one balance pot before the output jack which should help by adding some load.

Will update with results when I have them!

Cheers,

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll see how it sounds with the single balance pot one some 60s Fender CS pups, but for me, anything less than fully open pots on a jazz seems to lose something from the signal hence my habit of letting the amp/EQ cut the frequencies I don't want. I became a professional touring/recording musician by accident so I didn't spend the time to learn the ins-and-outs of wiring or pick-up configurations, I just had to use my ears and go with the flow! Now I have the time I might get more technical...

Thanks for all your input, its appreciated.

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

If you are interested in somewhat different sounds (somewhat compressed single coil, humbucking in series or parallel) try a four position rotary switch: neck/bridge/series/parallel. I would not be so worried about too much brightness. You can tame that with your preamp or try a LPF, like Phat Head from Daring Audio.

Series humbucking is big in volume compared to a single coil if the volume levels are not matched. But after matching them the sounds open up in a bit different way. This is why I consider single coil somewhat compressed compared to humbucking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...
On 24/12/2018 at 09:12, Beer of the Bass said:

If you're set on having no pots but prefer the sound with the pickups loaded by the pots, you could always put a resistor across the output - the pickups won't know the difference. 

So a 250k ohm resistor on either of the output leads from the pickup should do it? Does it matter whether the resistor is placed on the pos or neg lead?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, RudyF said:

So a 250k ohm resistor on either of the output leads from the pickup should do it? Does it matter whether the resistor is placed on the pos or neg lead?

 

No, the resistor should be in parallel with the pickup(s) - one res lead to hot (pos), the other to 'ground' (Gnd).  Try res value = Vol pot value first; then maybe compare results with a higher res value (eg. twice Vol pot value).  You can use the nearest fixed resistor value in the series (eg. 220k or 270k ohm, say, to replace a 250k ohm pot).  Any 'ground' connections should be taken to the Jack shield lug

NoPots.jpg.8f389549c8782be9c87379c1d81770a7.jpg

 

Edited by sandy_r
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

...if you wish to try out the fixed resistor approach, there is an additional config you could try at the same time...

 

Some people have noticed, when blending pickups on passive basses, that if they turn both Vol pots to max then the 2 pickups load each other and they lose some tone. The complete technical answer to this is to use an active onboard pre, to mix the signals without changing their sound

 

If you have anough gain, however, you can still do something similar with a passive setup - you place a smaller resistance in series with the hot (pos) wire from each pickup, before connecting each to the (~250k) resistor which is replacing the Vol pot. Eg. you could try with 22k or 27k ohm resistors for Rm and see if that gives you better tone than just connecting the 2 pickups in parallel with the ~250k res  (increase amp input gain slightly, if necessary, to compensate)

ParallelMixed.jpg.b31a1b94be6c579a2c8a7af1d4266b2c.jpg

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been meaning to experiment with adding a couple of small inline resistors (as above) to a standard VVT wiring setup, but I believe that just backing of both vols slightly has the same effect. Backing off both vols certainly allows for smoother variations in tone when blending the pups. You do lose a bit of volume but that's easy to make up at the amp input gain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...