5 Wire Bass Pickups

[ALR8LUV]

Hi all

 

This is my first post.  I'm hoping for some help in converting my passive bass to an active.  Its the first bass I ever owned which I am upgrading.  I have purchased some SB-4B pickups and an active preamp.  The preamp is already wired up but I am at a loss as to how to configure the 5 wires coming from the pickup.  I've searched on the web and its suggesting the following:-

Bare wire – this is the overall earth wire and needs to be connected to a common ground / earth point. The earth loop on the guitar can be connected into on the back of one of the potentiometers.

Black wire – this is the negative / start of coil 1

White wire – this is the positive / finish / hot out of coil 1

Red wire – this is the negative / start of coil 2

Green wire – this is the positive / finish / hot out of coil 2

It goes on to say white and red wires should be joined together.  Before I go wiring this up incorrectly I would be grateful if anyone could advise me if this is correct?  Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

[Acebassmusic]

Hi and welcome to BC!

Your wiring diagram above is for guitar and not specifically your SB-4B pickups. Your wiring options will depend on number of pickups you're installing (1,2,3....etc), what pre-amp you have and the controls layout (vol, vol/vol, treble, mid, mid sweep etc etc). On the Syemour Duncan resources page there is a drop down selection for types of pickups and wiring configurations etc.  Link Here: SD Wiring Options

Are you sure the pickups are SB-4B as I read it on the website as they are 3 wire (2 core plus ground) not 5 wire (4 core and ground)? 🤔 The only other 4 string pickups with 5 wire I could see were the NYC version.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Acebassmusic

[ALR8LUV]

Thanks for the response.  That's what the seller advertised them as.  Guess I'll have to consult a guitar tech.

[Acebassmusic]

If you post some pictures of the top / wiring / underside we might be able to help and identify what you have . 👍🙂

[ALR8LUV]

GREAT I WILL DO THANKS 

[hubrad]

Casting around, it sound like there's a ESP Designed range of pickups, SB-4B being the bridge pickup of the OEM pair in many ESP/Ltd basses.. is yours one of those, or is it definitely a Seymour Duncan model?

SD are a good place to start when looking for clues as to wiring colours, but you may have to go in with a multimeter and your ears to decide just which wire does what.. good luck, it's all part of the fun!

Edited November 23, 2020 by hubrad
spelling!

[ALR8LUV]

Yes Hubrad the pickups were from an ESP Bass!  I can't find any wiring info for them anywhere though 😤

[hubrad]

That chart above may help, but probably a multimeter job then. Test for continuity to determine the ends of each coil, then it's a bit trial and error getting the phase right.

I did find this forum on ESP gear, so could be worth asking folks who know the basses: https://www.espguitars.com/forums

[itu]

23 hours ago, hubrad said:

Test for continuity to determine the ends of each coil, then it's a bit trial and error getting the phase right.

Put the DMM setting to VDC. When you hit the pickup with a magnetic tool like a screwdriver, the voltage raises shortly to the positive side if it is in phase. The DMM may have a min/max function and here it is very handy.

Edited November 24, 2020 by itu

[hubrad]

1 hour ago, itu said:

Put the DMM setting to VDC. When you hit the pickup with a magnetic tool like a screwdriver, the voltage raises shortly to the positive side if it is in phase. The DMM may have a min/max function and here it is very handy.

I never got round to knowing that.. thanks for the tip, itu!

[ALR8LUV]

Heres the pic of the wires. Doesn't add much waiting for the wiring diagram from ESP

[ALR8LUV]

On the old wiring the red and white on 1 of the pickups are soldered together so I'll try the Seymour Duncan wiring and see how I get on

 

🤗

[bloke_zero]

I think that puts the coils in series if it is SD style which would make sense. If it's a MM style then parallel is the classic choice. Nothing wrong with series mind you!

Edited December 1, 2020 by bloke_zero