wilkinson wpb pickup wiring schematic for p bass

[TerryR]

Hello

A simple question..my newly acquired s/hand wpb wilkinson p bass pickups have 2 wires ..black & white..which is hot????...Wilkinson schematic says black..everybody else white..which is it & how do i test with a multimeter?

[neepheid]

If it's a single pickup then it doesn't really matter.  Electricity flows either way through a pickup.  The only time it matters is when you have multiple pickups and you need to get them in phase.

 

Also, the worst thing that'll happen if you get it the wrong way round in a multiple pickup bass is that the bass will sound a bit thin/nasal with both pickups on and turned up full.  Then you just swap the hot and ground.

 

You can't break a (passive) pickup by wiring it the "wrong" way round.

[itu]

Finding phase:

- connect the pickup to a voltmeter

- choose the lowest DC

- hit the pickup lightly with a screwdriver

- if the voltage goes up, it is in phase

[TerryR]

thanks for that 

I presume I need to desolder both of the pickups to do this?

or can it be done with both p bass pickups soldered

I have been a Sound Engineer for the last 25 years & cannot understand how any manufacurer cannot produce a correct wiring diagram

[PaulThePlug]

Just a Single P bass pickup (two halves - EA Coil and a DG coil - you don't need to split the two halves of the pickup) Won't matter which way but i'd go with the Wilko diag.

Edited Friday at 22:33 by PaulThePlug