P Bass Mods

[BT!]

so when i get my p bass ive decided i want to mod it by sticking some spb-3 pickups in it and wiring them to just one control knob.

so my questions are:

how easy is it to wire the pickups so that its just the one control knob? and what are the pros and cons?

and

as theres only going to be one knob im thinking ill have to either order a custom scratchplate or buy a sheet of material and make one myself.

so any sites that do what i want fairly cheap? or am i better off doing it myself? and also how easy is it to cut things like the pickup space and holes for the jack and knob?

help is much appriciated

Edited August 30, 2009 by BT!

[Al Heeley]

One Knob: does this mean volume only, no tone? Thats very easy to wire.
The only drawback is you won't have a knob for tone any more!
Custom scratchplates can be bought as blanks or you can fit something else in the hole left to tidy it up. You would expect to pay about £30 - £40 for a blank, a bit more expensive than a rectangle of plastic pickguard laminate or metal. Try Allparts and WD Music to start with.
Its easy enough to cut to your requirement if you are patient, have a few bais tools and remeasure everything before cutting.

[BT!]

yeah just the volume knob

i did look at the rectangles of material but im more than likely to make a mess of it so i think a pre cut scratchplate is a good call

cheers

[Beedster]

[quote name='BT!' post='585123' date='Aug 30 2009, 02:19 PM']yeah just the volume knob

i did look at the rectangles of material but im more than likely to make a mess of it so i think a pre cut scratchplate is a good call

cheers[/quote]

Mate, either@

Leave the tone pot there and just wire in the volume pot (bear in mind there will be a difference in tone with the tone pot out of the loop),

or

Take out the tone pot and aply a bit of tape the same colour as the pickguard to cover the hole.

Waste of money buying a new one

Chris

[Mr. Foxen]

Or you can get a rubber gromet thing to fill the hole, used for blanking holes in precut panels. f its the one knob look, you could put a tone switch on a push-pull, so you can cut the treble if you want. I miss tone knobs on my P though.

[BT!]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='585161' date='Aug 30 2009, 03:32 PM']its the one knob look, you could put a tone switch on a push-pull, so you can cut the treble if you want.[/quote]

hmm i quite like the sound of this! more info please sir?

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='585161' date='Aug 30 2009, 03:32 PM']Or you can get a rubber gromet thing to fill the hole, used for blanking holes in precut panels. f its the one knob look, you could put a tone switch on a push-pull, so you can cut the treble if you want. I miss tone knobs on my P though.[/quote]
Or you could have a single stacked vol/tone pot/knob.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='Beedster' post='585129' date='Aug 30 2009, 02:26 PM']Mate, either@
Leave the tone pot there and just wire in the volume pot (bear in mind there will be a difference in tone with the tone pot out of the loop),
or
Take out the tone pot and aply a bit of tape the same colour as the pickguard to cover the hole.
Waste of money buying a new one
Chris[/quote]

exactly...i thought this with one of those plastic plugs you get in kitchen cabinet kits to plug the hole where the tone pot was

regarding sound...the scratchplate with or without hole wont affect it

be cool

[Mr. Foxen]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PUSH-PULL-POT-Linear-B250k-or-B500k-coil-tap-phase-NEW_W0QQitemZ380152662435QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item5882dd49a3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]One of these.[/url] With a capacitor, and some wiring, and you can cut your treble with a click.

[Al Heeley]

...or you could put a small variable resistor there which turns the tone down in increments for more control....

[cocco]

Get yourself a tidy bridge too, may i suggest a Bad ass II. really really helps with tuning stability and all around attack.

[nash]

get rid of the volume as well.