'62 jazz electronics

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

Just wondering, is it possible to get the stacked vol/tone vol/tone electronics that (as far as I know) the '62 jazz basses had, without buying a '62? I'd love to try an get a hold of 'em to fit them into the VMJ I'll be buying soon. I'm assuming it would fit onto the VMJ, I wouldn't have to rout out the control cavity at all will I?
If so, could anyone point me in the right direction? thanks! provided I can buy it separately, an it doesn't cost too much, I think it'll make my first jazz bass experience most enjoyable!

[Stacker]

[quote name='SignsOfDelirium_bassist' post='874055' date='Jun 22 2010, 12:21 AM']Just wondering, is it possible to get the stacked vol/tone vol/tone electronics that (as far as I know) the '62 jazz basses had, without buying a '62? I'd love to try an get a hold of 'em to fit them into the VMJ I'll be buying soon. I'm assuming it would fit onto the VMJ, I wouldn't have to rout out the control cavity at all will I?
If so, could anyone point me in the right direction? thanks! provided I can buy it separately, an it doesn't cost too much, I think it'll make my first jazz bass experience most enjoyable![/quote]

Yes, you can get them. They do pop up from time to time or you could rattle your own up. Get the pot measurements and then measure the depth of the control cavity on the bass; you really don't want to do any routing if you have to.

It's a great circuit, although some people prefer the 2+1 standard set-up cos it doesn't load the pickups so much as the stacks do.

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

cool, I've not had a chance to even try a bass with that circuit on it, it just looks like a brilliant idea to me...Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'load' the pickups? I'm going to have the SD 1/4 pounder or the wizard hammers, I'm not completely sure yet, probably the 1/4 pounders, cos I've tried basses with them installed, never tried the hammers before.

[Rumple]

You can make them up from parts available on the web if you are handy eith a soldering iron but I got one made up by the guys from Lakland in the US and shipped over it was $100 delivered. I haven't fitted it to my JO5 yet as the shape of the plate isn't an exact fit so may have to get a new bespoke scratchplate made.



R.

[bh2]

I found loaded control plates for the stacks on the bay... link is out of date now.

[Stacker]

[quote name='SignsOfDelirium_bassist' post='874305' date='Jun 22 2010, 11:47 AM']cool, I've not had a chance to even try a bass with that circuit on it, it just looks like a brilliant idea to me...Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by 'load' the pickups? I'm going to have the SD 1/4 pounder or the wizard hammers, I'm not completely sure yet, probably the 1/4 pounders, cos I've tried basses with them installed, never tried the hammers before.[/quote]

Loading is seen as impedance.

[kevin_lindsay]

I prefer the stack layout - I love the ability to keep the neck pickup fully open tone-wise to retain that throaty roar, and at teh same time being able to slightly roll off the highs on the brodge pickup so that it doesn't sound overly "quacky" when it is soloed.

[Rumple]

It does seem like a more flexible opion tone wise then the usual 3 know version, does anyone know why Fender dropped the idea in the mid 60's?

[Stacker]

[quote name='Rumple' post='880730' date='Jun 29 2010, 10:34 AM']It does seem like a more flexible opion tone wise then the usual 3 know version, does anyone know why Fender dropped the idea in the mid 60's?[/quote]

Cos it wasn't popular, believe it or not!

I have heard that Fender did initially release the Jazz briefly with the 3-pot circuit, convert to the stack circuit and then sack it in favour of the 3-pot when the latter proved unpopular. Not sure about the veracity of those events but wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

[Rumple]

It's interesting that Lakland put 3 pots on the Skyline JO and stacked ones on the more expensive US JO's, I guess the stacked pots cost a bit more.

[velvetkevorkian]

I have this setup (albeit on four knobs rather than two) on my Peavey 5 strings and I really like it. Being able to keep the definition of the bridge pup while still getting clarity and punch is great.

[dan670844]

[quote name='Stacker' post='880738' date='Jun 29 2010, 10:42 AM']Cos it wasn't popular, believe it or not!

I have heard that Fender did initially release the Jazz briefly with the 3-pot circuit, convert to the stack circuit and then sack it in favour of the 3-pot when the latter proved unpopular. Not sure about the veracity of those events but wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.[/quote]


I agree with stacker it sounds like a great idea but in reality how it is wired up its pretty pointless as the pickups bleed into each other so what you get is one tone but two knobs to adjust, its pointless. I think there is a mod where you can stick a capacitor in somewhere to give true tone control over each pickup, but I am not sure on this. The other problem is the concentric pots are a bit unreliable

................... it looks cool though!!

[SignsOfDelirium_bassist]

I've probably got the electronics sorted, buying them off someone here, can't wait to get it! Going to be fun seeing if I can still wire stuff up correctly, been a while since I last did any...

Just so you know, I have actually bought the VMJ now, loving the tone, an I haven't managed to change anything yet! I've ordered Wizard '64s, going to order the Badass 3 once I find out if it'll find right on, or if I'll have to rout anything (If I do, I'll give it to the guys at the Gallery)...

Problem is, I've hit a slight snag in my plans! I want to install hipshot ultralites/d-tuner, but I'm not sure which ones will fit my bass! All I know is that I want black ones with the clover peg head. I took one of the tuners off the VMJ an tried to measure the string post...Unless I've got something horrible wrong here (very possible), the posts are 18mm diameter. This means that hipshot products won't fit in those holes right? I could be measuring the wrong place, I don't know...So basically, what do I need to measure to find out which products will fit? I think they come in 3/8 and 11/16 inch, but I'm not sure what that means...Is that how tall the string post is? how wide?
Sorry for the stupid questions, but I need to find out so I can get onto ordering the right stuff!

Edited June 29, 2010 by SignsOfDelirium_bassist

[Stacker]

[quote name='dan670844' post='880975' date='Jun 29 2010, 02:12 PM']I agree with stacker it sounds like a great idea but in reality how it is wired up its pretty pointless as the pickups bleed into each other so what you get is one tone but two knobs to adjust, its pointless. I think there is a mod where you can stick a capacitor in somewhere to give true tone control over each pickup, but I am not sure on this. The other problem is the concentric pots are a bit unreliable

................... it looks cool though!![/quote]

Which circuit are you referring to?

[wesfinn]

the stack circuit is much better in my opinion. You have so much more control and though it does take a bit of output away from the pickups it just sounds amazing. Also it works amazingly well when used with the string mutes which is how it was intended to be used. When you here that you will realise why Don Randall named it the jazz bass. sounds very close to a double bass when played near to the neck.

If you are changing to this circuit I recomend that you get the sweeping pots rather than notched pots that fender put on the RI's. these are not vintage correct and generally break pretty quickly.

The circuit can be run hot with out the resistors here a circuit diagram for that, its just a bypass.

[Stacker]

[quote name='wesfinn' post='881243' date='Jun 29 2010, 07:00 PM']If you are changing to this circuit I recomend that you get the sweeping pots rather than notched pots that fender put on the RI's. these are not vintage correct and generally break pretty quickly.[/quote]

Are you 100% sure about that because my early '90s Custom Shop stacker has the notched knobs. These 'notches' are actually caused by a seperate indented washer that sits below the tone pot and is clearly visible. I can't see why Fender would do the opposite, though my old Bravewood stacker had the 'sweep' ones.

[Etienne]

I've got one of the reissues- mine's a late-Nineties model fitted with Nordstrand NJ4 pickups. I personally love the stacked setup, particularly as I have incorporated a series/parallel switch into the circuit, which can give you a shed-load of additional tones whilst still keeping the passive vibe. That said, I've also got a Sadowsky preamp pedal which I kick in when I want to beef up the tone further! I've actually got a standard 3-knob Jazz control plate knocking about, so next time I do some tinkering I'll A/B it against the stack layout...

My bass came with the notched knobs (which I didn't get on with), but it's very easy to remove the aforementioned washers underneath each stack, and revert to conventionally-operating tone pots.

Here she is...

[attachment=53237:DSC00436.JPG][attachment=53238:DSC00438.JPG]

[wesfinn]

I'm not 100% sure. It was something I was looking into when putting together my first stack circuit. I contacted dealers who had original 60 Jazzes that had apparently no mods . I'm only going by what they have said to me though so that might not be the case as they could of been removed, I've not been fortunate to have one in my hands to look into it further. The pots CTS make now are slightly different to what they were back then. they had slightly different values to the modern ones if I remember correctly.

[Etienne]

[quote name='wesfinn' post='881314' date='Jun 29 2010, 08:24 PM']The pots CTS make now are slightly different to what they were back then. they had slightly different values to the modern ones if I remember correctly.[/quote]

Would be interesting to find out what the original spec was! I've got a pair of the CTS stack repros from Allparts installed in mine- they have a 250K pot for volume and a 500K pot for tone...

[wesfinn]

I am trying to find out what it was too. There a guy in Israel called Gil yaron who makes the most amazingly accurate replica guitars you will find. he mods his pots to get the correct vintage value. He hasn't said what they the values are though. It's why i would like to get my hands on an original circuit to check them!

[Etienne]

[quote name='wesfinn' post='881325' date='Jun 29 2010, 08:34 PM']I am trying to find out what it was too. There a guy in Israel called Gil yaron who makes the most amazingly accurate replica guitars you will find. he mods his pots to get the correct vintage value. He hasn't said what they the values are though. It's why i would like to get my hands on an original circuit to check them![/quote]

I've seen some of his work- the guy certainly knows his stuff! I followed the build thread for that ultra-light translucent white Jazz Bass he made on the Telecaster forum a while back... he even made his own paper-in oil caps [i]and[/i] the pickups from scratch! Insane... but great!

Edited June 30, 2010 by Etienne

[wesfinn]

yeah he is AMAZING. Hes a lovely guy too though he keeps some of the smaller details close to his chest. I don;t blame him though! He has been a big help for me in terms of finding out the real niggly details of things. He doesn't use the notch washers on his stack knob circuits either, this is another thing that has led me to believe they werent on the originals because he does EVERYTHING as it was done originally. Have you seen his new 59 les paul replicas he is doing? they are absolutely mindblowingly accurate!

[Rumple]

oooOOO post a link please I would like to see his work.



R.

[Etienne]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6E7iSATY7M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6E7iSATY7M[/url]

[wesfinn]

gilyaronguitars.com