Davy Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Hi, I want to change my active 5 string jazz custom bass to a passive bass. As money is tight i'd prefer not to replace the pickups and just modify the electronics. Is this possible and if so, could anyone let a novice know how to go about it. Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Aye, if it's passive pickups attached to an active pre then just swap out the wiring. If it's active pickups with an active pre (not as common) then you'll most likely need to swap out the pickups One other problem you might have is extra holes in the scratchplate/body where the active controls were. You'll only need 3 holes for a passive J bass What i did was to use the empty hole for a series/parallel switch, handy and reversible if you want to sell the bass on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Take the battery out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 [quote name='lemmywinks' post='1007954' date='Oct 31 2010, 10:30 PM']Aye, if it's passive pickups attached to an active pre then just swap out the wiring. If it's active pickups with an active pre (not as common) then you'll most likely need to swap out the pickups One other problem you might have is extra holes in the scratchplate/body where the active controls were. You'll only need 3 holes for a passive J bass What i did was to use the empty hole for a series/parallel switch, handy and reversible if you want to sell the bass on[/quote] I should be ok with the pots as the current active setup uses three pots (one stacked). I've found a few passive pot kits on the web so I should be up and running soon. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 If there are [b]three[/b] wires coming from each PUP (one of them connected to the + side of the battery) then they're active and need to be swapped for passive ones if you strip out the active tone control circuitry. If there are just [b]two[/b] wires coming from the PUP then they are passive and can be rewired to work without the active circuit. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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