mike257 Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 Well, I've finally made some moves for renovating the old Squier, the scratchplate is here, the Wizards are on order, and I'm splashing on a Badass II tomorrow when I get paid The question is..... do I wire up with a blend pot and a master volume, or do I put individual volume controls in? I'm swaying towards the blend pot, but i'm open to suggestion. Pros and cons?? Quote
johnnylager Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 (edited) [url="http://www.alembic.com/club/messages/402/26700.html?1150007109"]http://www.alembic.com/club/messages/402/2...html?1150007109[/url] - Beware! - It's quite dull. I'm happy with the 2 vols on me Jazz and it's probably the only thing I haven't changed! There's also something about signal bleeding off when one pup is turned down, but I think that's only parallel wired and the P pup is series. And I don't know if the pan would be the same. Sorry, that's not really much help is it? If you do go pan, try and get one with a centre detent... Good call on the Wizards / Badass combo Edited February 28, 2008 by johnnylager Quote
The Burpster Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 I'd go Vol Vol tone with a P/J..... Can just about get the best of both worlds. Quote
warwickhunt Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 Personal preferrence Vol & Pan. I like having one vol to turn down and the pan has always given me the range that I need. Quote
bremen Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 [quote name='mike257' post='148305' date='Feb 28 2008, 11:10 AM']Well, I've finally made some moves for renovating the old Squier, the scratchplate is here, the Wizards are on order, and I'm splashing on a Badass II tomorrow when I get paid The question is..... do I wire up with a blend pot and a master volume, or do I put individual volume controls in? I'm swaying towards the blend pot, but i'm open to suggestion. Pros and cons??[/quote] If you use a blend pot and set it central for 'both pups max' you'll actually be getting both pups half volume. So unless you use a very short lead or an onboard preamp you'll lose top end. Which might not be a problem but personally I prefer the both-pickups-straight-to-jack sound. Quote
mcgraham Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 On option that I was turned onto after reading about Dingwalls was to have a rotary selector switch. Their's is a 4 position set to be neck - neck+bridge (series) - neck+bridge (parallel) - bridge (Note I may have got the middle two mixed up, but you get the point). I myself opted for a 4 position with off - neck - neck+bridge (parallel) - bridge. It's great cos it means I always get max volume out of each pickup in each setting, I have a master volume control AND I have a kill switch option. I don't feel like I'm missing tonal variety either. The switch cost me a few pennies from Maplins. Just another idea to throw into the mix. Mark Quote
mike257 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Posted February 28, 2008 Loads of great advice here, thanks a lot guys!! Hmmm.... the switch sounds a nice idea actually. I'm pretty fond of having a master volume on my basses, but I don't like the idea of losing the tone with a blend like that, I want to make the most of my shiny new pickups!! The only drawback with the switch might be if there's a jump in volume between the P and J. Anyone know if there'd be much of a difference in output level between a Wizard Thumper and an 84? Quote
johnnylager Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 [quote name='mike257' post='148378' date='Feb 28 2008, 01:10 PM']Anyone know if there'd be much of a difference in output level between a Wizard Thumper and an 84?[/quote] Give Andy at Wizard a ring, he'll know. Quote
bremen Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 [quote name='mike257' post='148378' date='Feb 28 2008, 01:10 PM']Loads of great advice here, thanks a lot guys!! Hmmm.... the switch sounds a nice idea actually. I'm pretty fond of having a master volume on my basses, but I don't like the idea of losing the tone with a blend like that, I want to make the most of my shiny new pickups!! The only drawback with the switch might be if there's a jump in volume between the P and J. Anyone know if there'd be much of a difference in output level between a Wizard Thumper and an 84?[/quote] I used a switch for a while but it became crackly. I think this is probably because it was a Maplin cheapy and the signal from pups is low. A switch with gold plated contacts wouldn't crackle. Quote
mike257 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Posted February 28, 2008 [quote name='johnnylager' post='148381' date='Feb 28 2008, 01:17 PM']Give Andy at Wizard a ring, he'll know.[/quote] Not a bad idea mate.... he's making my pickups today, I'm almost too excited. [quote name='bremen' post='148382' date='Feb 28 2008, 01:21 PM']I used a switch for a while but it became crackly. I think this is probably because it was a Maplin cheapy and the signal from pups is low. A switch with gold plated contacts wouldn't crackle.[/quote] Any suggestions where to source one? Oh, and I just looked at your pic properly for the first time... made me chuckle Quote
Mr. Foxen Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 Volume volume means you can go 75%/100% and such, so in theory more variety, at the cost of simplicity. Depends on how much you fiddle with it when you are playing. Quote
mike257 Posted February 28, 2008 Author Posted February 28, 2008 I'm not a big fiddler once I'm playing, to be honest. Even with the 3 bands to play with on the 'ray, I tend to find somewhere I'm happy and leave it there, I like the simple approach! You know where you stand with everything on eleven Quote
bremen Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 [quote name='mike257' post='148425' date='Feb 28 2008, 02:45 PM']Not a bad idea mate.... he's making my pickups today, I'm almost too excited. Any suggestions where to source one? Oh, and I just looked at your pic properly for the first time... made me chuckle [/quote] [url="http://uk.farnell.com/140518/electrical/product.us0?sku=ELMA-01-1231"]http://uk.farnell.com/140518/electrical/pr...ku=ELMA-01-1231[/url]. Not cheap...and will need some bodging to fit a 'normal' knob, it's a 4mm spindle. Quote
mike257 Posted March 1, 2008 Author Posted March 1, 2008 Cheers for your words of wisdom everyone.... I think I'm going to go with Vol/Vol/Tone for now, seems a shame to waste the output of my pickups with a blend knob. I guess if I really miss the master volume, I can always just rewire it!! Ordered the pots and stuff from WD last night, and they came this morning!! Gonna give the body and neck a good clean and start the wiring next week while I wait for my badass to land. I've been saying for two or three years now that I'm gonna fix this bass up, so it's about time really Quote
The Burpster Posted March 1, 2008 Posted March 1, 2008 [quote name='mike257' post='149362' date='Mar 1 2008, 10:44 AM']Cheers for your words of wisdom everyone.... I think I'm going to go with Vol/Vol/Tone for now, seems a shame to waste the output of my pickups with a blend knob. I guess if I really miss the master volume, I can always just rewire it!![/quote] Way to go....! Quote
clauster Posted March 4, 2008 Posted March 4, 2008 Good choice! When it comes to passives I think vol/vol just sounds better than mvol/mix. It's a mod I'm planning on for my Corvette passive once I've settled on new pickups. Quote
bigjohn Posted March 4, 2008 Posted March 4, 2008 Is there a way of wiring a vol pot just on the j pickup? I'm thinking (when I eventually get round to building a bass) of having a vol pot on the j - and a master vol pot. 2 knobs. 90% of the time I play with both vol pots up 100% - sometimes I turn my j down a bit. Quote
The Burpster Posted March 4, 2008 Posted March 4, 2008 Oooooooooh this is all getting a bit techie..... Lets put itt in R+T and see what response you get, My thougths are yes but you'd need a togle switsh to switch ot the other pup and isolate the J.... See what teh others reckon.... Quote
clauster Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 [quote]Is there a way of wiring a vol pot just on the j pickup? I'm thinking (when I eventually get round to building a bass) of having a vol pot on the j - and a master vol pot. 2 knobs. 90% of the time I play with both vol pots up 100% - sometimes I turn my j down a bit.[/quote] Yes, I had a friend who did this on his Precision - P p/up straight to the front knob and J p/up via a new audio taper pot (where the treble bleed pot had been) on to the front vol. Quote
bigjohn Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 [quote name='clauster' post='151966' date='Mar 5 2008, 07:26 PM']Yes, I had a friend who did this on his Precision - P p/up straight to the front knob and J p/up via a new audio taper pot (where the treble bleed pot had been) on to the front vol.[/quote] Ah cool - so it is possible then. So that should mean Master Vol / J Pup Vol / Tone is also possible. Instead of P Pup Vol / J Pup Vol / Tone which I have on my current bass. Is this an easy mod? Quote
clauster Posted March 5, 2008 Posted March 5, 2008 Should be so long as you're okay with a soldering iron (might want a multimeter too unless you're already sure which tab is which on your pots). All you'd need to do is disconnect the cables from the J vol to the tone and reattach them to the p vol. Quote
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