Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Re-Wiring a Vinage P Bass


son of frog
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hiya

I've recently been given a 1962 precision bass by a close family friend, he had it in his garage for years gathering dust because sadly, its in pretty awful condition, the wiring was taken out to be rewired long ago and never put back in, it was since lost,

Luckily i've managed to get some period appropriate parts, some of which are from the 60s also.

I just need to know what i'm wiring and to where... does anyone have any useful wiring diagrams and / or pictures,

Some of the things like the Pickup grounding plate, and the aluminium pick guard shield, both of which i have had to replace, i don't know what i should be wiring to... if anything at all, In some photos i've seen that the pickups have been wired of the grounding plate, but i don't know where from,

I have got in my possession, a second hand wiring harness and pickups, off another 60's p bass, which is already in working condition, with pots and resistors etc, i just need to know where i'm grounding the harness to, and what else i need, if anything other than what i've already mentioned...?

I have:
-Wiring (all up together, including pots and Pickups)
-Pickguard Aluminium shield
-Pickup grounding plate



Can anybody help me?

Many Thanks
-Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the grounds need to join together at some point and should then be connected to the slevve contact on the jack socket.

Try this: [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=std_pbass"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=std_pbass[/url]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='son of frog' timestamp='1320104475' post='1422512']
Hmm okay, so wire everything to the tone pot, what about the bridge, does that need to be grounded like on most bases... sorry im a total electrics and wiring amateur...
[/quote]

No need to be sorry - asking questions when you don't know the answer is smart :).

All the earths need to join up.
All the pot casings need to be joined together, the wire from the bridge needs to join a pot case as does the earth wire from the jack socket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1320152457' post='1422951']

No need to be sorry - asking questions when you don't know the answer is smart :).

All the earths need to join up.
All the pot casings need to be joined together, the wire from the bridge needs to join a pot case as does the earth wire from the jack socket.
[/quote]


Great, thanks for the help, and those pics are great ikay,
Isn't it the job of the aluminium pick-guard shield to join the pot casings together?

Excuse my ignorance but what / where are the earths on a Bass?

Also where do i wire the pickup ground plate to... this is all i need to know now.

And in response to Geek99, yes i did consider getting someone to do it for me, but the only good bass tech i know is in london, and since i'm replacing the pickups and electronics anyway, and the originals were lost, i'm not too worried about keeping it 100% original & authentic.
-Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='son of frog' timestamp='1320189141' post='1423693']
Isn't it the job of the aluminium pick-guard shield to join the pot casings together?
[/quote]

Nope.
It's more decorative than functional - aluminium oxidises quite easily and the last thing you want is to be reliant on a good continuity path being found on an aluminium plate.
Solder a wire between the pot casings while you've got the thing apart and you'll never have a problem - you can guarantee that if you don't it'll fail at the most inopportune moment :)

[quote name='son of frog' timestamp='1320189141' post='1423693']
Excuse my ignorance but what / where are the earths on a Bass?
[/quote]

There will be an earth:
From the bridge to the back of a pot
From the back of one pot to the back of another
From the jack socket to the back of a pot

The back of a pot is your friend when it comes to finding an earth point :)


[quote name='son of frog' timestamp='1320189141' post='1423693']
Also where do i wire the pickup ground plate to... this is all i need to know now.
[/quote]

I'll give you two guesses... and as long as one of those guesses is 'the back of a pot?' then I'll give you full marks :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...