Fender Modern Player Telecaster Bass pickup mod..?

[SlapbassSteve]

I've just bought one of these and already I've started thinking about modding it as it looks like it might lack in versatility from the extreme positioning of the pickups- I've also heard very few good things about the tone of mudbuckers, and also that a series/parallel mod is possible... I'm thinking about maybe installing push/pull pots for each volume for the s/p mod... anyone know how I would go about this?

[iiipopes]

Series/parallel will only make the tone "thin," and you won't gain significant clarity without sacrificing low end.

What you effectively have is a jazz bass meets EB-3 meets neck pickup of a Rickenbacker or Hofner (description of the tonality). So instead, do this: put a .01 microfarad capacitor inline between the hot lead of the bridge pickup and its connection to its volume potentiometer, and play the bass with all controls full up; treble and mids at neutral (no cut or boost) on the amp; and the bass level to suit. Then if you are playing new strings or roundwound strings, bring the tone knob on the bass down an number or two for the final tweak.

After you do this for awhile, meaning a couple of months including personal practice, band rehearsals and gigs, then you can start re-balancing the volume knobs on each pickup to bias the tone towards bass (neck pickup) or treble (bridge pickup) to suit your playing style and the songs you play. Then you can also start tweaking the amp to further refine your tonalities.

I'm sure there's more in this bass than the pickup configuration might seem at first glance. Remember, a Hofner has basically the same setup, and a Rickenbacker is also similar, just that the bridge side pickup is not quite as close to the bridge, and an EB3 is also very, very similar in pickup configuration and overall tonality, just that the EB3 will have more mids due to the mahogany body instead of the alder body.

Edited April 21, 2013 by iiipopes

[neepheid]

I wouldn't agree that parallel wiring of a humbucker makes the tone "thin". It's a non-invasive mod if you use a push-pull pot that's easily reversed if it doesn't do what you expect or want.

Out of phase, now that's thin, anaemic and pointless.

[SlapbassSteve]

Cheers for the pointers guys! I've actually played the bass since I wrote the OP and the pups are nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, interestingly it does sound vaguely Rickenbacker-ish, especially on the neck pickup. Very very tempted by pushpull series/parallel switches for each pickup though, and for sake of the cost of a capacitor I'll see about giving iiipopes's suggestion a go too- would I be right in thinking that would act like the 'vintage' switch on a Ricky?

[iiipopes]

[quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1366590266' post='2054674']Would I be right in thinking that would act like the 'vintage' switch on a Ricky?
[/quote]
It's the same kind of circuit, yes. Since the bridge pickup is closer to the bridge than on a Rickenbacker, the value needs to be .01 instead of Rickenbacker's .0047 to get enough body of tone. It won't be all the jangle of a Rickenbacker, since the pickup is a humbucker instead of a single coil, but it will contribute to clarity when both pickups are full on.

Putting the coils in parallel drops the impedance to 1/4 of the wiring in series. That takes a serious chunk out of the mids, and by comparison does result in a thin tone. Not a "quacky" or complete lack of bass, or "honky" tone as does out-of-phase, but it does drop the mids considerably.