lowregisterhead Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 (edited) I just bought a second hand bass, with twin soapbar pickups, and two individual volume controls and one tone. When I turn up each pickup individually, they sound fine, and the tone works as you would expect. When I turn up both volumes together, the overall volume drops dramatically and the sound becomes very hollow, and not at all what I would expect from a twin pickup instrument. I don't know much about circuitry, but I suspect the pickups have been wired incorrectly so they are out of phase when combined. Any thoughts?? Thanks in advance to the many knowledgable members of this forum! Dave Edited November 9, 2013 by lowregisterhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 How dramatically do you mean, like a jazz bass or worse? Easy to tell if you whip the cover off, if the pickups are original they will tend to have matching wires, so you can see if it is wired up out of phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Just whip the cover off and reverse one of the pickup's hook up wires and compare; a 5 minute job if you're confident with a soldering iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Thanks for that folks - I may well have a go at swapping one around to see what effect it has. And it's nothing like the way a jazz 'spreads out' when you bring in both pickups Woodinblack - I know what you mean, but this just sounds wrong! :-) Has anyone got a wiring diagram they could post for a standard two-volume-one-tone passive setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 There are a few on the net but there are two wires from each pickup, the earth of each pickup should go to an earth point such as a case of a pot or someting, and the other side should go to the same point of each volume control, either the center or the one on the right with the pins pointing upwards, depending on the type (ie, one of the ones not also connected to the case) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 [quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1384003038' post='2271745'] Thanks for that folks - I may well have a go at swapping one around to see what effect it has. And it's nothing like the way a jazz 'spreads out' when you bring in both pickups Woodinblack - I know what you mean, but this just sounds wrong! :-) Has anyone got a wiring diagram they could post for a standard two-volume-one-tone passive setup? [/quote]Simples - [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=std_jazz_bass"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=std_jazz_bass[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 (edited) Marvellous. Thank you KiOgon! Now to get soldering without burning the kitchen worktop... Edited November 9, 2013 by lowregisterhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 [quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1384003903' post='2271765'] Marvellous. Thank you KiOgon! Now to get soldering without burning the kitchen worktop... [/quote]Where's the fun in that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1384007899' post='2271849'] Where's the fun in that? [/quote] The 'fun' as you put it, is in NOT being struck round the back of the head with a large frying pan by She Who Must Be Obeyed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 [quote name='lowregisterhead' timestamp='1384008186' post='2271854'] The 'fun' as you put it, is in NOT being struck round the back of the head with a large frying pan by She Who Must Be Obeyed... [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Did it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowregisterhead Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Thanks for asking, but I got sidetracked and haven't got around to it yet! I shall report back soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 If no one minds id like to semi hijack this thread with a similar issue i had recently, although with a different effect. Im well aware of the method of changing one wire, ive had to do it in the past but when i changed the P pup in my new PJ i had a strange issue. I tok the stock pup out and put a Fender 62RI Original in. I know this to be a working pup as it came out of my main bass a few months ago. When both pups were up i had that hollow, nasal tone. Fair enough, change one of the wires over on the P pup, but when i did this the pup sounded more muffled and quieter, especially the D and G strings, even on its own. I took it out and put a Fralin in and all was good. I then put the Fender pup in my P bass and it worked fine. Ive never come across this before. I always though it didnt matter what wire went to ground on a P bass, at least, when its on its own. Granted i dont have a lot of experience with PJ's but if the stock, and Fralin worked fine then i dont think i was doing anything wrong. The only difference i can see is the Fender has a brass plate under it, i wonder if this was causing the issue. Im all sorted now, not really looking to sort it out, but if anyone has any ideas id like to hear them. Cheers, and good luck Dave, its really easy to do and once you have done it the first time you will feel more confident about messing about inside a bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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