Wiring Jazz pickups direct to output jack (no vol/tone pots)

[markmc87]

I'd like to upgrade the electronics on my main touring bass, a MIM Fender Jazz.

I have always kept all volume & tone control pots wide open when playing live or in the studio and adjusted the tone, mid scoops etc on my amplifier or rack EQ...

So, as my pots are basically redundant, would it be possible to bypass them and wire directly to the output jack from the pickups?

Thanks in advance...

Mark

[blisters on my fingers]

I'm by no means an expert but I put a no load tone pot (the last part of the tone pot is then bypassed) on a precision and didn't like the sound. Has a harshness to the treble which was not pleasant.

Sure you could extend the pickup leads to the output jack to try it out though

[paul_5]

Very easily - wire both ‘hot’ wires from the pickups to the output lug of the output socket and both ‘ground’ wires to the ground lug.

This will give the classic ‘both pickups in parallel’ Jazz bass sound.

[ikay]

Taking the vol and tone pots out of the circuit will change the load on the pickups and make them sound quite a bit brighter, even harsh. It will not sound the same as running it with the pots all dimed. You may like it, you may not, depends what sound you're after. Easy thing to try though and easy to reverse.

[Andyjr1515]

For reasons I can't remember, I think there is a slight change in tone when you do this but as @paul_5 says, it's very easy to do so why not try it.  If it does change the tone and you don't like it, just swop it back.  If it doesn't change the tone - or if it does and you like it - result.

I wired wwgringe' s African build directly and it sounded great... 

[markmc87]

Thanks for your input guys...

I don't use a P-bass live or in the studio but do have one for rehearsals so I'll give it a go on that - likely won't bother me if there's a harshness to the treble on the Precision as I prefer a bassier, classic soul sound with the treble and high-mids turned down fairly low on my amp so as to stay clear of the brass section in the mix...

For the jazz, I'll try with one balance pot before the output jack which should help by adding some load.

Will update with results when I have them!

Cheers,

Mark

[Beer of the Bass]

If you're set on having no pots but prefer the sound with the pickups loaded by the pots, you could always put a resistor across the output - the pickups won't know the difference. 

[MoonBassAlpha]

Why not wire them in series? I did it with a pair of lowish output humbuckers and it sounded kinda beefy.

[markmc87]

I'll see how it sounds with the single balance pot one some 60s Fender CS pups, but for me, anything less than fully open pots on a jazz seems to lose something from the signal hence my habit of letting the amp/EQ cut the frequencies I don't want. I became a professional touring/recording musician by accident so I didn't spend the time to learn the ins-and-outs of wiring or pick-up configurations, I just had to use my ears and go with the flow! Now I have the time I might get more technical...

Thanks for all your input, its appreciated.

Mark

[LITTLEWING]

Wire it in series. You won't look back. BIG sound.

[itu]

If you are interested in somewhat different sounds (somewhat compressed single coil, humbucking in series or parallel) try a four position rotary switch: neck/bridge/series/parallel. I would not be so worried about too much brightness. You can tame that with your preamp or try a LPF, like Phat Head from Daring Audio.

Series humbucking is big in volume compared to a single coil if the volume levels are not matched. But after matching them the sounds open up in a bit different way. This is why I consider single coil somewhat compressed compared to humbucking.

[RudyF]

On 24/12/2018 at 09:12, Beer of the Bass said:

If you're set on having no pots but prefer the sound with the pickups loaded by the pots, you could always put a resistor across the output - the pickups won't know the difference. 

So a 250k ohm resistor on either of the output leads from the pickup should do it? Does it matter whether the resistor is placed on the pos or neg lead?

[sandy_r]

2 hours ago, RudyF said:

So a 250k ohm resistor on either of the output leads from the pickup should do it? Does it matter whether the resistor is placed on the pos or neg lead?

 

No, the resistor should be in parallel with the pickup(s) - one res lead to hot (pos), the other to 'ground' (Gnd).  Try res value = Vol pot value first; then maybe compare results with a higher res value (eg. twice Vol pot value).  You can use the nearest fixed resistor value in the series (eg. 220k or 270k ohm, say, to replace a 250k ohm pot).  Any 'ground' connections should be taken to the Jack shield lug

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by sandy_r

[sandy_r]

 

...if you wish to try out the fixed resistor approach, there is an additional config you could try at the same time...

 

Some people have noticed, when blending pickups on passive basses, that if they turn both Vol pots to max then the 2 pickups load each other and they lose some tone. The complete technical answer to this is to use an active onboard pre, to mix the signals without changing their sound

 

If you have anough gain, however, you can still do something similar with a passive setup - you place a smaller resistance in series with the hot (pos) wire from each pickup, before connecting each to the (~250k) resistor which is replacing the Vol pot. Eg. you could try with 22k or 27k ohm resistors for Rm and see if that gives you better tone than just connecting the 2 pickups in parallel with the ~250k res  (increase amp input gain slightly, if necessary, to compensate)

 

[ikay]

I've been meaning to experiment with adding a couple of small inline resistors (as above) to a standard VVT wiring setup, but I believe that just backing of both vols slightly has the same effect. Backing off both vols certainly allows for smoother variations in tone when blending the pups. You do lose a bit of volume but that's easy to make up at the amp input gain.