P pickup with 4 wires help?

[hooky_lowdown]

Acquired some 90's p (passive) pups but am confused by both of the split coils having 2 wires coming from each. I'm used to p pups having a wire connecting the two together, then a black (ground) and a white or red (live) going to the volume pot.

Here, i have one with a black and white wires, and the other has black and red wires. Do I solder the two black wires together, then is the white the ground to the volume pot and the red the live to volume pot?

 

[gary mac]

Yes I would assume that the blacks want soldering together. Red to volume live and white to ground. 

[ikay]

The white and red wires will be hot, black will be cold. Typically speaking you'd wire them in series by joining the red wire (hot) from one coil with the black wire (cold) from the other. White (hot) will then go to the vol pot and the remaining black (cold) to ground.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by ikay

[Grangur]

I've come across this before and both @gary mac and @ikay are right. The actual colour wires you use won't matter, but join them in series and then connect the other wires to the volume and ground. A coil isn't polarised, so if doesn't matter which way round you connect them, but don't install it with the magnets repelling each other.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Grangur

[Stub Mandrel]

34 minutes ago, Grangur said:

I've come across this before and both @gary mac and @ikay are right. The actual colour wires you use won't matter, but join them in series and then connect the other wires to the volume and ground. A coil isn't polarised, so if doesn't matter which way round you connect them, but don't install it with the magnets repelling each other.

Actually the poles do have a 'correct way round'. It won't affect the sound output but it will stop them humbucking.

If the pickup seems 'noisy' especially main hum (move near your amp), reverse one pair of wires.

[Grangur]

That's interesting @Stub Mandrel. I didn't think a precision split coil was humbucking? 

I agree the magnetic poles do have a correct way. The pups wont work so well if the magnets are repelling; negatively affecting the induction in the coils.

[Stub Mandrel]

See here (you need top scroll down past the J-bass):

http://www.bass-guitar-info.com/pickup_wiring.html

[hooky_lowdown]

38 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

See here (you need top scroll down past the J-bass):

http://www.bass-guitar-info.com/pickup_wiring.html

Using that diagram, how do I tell which wire is positive and which is negative? When I have one black and red wires on one pup, and black and white on the other.

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Using that diagram, how do I tell which wire is positive and which is negative? When I have one black and red wires on one pup, and black and white on the other.

PROBABLY red to white will work, but if it hums when you move it near electrics, try reversing one pickup. The other way is to hold them side by side with the polepieces aimed at the SAME string. One way round there will be barely any bass, the correct way round is when the bass sounds good and solid.

Unfortunately, different manufacturers use different colours for the same coils and I've even found with a guitar humbucker the only certain test is whether or not it sounds duff.

Also (as I found) on a PJ guitar if it sounds weak and pathetic with both pickups maxed, you need to swap the wires on the J pickup.

[Grangur]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Also (as I found) on a PJ guitar if it sounds weak and pathetic with both pickups maxed, you need to swap the wires on the J pickup.

In my experience all Fender basses with 2 pups have this problem.

[Stub Mandrel]

18 minutes ago, Grangur said:

In my experience all Fender basses with 2 pups have this problem.

No, I mean a really Really REALLY weedy sound.

[mcnach]

On 04/05/2019 at 23:03, Grangur said:

In my experience all Fender basses with 2 pups have this problem.

 

I don't think he means the mid-scoop sound, but the thin trebly weedy bottomless sound you get when you wire the pickups the wrong way around. 

[Grangur]

On 11/05/2019 at 12:43, mcnach said:

 

I don't think he means the mid-scoop sound, but the thin trebly weedy bottomless sound you get when you wire the pickups the wrong way around. 

I don't know if I'm talking about mid-scoop, but IME when you turn both volumes to full, the total output takes a dip in volume.

[Stub Mandrel]

3 hours ago, Grangur said:

I don't know if I'm talking about mid-scoop, but IME when you turn both volumes to full, the total output takes a dip in volume.

If you wire the PUs out of phase when you do that the fundamental becomes very faint and the higher harmonics dominate.

[only4]

You can test pickup coil polarity using the old multi meter and a steel rule/screw driver trick.

There’s plenty of videos on YouTube showing the method.

[hooky_lowdown]

Ok, so I am about to wire white from top pup to black on bottom pup, which leaves red from bottom pup (live) and black from top pup (ground).

Will this mean the pups will be in series?

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

37 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Ok, so I am about to wire white from top pup to black on bottom pup, which leaves red from bottom pup (live) and black from top pup (ground).

Will this mean the pups will be in series?

 

 

No guarantee without a pickup-specific wiring diagram.

I can't find a diagram for P-bass humbuckers, but look at this sea of confusion:

Assuming the start and finish of each coil is reflected by where the wire emerges from the pickups then white to black is a good place to start. I would do the 'temporary connection' then expose to a source of hum test myself.

[ikay]

It seems reasonable to suppose  that white and red will be the hot wires, in which case yes you will be wired in series. Best thing is to give it a go and see how it sounds.

Edited May 21, 2019 by ikay

[hooky_lowdown]

Connected the white to the opposite black, and the remaining red and black to the volume pot - works a treat. Put the bass close to the amp and no hum. Bingo. 😀

[ikay]

Excellent!