Wiring Options for P & J Basses (passive)
No batteries needed and No routing is needed for any of these prewired assemblies!!
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JSP - J-Bass with Series/Parallel Switch
This is a very cool way to switch between the classic j-bass sound featuring both pickup in parallel, or the more punchy p-bass sound featuring both pickups in series
This is an extremely versatile and unique setup for a jazz bass but you get to keep your vintage look too! It features a 5 position rotary switch which will provide you with the neck pickup alone when dialed all the way to the left and the bridge pickup alone when dialed all the way to the right. In between you get to combine the 2 pickups together in 3 different ways: parallel, series, and out of phase. This configuration comes with a master volume and master tone making it easier to adjust the volume of the entire instrument from one pot. Here is a detailed breakdown of the 5 way selector switch:
- position 1: neck pickup alone
- position 2: neck and bridge in parallel (hum-cancelling) - classic j-bass tone
- position 3: neck and bridge in series (hum-cancelling) - louder with more midrange punch. Very p-bass like
- position 4: neck and bridge in series, yet out-of-phase (not hum-cancelling). This is a very unique and cool effect. The sound with be thinner and lower in volume.
- position 5: bridge pickup alone
JBB- J-Bass with Balance/Blend Pot
This popular configuration features a blend control also known as "pan pot" to blend the 2 pickups, as well as a master volume and master tone. The blend pot can be located either as the 1st control or the 2nd.
J1 - Stock Wiring
Good old fashioned stock wiring
P1 - Stock Wiring
Classic passive P wiring
PSP - Series/Parallel Switching for 4 Conductor DiMarzio P Pickups
P-bass wiring with Series/Parallel Switch for 4 Conductor DiMarzio P Pickups.
A Few Words About Active vs. Passive Electronics
The Case for Passive Electronics:
We certainly value active circuitry, find all too often that bassists have a tendency to hide behind it to compensate for lack of confidence, but the end result is that natural tone has been compromised. The most organic tone you can get out a bass is to use passive electronics. Have confidence in your sound and musicianship and let your natural tone shine through!! Think about this list of amazing bassists whose tone was produced by good old fasioned passive electronics:
- Chris Squire-- "Yes"-- Rick 4001
- Jaco Pastorius - stock 62 Jazz bass with concentric pots
- James Jamerson -- Early 60's P bass.
- Jack Bruce - "Cream" - 1968 Gibson EB-3
- John Paul Jones - "Led Zeppelin" - 60's Jazz bass
- Allen Woody- "Gov't Mule" - 1968 Gibson EB-2
- Felix Pappalardi - "Mountain" - Gibson EB-1
- John Entwistle - "The Who" - Gibson Thunderbird
- Geddy Lee - "Rush" - Rickenbacker 4001 and Fender Jazz bass.
- Paul McCartney - Hofner beatle bass
A common myth regarding passive circuitry is that you somehow get short changed because you may perceive a larger variety of tonal options out of active preamps. This is false. We have listed 10 great tonal variations you can get passively without any batteries. If you haven't played around with these you are missing something good.
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Series - combine 2 pickups in series for a NATURAL mid-boost and volume boost
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Parallel - combine 2 pickups in parallel for a traditional sound with less mids
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Out of phase - wire 2 pickups out of phase for an unusual and thin sound
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Coil Cut (for humbuckers) - short one coil of a humbucker commonly referred to as a "coil tap"
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Passive Mid-Cut - using a "notch filter" midrange frequencies can be cut using entirely passive electronics
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Passive Treble-Cut - Vintage tone provided by standard tone controls
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Varitone - 5 or 6 position rotary switches can be used for either pickup selection or for a wide range of tonal filters
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Experiment with Potentiometer Values - Do you need a brighter tone, try 500K or even 1 Meg pots.
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Treble Retention Circuit (aka Volume Kit) - Common guitar mod to prevent the loss of highs experienced when you lower your volume
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Stereo - Wire your bass is stereo sending each pickup to a different amp for a wonderfully complex tone
Some Customer Feedback
When I found your site I was looking for a volume/pan/tone assembly like your JBB unit. However after browsing through your very informative web site and studying the various options, the JX5 looked like it would not only do what I wanted, but might also offer some additional tonal versatility. The sound clips on your site convinced me to give the JX5 a try, so I ordered one five days ago.
The JX5 assembly arrived today -- I was very impressed with the fast turnaround! The unit was very well packaged and the instructions were exceptionally clear and easy to follow and it only took me 15 minutes to install (including the time it took to find the proper screwdriver and my elusive soldering gun).
I installed this on a 1999 MIM five-string and I am amazed at the different tones it offers -- and I haven't even fiddled with the tone knob yet! The #1, #2 and #5 positions satisfy my original desire of having a quicker, easier way of combining pickup signals than fiddling with two volume knobs. However, in the #3 position it thumps like a P bass (just like your web site says) and at #4 I get a bright, funky sound that I swear sounds like a vintage Rickenbacker. For the very reasonable price of your JX5 unit I feel like I am getting three basses in one!
You have a very well-designed, easy to use and informative web site, fast order fulfillment, concise, well-illustrated installation instructions, and an outstanding, high quality product.
Thank you -- I couldn't be happier!
Mark Tully, Bassist
Andy:
I had heard about your prewired harnesses on various bulletin boards and decided to try one for a Jazz Bass Project I was building called The Dream Jazz Bass ... not only was I pleasantly surprised at the outcome, quality of merchandise and overall customer service, but so was the luthier who assembled my bass - he actually told me that he was considering not giving me the bass, and instead, would make me an offer to buy it! All this was possible because of the attention to detail that Rothstein Guitars put into their product and pickup matching recommendation(s) ... I recommend them highly and with my network of musicians in the Southeastern US, that is a whole mess of guitar and bass players ... great job and keep up the fantastic work!"
Brian Delgross, Bassist
HANOMAN (ATL)
I Love it already!
Francis Hernandez, from the band "He's Dead Jim"
