Prewired J-Bass Assembly (Passive)
Code: J100
Product Details
Professional Grade Prewired Jazz Bass and P/J Bass Assemblies.
his is because we use only the finest components you can put into an electric guitar. Upon installation of one of our professional grade custom wired assemblies, you will notice an improvement in both clarity and character, coupled with more reliability. Not only is this is because we use only the finest components available, but also because we have been wiring guitars and basses for over 20 years and know how to make them sound great. Every component is hand picked for tolerance. Every pot treated with Caig D5. Every sensitive connection insulated with heat shrink. Every solder joint solid and shiny. Every assembly custom ordered, and never mass produced. Every unit tested extensively.
Component Specifications
- Top quality components including CRL switches, Switchcraft Jacks and CTS Pots
- All components treated with Caig DeOxit for long trouble free operation
- Choice of a variety of high-end capacitors
- Vintage style cloth wire
- Installation Instructions included
Expand any of the sections below to read important details about the various options we offer. You may use these links to Expand All and Collapse All to expand or collapse all sections with a single click
PICKUPS
Rothstein Guitars is an AUTHORIZED DEALER for all these manufacturers listed on this page which means any pickups you purchase purchase from us carries the full manufacturer's warranty.
LINDY FRALIN PICKUPS- These are absolutely fabulous pickups. We have installed these pickups in countless instruments and what is rather amazing is how consistently good they sound. They come as close to the pre-CBS Fender sound as you can find. We're talking amazing bite and growl!! They are wound by hand by Lindy and his staff in Richmond, VA.
CURTIS NOVAK PICKUPS- If you're looking for the highest quality hand-wound "boutique" pickups then check out Curtis Novak. Curt has been hand winding pickups for 20 years and has studied the methods of the masters. He is quite adept at "scatterwinding" which many feel is one of the secrets to great tone. He offer a traditional J style pickup which are dead-on replicas of pre-CBS Fender J pickups, as well as a hum-cancelling "split" J pickup.
NORDSTRAND PICKUPS - These are amazingly toneful pickups. Carey Nordstand is an established manufacturer of fine high end basses, and a former employee of Suhr Guitars
WIRING CONFIGURATIONS
The following wiring configurations are available:
J1 - STOCK WIRING
- Good old fashioned stock wiring (dual volume, master tone)
- pot 1: neck volume
- pot 2: bridge volume
- pot 3: master tone
JSP - SERIES/PARALELL SWITCHING
- 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 our most popular offering.
- pot 1: neck volume w/push/ pull pot for series/ parallel switching
- pot 2: bridge volume
- pot 3: master tone
JBB_BVT - BALANCE/BLEND
- 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.
- pot 1: balance / blend control
- pot 2: master volume
- pot 3: master tone
JBB_VBT - BALANCE/BLEND
- 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. This is the same as above, however the order of the controls is different.
- pot 1: master volume
- pot 2: balance / blend control
- pot 3: master tone
JX5 - 5-POSITION ROTARY PICKUPS SELECTOR
- 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 fully counterclockwise and the bridge pickup alone when dialed fully clockwise. 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.
- pot 1: master volume
- pot 2: rotary selector switch
- pot 3: master tone
- 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
62J - 1962 JAZZ BASS
- This configuration come with 2 concentric/stacked pots: Each one controlling volume and tone of an individual pickup.
- control 1: concentric / stacked volume & tone for neck pickup
- control 2: concentric / stacked volume & tone for bridge pickup
BLEND_62 - MOD FOR 62 JAZZ BASS
- With this configuration the 1st pot is a balance/blend pot with center detent that allows you to blend in the 2 pickups and the 2nd pot is a concentric/stacked pot to function as a master volume and tone.
- control 1: balance/blend control
- control 2: concentric / stacked MASTER volume & tone (controls both pickups)
TONE CAPACITOR
SBE Orange Drop capacitors will be used by default at no extra charge, or for an upcharge you may select between Sozo NextGen Blue Molded, and VH Audio's V-CAP TONE series ultra high-end Paper in Oil. The price will vary depending upon which capacitor you select. Read about our capacitor choices here.
Tone Mod Option (MTB)
Alternatively, you may optionally select our MTB Mid-Scoop / Tone Switch option Read about this versatile tone control here. Mounted on a 500K push-pull pot.When the push-pull switch is down this functions as a standard tone control which cuts highs. When the switch is in the up position it becomes a mid-sucker that scoops mids as you turn the knob counterclockwise whichs work great for slapping.
SOUND CLIP: Here is a sound clip of this control used in a Jazz Bass recorded by pro bassist Tony Senatore. Tony played a Mexican Jazz bass equipped with Nordstrand NJ4 pickups along with one of our JX5 prewired harness with the mid-scoop/tone switch. The sound clip plays the same 2 bar slap phrase 3 times :
- The first time the slap phrase is played in full treble mode
- The second time the same phrase is played in full bass mode. In other words, the push-pull switch is in the "down" position and the tone knob is rolled almost all the way down (to about 1).
- The third time the phrase is played in mid-cut mode and you will notice how the slaps and pops really jump out. To arrive at this setting, the push-pull switch is in the "up" positino and the tone knob is rolled almost all the way down (to about 1).
SOLDERLESS OPTION
If you purchase a setup of pickups from us along with your prewired kit, optionally, we can wire your assembly and pickups with pin and socket connectors, thus eliminating the need for you to solder. The pins and sockets are color-coded, so all you will need to do is match the colors and connect corresponding male and female connectors.
ACCESSORIES
Each assembly optionally comes with a high quality control plate and/or vintage style plastic black knobs if you wish. If you prefer to use your own knobs, make sure they are the kind of knobs which are tightened with a "set-screw" (as opposed to the push-on knobs). NOTE: All of our wiring configurations use a 4 hole control plate, excelt our 1962 offerings,which come with a 3 hole control plate.
