Guitar Wiring
At a glance
Project Result
The finished wiring keeps the bass's original four-coil sound while adding practical P-Bass, J-Bass, and out-of-phase options that I can reach quickly during a set.
- Controls
- Blend, tone, coil splits, and phase
- Constraint
- Keep the existing control layout intuitive
- Status
- Installed and in regular use
README
Project Notes
Overview
This was a small electronics project focused on improving the sound and control layout of one of my bass guitars. I liked the pickups, but I was not happy with the factory preamp, so I redesigned the wiring around passive controls, coil splitting, and pickup blending.
Project Goals
The goal was useful tonal range without a control layout that required explanation. I wanted to keep the original four-coil sound, add convincing P-Bass and J-Bass-style options, and make each change easy to reach during a set.
Wiring Layout
I added a passive tone control and separate coil splits for both pickups. With both pickups in single-coil mode, the bass moves toward a J-Bass response. A second neck-pickup switch selects a P-90-style coil combination that gets much closer to the P-Bass sound I wanted.
A blend pot replaces the usual pair of volume controls because it is faster for me to balance the pickups. The master volume includes a linearly dependent treble-bleed network, and its push-pull switch reverses the bridge-pickup polarity. That final mode produces a narrow, percussive sound that works especially well for slap playing and has become one of the settings I use most.
