Reilly81 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I know I saw this somewhere here but can't find it again. I bought a 2005 SG Bass from the original buyer. Bass is in great condition and Il ike the way it plays. My question is with the amount the bridge pup effects the neck pup. Volume on neck increases noticeably as you roll off the bridge pup. Just the way these are wired? Signal too divided between the two? If you know where the original posts were about this point me there as I am running out of q combos and been up since 5am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungimsam Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 The neck pup, with volume on 10, gets louder as you roll off the volume of the bridge pup? Weird. What you are describing never happened on mine. If anything the bass volume should sound equal or little quieter as the bridge rolls off and the wimpy SG neck pup stands alone. Thats how mine was factory. I had a weird effect happen with my volume knobs going up to 9 and then dropping out completely when turned past 9 to 10. But that was due to bad pots, or a bad wiring job after a mod. Pots were replaced, and the wiring was done differently I think and now it is fine. Maybe your pots have had it? Were your bass electronics changed from the factory parts/wiring job? If so, may be mis-wired or pots going bad? I have a pic of mine factory wiring when ir was new to compare to yours if you want to see if yours is wired correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reilly81 Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Thanks for the pic. I bought the bass used from it's original owner. He hadn't used it much as he favored his Ric, so I don't believe anything was changed but your pic should let me compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungimsam Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Here are the only solutions to the sound probs I was having with my SG Bass that have worked so far : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I know I saw this somewhere here but can't find it again. I bought a 2005 SG Bass from the original buyer. Bass is in great condition and Il ike the way it plays. My question is with the amount the bridge pup effects the neck pup. Volume on neck increases noticeably as you roll off the bridge pup. Just the way these are wired? Signal too divided between the two? If you know where the original posts were about this point me there as I am running out of q combos and been up since 5am This is a normal condition; this happens with all of my basses to some degree. Here's an explanation from Lollar Pickups that should clear things up for you: From Lollar Pickups site: Some slight drop in volume, drive, and bass is normal when you have two pickups on at the same time and they are wired in parallel which is how most guitars are wired , when the two pickups are wired in series—somewhat unusual—the pickups will get slightly louder than a single pickup and you'll get more drive and bass. Resistance is cut in half when you wire two pickups in parallel and inductance drops—this makes output and bass decrease, resistance doubles when two pickups are wired in series and inductance rises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassballs Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 This is a normal condition; this happens with all of my basses to some degree. Here's an explanation from Lollar Pickups that should clear things up for you: From Lollar Pickups site: Some slight drop in volume, drive, and bass is normal when you have two pickups on at the same time and they are wired in parallel which is how most guitars are wired , when the two pickups are wired in series—somewhat unusual—the pickups will get slightly louder than a single pickup and you'll get more drive and bass. Resistance is cut in half when you wire two pickups in parallel and inductance drops—this makes output and bass decrease, resistance doubles when two pickups are wired in series and inductance rises. This is how my SG behaves, never thought of it as a problem (because i knew the theori) 90% of the time i use the bridge pickup at 10 and the neck pickup at 9 or visa versa and I use the tone pot alot, to get what I think is the best sounds of the SG. I also have a danelectro that is the total opposite, running both pickups at same volume gives a little boost (because they are wired in serial) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reilly81 Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 Thanks to all for the info. The last P-bass I had was a fret-less from the late 80's, that went as I was rotating guitars in mid 2005. But I do have a super light Korean VAI "Franken Bass" that came with a P-bass type pup that I took out and put in a regulation Fender pickup. So currently using that, a 96 Hofner 40th Anni, 71 Gibson SB 400 and the SG. Have great Holidays !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I definitely have the issue of volume drop when cranking both pickups. I think that's pretty standard for parallel wiring, as they load each other down. 10 neck, 8 bridge works nice for deep lows. 6 neck, 8 bridge also works nice with a pick, and somehow makes me think of the dukes of hazard. I always kinda thought I would want one pickup or the other maxed, but that doesn't seem to be true in practice. Still waiting on a custom pickup for the bridge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Still waiting on a custom pickup for the bridge... I never liked the Mini-HB pup - kinda harsh highs and a lot of nasty mid-range (IMO). Blended with the neck pup, it adds highs but also those honky mids. I put a full-size Gibson TB+ HB at the bridge on mine, and positioned it as far away from the bridge as the original routing would allow. The bridge TB+ really sounds great all by itself, and blends perfectly with the neck TB+. It went from a mediocre sounding bass to a great one! I think that changing your bridge pup will help you a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I've received notice that my new bridge PU has finally shipped. Finally! Can't wait to try it. Incidentally, I picked up an old aria pro ii cardinal series for dirt cheap on craigslist that someone hacked up and put a dimarzio model one in, with a series/parallel switch. Too bad the original humbucker was gone, but I figured, hey, cheap model one. I did a setup on it and since it was already beat up, I took a spoke shave and belt sander to the body to make it more comfy, but I still much prefer the feel of the SG bass. However, that dimarzio sounds ******* great. Both coil settings are totally different and useable. I'm tempted to pull it out and put it in the SG bass too... Has anyone tried adding a coil tap to the sg bass neck humbucker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I've received notice that my new bridge PU has finally shipped. Finally! Can't wait to try it. Incidentally, I picked up an old aria pro ii cardinal series for dirt cheap on craigslist that someone hacked up and put a dimarzio model one in, with a series/parallel switch. Too bad the original humbucker was gone, but I figured, hey, cheap model one. I did a setup on it and since it was already beat up, I took a spoke shave and belt sander to the body to make it more comfy, but I still much prefer the feel of the SG bass. However, that dimarzio sounds ******* great. Both coil settings are totally different and useable. I'm tempted to pull it out and put it in the SG bass too... Has anyone tried adding a coil tap to the sg bass neck humbucker? I don't think you can easily tap the neck pup unless you can get to the individual coil wires. BTW: I bought an Aria Cardinal off eBay a couple of years ago, and it was toast. The bridge was so corroded the saddles fell apart, and on top of that - the body was cracked. I didn't pay much for it, but it was pretty disapointing. I did get a good pup out of it which I used on another Aria. You did better with the model-1 anyway; it's a much better pup than what was in the Aria. If ya need any Cardinal parts, I have everything except the bridge & pup laying around here somewhere..... I think I even have the case for it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I don't think you can easily tap the neck pup unless you can get to the individual coil wires. BTW: I bought an Aria Cardinal off eBay a couple of years ago, and it was toast. The bridge was so corroded the saddles fell apart, and on top of that - the body was cracked. I didn't pay much for it, but it was pretty disapointing. I did get a good pup out of it which I used on another Aria. You did better with the model-1 anyway; it's a much better pup than what was in the Aria. If ya need any Cardinal parts, I have everything except the bridge & pup laying around here somewhere..... I think I even have the case for it.... Yeah, I wasn't sure if I would be able to get at the wires between the coils or not. I will have a closer look next time I am doing work on the SG bass. I don't know if the SG's control cavity is deep enough for push/pull pots, so I have to measure that sometime soon. I know my home-made varitone wouldn't fit, so i put it in a big muff instead. I'm trying to not drill any new holes if I can avoid it... And my nutty wiring plans for the future involve a lot of switches. As for that aria cardinal bass, I cleaned it up a bit more and threw some sunbeams on there. It's now super fun, plays and sounds great. Brought it to jam last night, and I loved it. May just be the sunbeams, though, as I've been playing mostly flats lately, and they were a real treat. I definitely got luckier than you, as everything is actually in good working order, just the finish on the body is ****, and the model one install is ugly, and it needed a setup bad. If you want to part with the case, I may be interested... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Yeah, I wasn't sure if I would be able to get at the wires between the coils or not. I will have a closer look next time I am doing work on the SG bass. I don't know if the SG's control cavity is deep enough for push/pull pots, so I have to measure that sometime soon. I know my home-made varitone wouldn't fit, so i put it in a big muff instead. I'm trying to not drill any new holes if I can avoid it... And my nutty wiring plans for the future involve a lot of switches. As for that aria cardinal bass, I cleaned it up a bit more and threw some sunbeams on there. It's now super fun, plays and sounds great. Brought it to jam last night, and I loved it. May just be the sunbeams, though, as I've been playing mostly flats lately, and they were a real treat. I definitely got luckier than you, as everything is actually in good working order, just the finish on the body is ****, and the model one install is ugly, and it needed a setup bad. If you want to part with the case, I may be interested... I found the Aria case, neck, & body and now I remember why I didn't bother doing anything with it. The neck seems fine, and the body could be repaired and painted - or I could make a nice clock out of it. It's just that every rout is a strange size, and I don't want to spend any more money trying to find a pup and a bridge that would fit it. The case is pretty rough too, but (with some repairs) would be better than a gig bag. I just consider the whole thing as a eBay learning experience (eBay pictures can be deceiving!). If Ya want this stuff you can have it for whatever it would cost to ship. Otherwise, it'll just lay around in my basement forever, unless I do the clock thing.......... Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I found the Aria case, neck, & body and now I remember why I didn't bother doing anything with it. The neck seems fine, and the body could be repaired and painted - or I could make a nice clock out of it. It's just that every rout is a strange size, and I don't want to spend any more money trying to find a pup and a bridge that would fit it. The case is pretty rough too, but (with some repairs) would be better than a gig bag. I just consider the whole thing as a eBay learning experience (eBay pictures can be deceiving!). If Ya want this stuff you can have it for whatever it would cost to ship. Otherwise, it'll just lay around in my basement forever, unless I do the clock thing.......... Ha! Whomever installed the model one in mine just put a flat piece of pickguard plastic over the giant humbucker rout, and screwed the model one on to that. Looks a little ghetto, but does the trick. I wouldn't mind making a taller mount out of wood one day, but it works for now. There is a lot of space leftover in there, the original humbucker must have been huge. I dunno what you would do about the bridge though, that one is funky. I'll fire you a PM with my email, we can take this offline... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb nice Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 So, the custom bridge PU I ordered ages ago finally arrived yesterday. I soldered it in last night, and discovered that the wanna-be-mudbucker in my sg bass is out-of-phase compared to convention, which possibly explains a lot about the volume drop problems I was having with my bridge PU. I didn't try reversing the phase on the stock bridge PU, but I probably should have. However, that bridge PU was pretty neutered sounding even when soloed. Anyway, the new custom pickup is leaps and bounds better than the stock bridge PU I had. Ballsier, clearer, nicer, fuller. Useful tone on it's own, especially in series. In parallel, it blends very nice with the mudbucker-wanna-be- way better than the stock bridge PU. Looks sharp, and fits right into the stock housing, too. Can't wait to try it with the band... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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