Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster Pickups

[sjtalon]

I just wired up a mini-toggle for the series option. I have done a few Tele's with 4 way switches and have done p/p pots and am sure I have done the wiring correctly (and re-checked) so that's not the issue ( I hope ?)

I'll have to find the mini toggle diagram I used and post it.

I was disappointed in the outcome as they really don't have the punch when in series. It almost seams as they are stronger combined in parallel than when I go in series. It's not that they are out of phase as I never switched how they where wired from the factory. I would say it is a different tone but not the fatter tone I clearly notice with my CS Texas Specials or Nocaster pups in series.

I don't know the specs (magnets, wire) on these JM pups but could it be, electrically speaking, there is something with these in series that doesn't add up. In other words are there some single coils that just don't kick butt when in series ?

These new model Classic Player pups are suppose to be :

Neck: Special Design Hot Jazzmaster Neck Pickup
Bridge: Special Design Hot Jazzmaster Bridge Pickup

I have read that JM pickups aren't really the power house's a "real" P90 is........they are a cat of there own. Maybe that's the rub ?

I would think P90's would really ROCK in series, but these aren’t P90’s per se.

[sjtalon]

mini toggle is wired like this p/p

http://www.deaf-eddie.net/drawings/tele-series.jpg

[Deaf Eddie]

I have noticed that higher-output/warmer pups aren't as dramatic when wired in series as brighter, lower-output pups. Even though your Jazzmaster's pups are single coil, they may just not respond to series wiring the way you hoped.

If you want to check and see if anything is amiss with your wiring, try metering the output. Plug a guitar cable into the axe, put the volume and tone on "10", and set the meter for 20k ohms. Touch one probe to the tip and one to the sleeve of the open end of the cable.

Each pickup solo should show you about 7k-12k; parallel should be about half that (3k-6k), series would be the two added together (19k).

If the numbers look right on the meter, then those particular pups just don't come alive with the series mod.

I've had the same experience running two Gibson-style humbuckers in series. It was one of those, "Yeah, so what...?" mods. Not much kick in volume, just some loss of color and a little more bass.

Now, there's the argument for trying series/out of phase!

[sjtalon]

Thanks a bunch Eddie.

[RomanS]

Originally Posted by Deaf Eddie

I have noticed that higher-output/warmer pups aren't as dramatic when wired in series as brighter, lower-output pups.

+1 to that!
I love the 4-way switch on my Teles with "regular" Tele PUs, and it also works well on one Tle I have with a Nocaster bridge PU and CC-Rider neck PU, but I also have a Thinline Tele with a HB-sized P90 bridge PU, and a CC-style neck PU (both rather full/fat sounding, higher output PUs), and on this one, the series position is not very useful at all - sounds a lot like the regular (parallel) middle positon, only a bit more muddy and bland...

[sjtalon]

Well, I may have to do the phase wire deal. I don't play the kind of music I hear they like that tone for but I bought a switch, drilled a hole in my pickguard and need to get SOMETHING out of it

I am going to sell it someday (ebay) anyway so I do need to do something. I would hate to list it and have someone write and ask, Hey what's with the mini-toggle?

Reply:
Oh ya, that looks cool doesn't it........Sorry, it doesn't do anything.

[Deaf Eddie]

Pilot light?

[sjtalon]

Would you have a schematic for that ?





Oh I forgot, this is weird.

I took my m-meter and dialed it to 20K Ω, stuck a small screw driver in the output jack hole (I've done this several times on others to get readings) and get...................nada ?? Even flipping the selector switch around...nada.


I got p'ed and took the pg off and pulled the neck pup out to get right on the solder joint from the coil..................nada.

Now I have worked a m-meter like a zillion times so I doubt operator error. I did spin the vol. control too so that was full open. I do have continuity to ground.



Thing is, the guitar works, believe me, it's new.