Need help with my L-2500 Tribute Single Coil Mod

[metrollsta]

Sorry to hear that. Take care of yourself and let's chat another time. Get well soon!

[Ken Baker]

Sorry to hear that. Take care of yourself and let's chat another time. Get well soon!

Thank you. Avoid arthritis if you can. Don't get old either.

Do you know what I need to do now to use the inner coils or outer coils instead? (I know that with the current switch only one of these options is possible).

I do not. Sorry.

First off: The L-2000 and L-2500 basses use (or can use) the same electronics. The circuits are interchangeable. You probably know this. The drawings I have here are from the L-2000; before there was an L-2500. Again, they're interchangeable.

I dug around trying to figure out why Dave's stock drawing, here, differs from other drawings, here, and here. For a few years in the 80s and 90s, the L-2000 bass had an option for Parallel and Series with "Bass Boost". You'll notice in Dave's drawing and our drawing Parallel and Series with "Bass Boost", the yellow and white leads going from the pickups to the switch are connected differently than your stock circuit or our other drawings. This is something I had not noticed all these years. Additionally, Dave's drawing and our drawing Parallel and Series with "Bass Boost" both show what we call OMG caps (marked C1 and C2 on Dave's drawing) that you do not have. So, the difference is whether or not "Bass Boost" (really a huge treble cut) was installed.

If you were to use this "Bass Boost" circuit for your mod, the caps would be removed but not the jumpers between switch pins.

If you want to be true to Dave's drawings, you'd probably need to change the yellow and white connection points from pickups to switch. You could even add OMG caps! THEN look at Dave's mod.

Ken...

Jeez! How many times am I gonna edit this thing?!

[metrollsta]

If you want to be true to Dave's drawings, you'd probably need to change the yellow and white connection points from pickups to switch.

That's exactly what I accomplished today. Firstly, I followed Dave's stock drawing to wire everything. To my delight, a quick test revealed that everything was functioning exactly as it did in the original setup, prior to my recent modifications. So far, so good.

Next, I tackled Dave's "Parallel - Single Coil Outside Mod (Stock Hardware)" and successfully completed the task. Now, only the outer coils are active, resulting in a very usable sound. Fantastic!

However, I was also curious about the sound of the "Parallel - Single Coil Inside Mod (Stock Hardware)". I made some adjustments to the wiring, following Dave's drawing, and can confirm that it worked as intended. Isn't it wonderful when you have an accurate drawing to use as a reference?

Considering my limited soldering skills, it took me a considerable amount of time to make the changes. Nevertheless, it was definitely worth the effort. I'm extremely pleased with the new sounds and have no regrets about sacrificing the Series Mode. Perhaps in the future, I'll purchase a new 3-position switch and implement Dave's "SC Outside - Parallel - SC Inside Mod (3-Position 4PDT)."

Ken, I can't thank you enough for your fantastic support. You've been a true lifesaver. If we were in person, I'd love to show my gratitude by buying you a beer!

[Ken Baker]

Ken, I can't thank you enough for your fantastic support. You've been a true lifesaver. If we were in person, I'd love to show my gratitude by buying you a beer!

You're welcome! Glad it all worked out in the end.

Ken...

[metrollsta]

Hello again,

In the meantime I got a 3-way on-on-on switch (4PDT, MPN: 1M46T1B5M1QE). My plan is to use it for the Single Coil Outside - Parallel - Single Coil Inside Mod from DavePlaysBass (chapter 9). See photo attached. I soldered everything as in Dave's drawing. However, something seems to be wrong, so I have to ask for some help again.

In two of the switch positions only the coils closer to the neck are active. And in the third position all coils are off. Any ideas what this could be caused by?

I was also irritated that the black cables of the pickups, BLK_N and BLK_B, are not included in the drawing. I have therefore not soldered them and the cables are just dangling around. Is that correct? Are they only needed for the Series Mode?

I also have an extra black cable left over that was previously soldered to the back of the volume pot for grounding, because Dave's drawing doesn't have any cables grounded.

[Ken Baker]

See the little downward-pointing triangle below?



That is the schematic symbol for ground.

This is a common style used in circuit diagrams, where grounded leads aren't extended to an explicit connection point.

Ken...

[metrollsta]

Thanks again, Ken. I must have overlooked that part.
Now that I have grounded the black wires, everything is working as it should! I love it!