Jimmy Page with Independent Volumes

[frets]

Hi,
I got a guy who wants a Jimmy Page with independent Volumes where there is independent volumes on B+N. I’ve heard of this, never wired it; and, wondered if anyone has a diagram on it? Im thinking you just reverse on lugs 1 and 2 of the Volumes. Am I off base on that? Anyway, a diagram would be helpful, thank you guys😺

[unreg]

Ummm…

From this Les Paul with Single Coil, Series/Parallel, and Out-of-Phase Options on the Phostenix Pages (like the 2nd setup from the top):

The volume pots on this setup are wired like a typical modern Les Paul. If you turn one volume all the way down in the normal parallel connection mode, the Middle position will also have no output. I chose this over having fully independent volumes in parallel mode so that the volume controls will work independently when you switch to series connection mode. In series mode, when you select the Middle position, you can use the volume pots to blend more or less of one of the pickups to the in-series sound. Since 2 humbuckers in series is usually overpowering, this allows you to back one of the pickups volumes down to get a range of usable sounds.

The diagram:



I looked up Jimmy Page, so I know it is HH… but I don’t know much else; hope this helps somehow.

[reTrEaD]

Jul 11, 2023 13:22:51 GMT -5 frets said:

Hi,
I got a guy who wants a Jimmy Page with independent Volumes where there is independent volumes on B+N. I’ve heard of this, never wired it; and, wondered if anyone has a diagram on it? Im thinking you just reverse on lugs 1 and 2 of the Volumes. Am I off base on that? Anyway, a diagram would be helpful, thank you guys😺

That's it, in a nutshell. By connecting the wiper to the input and the CW lug to the output, you eliminate the problem of one volume completely killing the volume from the other pickup, when both pickups are selected. It also does a slightly better job of 'blending' when one pickup is at full volume and you want to reduce the contribution of the other pickup, slightly. It slightly decreases the load on the full volume pickup when in that condition.

One thing it does extremely poorly is: act as a volume control. For instance, if you have Neck only selected and turn the Neck Volume counter-clockwise from maximum, there will be a huge tone-suck, long before the volume is noticeably reduced. If you do this reversed wiring of volume pots for a customer, be sure to make them aware of this limitation so there are no surprises after the work is finished.


Regarding Jimmy Page wiring, there are more versions of that than you can shake a stick at. One of the better (perhaps the best) is this one: JH's Jimmy Page

[JohnH]

Yes to what reTrEaD says. It's a terrible idea if the purpose of a volume control is to control volume! And as for mixes, it's ok as a way of blending a little of one pickup with full volume of another, but not really good and as you turn down, one pickup will quickly disappear. It's likely to be particularly bad in a series mode unless it can be configured not to put overall resistance in series

I think some bassists like it.

I wouldn't put my name on a diagram of it though.

But apart from that, it's all great and maybe the customer knows what they want!

[reTrEaD]

Jul 12, 2023 2:45:38 GMT -5 JohnH said:

as you turn down, one pickup will quickly disappear.

That can be mitigated to some extent, by using linear pots for the volume controls. When two pickups that have their own volume controls are combined directly in parallel, rotating one volume control CCW introduces some series resistance. If the other pickup is at full volume, it's internal resistance combine with the series resistance introduced by the volume control of the first pickup to create a voltage divider. This is true whether the volume pots are wired normally or reversed. Since a linear pot is 'slower' at the clockwise end of the rotation than an audio taper, this makes blending out one pickup a bit more gradual. Fwiw, Gibson used 300k linear pots for the volume controls and 500k audio taper pots for the tone controls on their 2v 2t Les Paul wiring.

Jul 12, 2023 2:45:38 GMT -5 JohnH said:

I think some bassists like it.

Any bassist who has used a Fender Jazz Bass (or PJ Bass) has experience with it. It's the only sensible way to combine two pickups in parallel without a selector switch.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jul 12, 2023 2:45:38 GMT -5 JohnH said:

It's likely to be particularly bad in a series mode unless it can be configured not to put overall resistance in series

Good point. That's another thing the customer should be aware of so there are no surprises.

[frets]

Thanks guys,
I appreciate it. I’m just giving the guy what he wants. Most customers are adamant even when you try to talk to them.

S, I’m just reversing the wires and that’s the end of it. I hope. Watch him bring it back and want traditional wiring.

[reTrEaD]

Jul 12, 2023 14:52:23 GMT -5 frets said:

Most customers are adamant even when you try to talk to them.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to inform them of the issues beforehand. Giving an informed customer what they want is exactly the right thing to do.

[sumgai]

Jul 12, 2023 16:33:39 GMT -5 reTrEaD said:

Giving an informed customer what they want is exactly the right thing to do

Indeed!

In my day, I had a mantra: "At the close of the business day, the money I got from an idiot customer is indistinguishable from the money I got from a reasonable customer."  (Substitute "informed" as needed.) This concept made my life a lot less stressful, once I got it packed into my head for good and ever. 

HTH




sumgai