Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

That is a good idea. I recently put a 0.1uF cap in my bass and like the results.

How would I wire it? (The original cap will stay, the bypass and the second 0.1 uF cap will be connected to the switch)
Which switch?

There are a few ways to do this, but the simplest one with the least issues (popping, etc.) is this. Buy two 0.1uF film caps of your choice. Replace the 0.047uF tone cap (you have to decide which pickup's tone control you want to mod) with the two 0.1uF caps wired in series. Capacitors in series "sum" like resistors in parallel and vice-versa.

Now determine what type of switch you have. How many solder lugs are on it? Most likely there will be one row of three (single pole, double throw--SPDT) or two rows of three (double pole, double throw--DPDT). Either of these will work as you really only need a single throw. Run a wire from the middle lug of one of the rows of three lugs (the pole) to one end of ONE of your 0.1uF caps. Run a second wire from one of the outer lugs on the same row of the switch (one of the throws) to the other end of the same 0.1uF cap. When the switch is open, the two caps are in series and the effective tone cap is 0.047uF. When it is closed one cap is shorted and you have this short in series with a 0.1uF cap which results in a 0.1uF tone cap. Because you are shorting a cap you will not get popping.

If you want I can try to draw a diagram...

Replace the 0.047uF tone cap (you have to decide which pickup's tone control you want to mod) with the two 0.1uF caps wired in series.

I understand. But the problem is that I don't want to replace anything of the original wiring. I want to leave it original and just bypass the original treble cap of the bridge pickup. One simple bypass is easy using a 3 Pin On/off switch, but I think that the only way to leave the original cap and get a different filter frequency is parallel wiring with a second cap and a 6 Pin On/on/on switch.

By the way, I have 3 different switches:
- 3 Pin On/off
- 6 Pin On/off
- 6 Pin On/On/On

No. Resistors work in series to add value, but capacitors work in parallel. One SPDT or DPDT three position on-off-on switch will do. The one side will be a jumper over the existing .0047 cap. The middle (off) would be the stock wiring. The other side would be an additional .0047 in parallel to get a total of @ .01 capacitance to let a tad more low end through, so you get, in effect, the settings of bass on the bridge pickup of all-none-some. PM' me and I'll draw a schematic, pdf it, and send it to you email. That way, if you ever wanted to restore it to stock, all you have to do is clip the added wiring.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062486

God bless you Scott. That's exactly what I want.

I believe there is a bit of confusion here. We were discussing two mods in order to utilize both holes in the pickguard.
1. A switch to shunt/short the 0.0047 bass cap on the treble pickup. All that would needed is a SPST on/off switch.
2. The other mod was to switch capacitence on the tone control from 0.047 to 0.1. This could be done by switching in a second 0.047 cap in parallel with a SPST on/off switch. This would actually result in 0.094 with the second cap switched into the circuit. It would actually take two 0.05 caps to obtain the 0.1 value.
The other way to do this is as suggested by Doug. Putting two 0.1 caps in series obtaining 0.05 for the tone control. Then using a SPST on/off switch to shunt/short one of the two caps resulting in 0.1 in the tone circuit. This would be for one tone control only.

My comment of having wired my bass recently with a 0.1 was due that I wanted a little more bottom end. The bass is a single pickup 4000 with a non-stock pickup.

Take a look here: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_13/4.html

No confusion at all. The OP wants to retain as much original wiring as possible, but wants to add the variety with simplicity of operation. That's why I posted what I did. There are tons of ways to wire multiple switches and scores of variations on tonality. That's the easy part. The difficult part is to find a way to do it all simply, directly, and without the possible confusion in the middle of a song or gig of grabbing the wrong knob or switch when playing live. When it's going to be a performing instrument instead of a purely studio instrument or intellectual exercise as to a wiring possibility, the more simple and the more direct, the better.

Quite frankly as much as Mitch wants to retain the original wiring I think he should give in to a new pickguard and keep the original for resale value if it would even help or matter.

If the OP were adding switches or wanting to drill holes not already there, then yes, getting a Pickguardian and saving an original pickguard would be the way to go. He has a pickguard that already has two extra holes in it, and he's making the best of it. Any lost "resale value" has already happened.

As a forum, we are all too picky about putting older instruments up on a pedestal. That goes for everybody, including me. These are tools to be used to do what we love the most: play music. In this particular thread, the bass is not a pristine "closet classic" example as set forth in another thread. This is a player that has paid its dues and suffered at the hands of someone else. It's time to get it back to playability, preserve what is there, and go forth having fun.

These are tools to be used to do what we love the most: play music. In this particular thread, the bass is not a pristine "closet classic" example as set forth in another thread. This is a player that has paid its dues and suffered at the hands of someone else. It's time to get it back to playability, preserve what is there, and go forth having fun.

Thank you, Scott. That's it.

I think he should give in to a new pickguard and keep the original for resale value

Ken, the new pickguard is already on it's way. But, I'll use the bass like it is (with the 2 custom switches) and try to get the max out of it. As all the gimmicks will just be "docked on", I'll just have disconnect a few cables, put the new pickguard on, and it will be ready to go as a collectors item the day I want to sell it.

By the way, does anybody know who sells that kind of tape that's sticked to the backside of the original pickguard?

As far as I know it's masking tape.

ken_j wrote:As far as I know it's masking tape.

Yes. Plain and simple.

Ok, thank you