MMB-4 electronics?

Sorry folks, full of questions today!

Just looking at the MMB-4 kit: it comes with a single pickup, but a control plate with two volume and one tone pots. Why are there two volume controls? I guess if you could split the humbucker you might use them to control each "side" but that wouldn't seem to make much sense - and I'm not even sure if it would be possible with the stock pickup...

I've been looking at this kit as a potential build, maybe using an EMG MMCS active pickup, but that only has a single volume and tone control, so I guess I'd have to get a different control plate to avoid having to have a dummy knob fill the gap.

Hi Chuck, I haven't built one of these but presume it has a volume and master volume and tone, which doesn't make any sense to me either. I'd have a read of some other MMB-4 build diaries to see if you can find out any more info.
Someone (could have been Arzi) routed a neck pickup and used the extra control for that.
If you do upgrade to a coil splittable humbucker you could use one of the extra controls to coil split maybe ?

Don't worry about too many questions that's what the forum is here for !

Or PM Pablopepper he built one 2nd half of last year can probably answer your question.

I did look through the archives to find build diaries but the only two I found were Arzi's - yes, he did rout for a second pickup - and an old one by Peter H, but his kit came with the second pickup routing already in it!

Hey Chuck I think Peter H had DB route the neck pup cavity before the kit was delivered.

I figured that might have been the case. I think I'd want to stick with the single pickup - a while ago I was toying with the idea of having an instrument with two output jacks to send to different amps so maybe that could be the novel approach for using the remaining hole on the plate!! (Even if I never use it!!)

yes Chuck there are plenty of options what to do with the spare hole in the control plate. Maybe a mini switch for disco lights ? hahah

Just looked at the original MM bass - it comes with a volume and a two-band active EQ, so that explains the three knobs/one pickup idea that the kit copies...

ah ok cool I was going to ask what the original control plate had. Well there's another option get an active pup and eq !

Which reminds me that's what Pablo did installed an active EQ and routed a battery box in the back of the body. He also plugged the G tuner and put it on the bottom side of the headstock to make it look authentic.

I put a preamp in mine so I have one volume and a high and low pass. I assumed the original was one volume for each coil of the humbucker.

Oh and i highly recommend looking at a preamp. I got a belcat one for around $20 and it made the stock pickup sound really good.

That's a great idea Pabs - I'll investigate further! Thank you!

Just had a look at the Belcat website - the preamp section is huge! By any chance can you remember which one you got Pabs?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400368322849

This is the one. I snipped off the blend pot.

good score Pabs that's cheap as chips, just got to allow probably 4-6 weeks to ship from China

I'll bookmark the page in case I end up building another bass haha

Thanks Pabs - that looks great!

better order it soon Chuck, says delivery could be up to late February !

I know! I know!

It's the same arrangement as on an OLP MM copy I had. Each coil of the pickup is wired out to its own volume control and there's a common tone control. So it's rather like a standard JB arrangement, except the two coils are sitting next to each other rather than spaced apart.

The PBG wiring diagram shows it: http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...MMB-4_2014.pdf

On the OLP, the effect of both coils on fully was a very full deep rich sound, a lot thicker than a PB sound and not really like two single coils in parallel. But that's obviously how they're wired on the PBG kit. By mixing the two volume levels you could get quite a wide range of tones - though unless the volumes were matched, you did get some buzz creeping in as you lost the noise-cancelling effect.

Yep, it's probably a bit clearer with the SD MM 2V 1T diagram (for those interested).

Thanks Simon and Weirdy, those two diagrams finally have it making sense!