Two pickup, two volume knob wiring diagram

Sparks

I built a guitar during lockdown with a single PAF and a single volume knob. But I realise that I play neck pickups most of all, so I've now got a second matching pickup ready to fit. I left enough room in the control cavity for a second knob, just in case I wanted a tone control. So I'm thinking that I'll add a route for the second pickup, a second volume control, and just have it set up so you can blend each pickup in as much as you want, rather than having a switch. Are there any reasons I shouldn't go that route? And if not, does anyone have a wiring diagram for a setup like that?

FelineGuitars

Look at a jazz bass wiring diagram and leave out the tone control

Funkfingers

Blending offers (theoretically) infinite sonic variety but makes changes between specific sounds more difficult - mainly, slower - than a selector switch.

Quite often, fewer is more.

SteveRobinson

Yes, a switch and the single volume would be much more usable

ICBM

My preference would be a switch and a volume, as Steve said. Some people do like the blending option - but for me, unless the pickups are out of phase, the range of sounds between both pickups up full and when one of them is turned down to where it becomes inaudible (very quickly, in practice) is too small to be useful and too difficult to dial in. Others say there are an infinite range of subtle shades!

If you haven’t tried both options already you may not know which you prefer, in which case my advice would be to start with the two volumes, since a switch needs a slightly larger hole and you can open it out later, but not (as neatly) the other way round.

If you’re interested in the out-of-phase option that can easily be done with a push-pull pot.

Also, the wiring for two volumes - Jazz Bass minus the tone control, as FelineGuitars said - is slightly noisier than switch & volume, since the output is not grounded when the controls are turned down… if that matters to you.