Sardonicus Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 (edited) In all my years playing, I don't think I've ever used my tone knobs, I've always had everything full on and adjusted my sound with my right hand, if I want a rounder sound I play nearer the neck and if I want a brighter sound I play nearer the bridge. In light of this, would it make any difference if I disconnected my tone knobs and just had the pickups wired to the volume knobs only? I'd be interested in your comments. Edited September 25, 2019 by Big Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I rarely use the tone knobs, but I'm not sure if bypassing them entirely would make any difference or not. The man to ask is @KiOgon who is a specialist in bass electronics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 The load will be different. You'll get a bit more highs and a bit more output, but sometimes it's hardly audible. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky 4000 Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 13 minutes ago, Big Rich said: I'd be interested in your comments. I found the guides here interesting: https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Learn_About_Guitar_Pickups_and_Electronics_and_Wiring/How_a_tone_control_works.html 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardonicus Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 1 hour ago, Big Rich said: In all my years playing, I don't think I've ever used my tone knobs, I've always had everything full on and adjusted my sound with my right hand, if I want a rounder sound I play nearer the neck and if I want a brighter sound I play nearer the bridge. In light of this, would it make any difference if I disconnected my tone knobs and just had the pickups wired to the volume knobs only? I'd be interested in your comments. @KiOgon I have been told by @Teebs that you are the Yoda of bass electronics, with your knowledge grace me you must. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 3 hours ago, Hellzero said: The load will be different. You'll get a bit more highs and a bit more output, but sometimes it's hardly audible. IME this. How much more will very much depend on the impedance of the pickup and values of the tone pot and capacitor you have removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 It will sound a bit harsher, so then you might find yourself needing a tone knob all of a sudden! I tried rewiring the S1 switch on my Precision to a tone/vol bypass, it sounded thinner that way, so switched it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 If you remove pots and caps from the signal path, the signal gets slightly louder, and the frequency response gets a bit wider. This is the reason people talk about harshness. I have a bass with just a pickup wired to the output jack. I do the adjustments in the pedalboard and/or amp. Works like a dream - for me. The thing to have pots in the instrument has a lot to do with being able to do some sound tweaking quickly. Two switches for vol and tone would be a very fast option. (Carbon track pots are of low quality (noisy, unreliable...), but no one is interested in them, if the adjustments are needed. A higher quality conductive plastic pot - like blue Bourns - costs some more, but not that much.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Let's think about this thing another way around: vol + tone + bypass switch. If you set vol fully ccw (to 0), the switch becomes a killswitch, if that is in need. If the vol is set anywhere >0, you get two sounds from the bass with a flick of a switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardonicus Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 1 hour ago, itu said: Let's think about this thing another way around: vol + tone + bypass switch. If you set vol fully ccw (to 0), the switch becomes a killswitch, if that is in need. If the vol is set anywhere >0, you get two sounds from the bass with a flick of a switch. I'm installing new pups soon so I'm going from vol+vol+tone+tone to vol+vol+tone. It makes sense to keep a tone knob rather than try to fix what isn't broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 On 25/09/2019 at 14:22, Big Rich said: In all my years playing, I don't think I've ever used my tone knobs, I've always had everything full on and adjusted my sound with my right hand, if I want a rounder sound I play nearer the neck and if I want a brighter sound I play nearer the bridge. In light of this, would it make any difference if I disconnected my tone knobs and just had the pickups wired to the volume knobs only? I'd be interested in your comments. I've done a build and a number of mods for @wwcringe (Tom) where the tone circuit is completely by-passable or isn't in place at all. Tom's preference is, in any case, to use rotary switches rather than potentiometers so, in most cases, the signal is going straight from the pickup to the jack. My view is the same as @Hellzero 's in terms of an A/B comparison but I doubt if you'd notice the difference as the volume and tone difference from different venues has a much bigger impact than any bypassing of a full-off pot would. Very easy to try it - it's just a single disconnected wire from the volume pot to the tone pot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardonicus Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: I've done a build and a number of mods for @wwcringe (Tom) where the tone circuit is completely by-passable or isn't in place at all. Tom's preference is, in any case, to use rotary switches rather than potentiometers so, in most cases, the signal is going straight from the pickup to the jack. My view is the same as @Hellzero 's in terms of an A/B comparison but I doubt if you'd notice the difference as the volume and tone difference from different venues has a much bigger impact than any bypassing of a full-off pot would. Very easy to try it - it's just a single disconnected wire from the volume pot to the tone pot. I'll try it both ways, with the wire disconnected and then connected, I'll let my ears be the judges. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 Schecter Baron H dUg pinnick signature bass is volume only as an example. I have a bass I made with a Creamery 58 pick up (the pick up is amazing), which was wired with a Tonestyler Bass Ten. Took the tonestyler our for another project, now it’s volume only-it’s still bloody brilliant, probably won’t bother with a tone knob at all now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 I had a guitar with a tone pot that had a bypass setting on it and as others have said above, it was just like adding in a bit of extra high end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassalarky Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 My bass has just a volume knob, sounds fine 😀 As others have said, maybe a touch 'wider' tone from the pickup (passive mm type) but there's plenty of tone control on the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelDeVille Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 I think I leave my tone knob on 7 so when I turn it to 10 I feel like I did something, and it has a purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 I thought a tone knob was someone who believes that the wood used to make the bass has some magical effect on the sound of the finished bass!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelDeVille Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 1 hour ago, FinnDave said: I thought a tone knob was someone who believes that the wood used to make the bass has some magical effect on the sound of the finished bass!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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