WalMan Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 I have a dilemma with sorting the pots on my Zon Legacy Elite. The volume pot had given up so needed replacing. Got pots from Zon and they sent 5, because apparently it is possible to move the mid control from inside the cavity to the front-end that seemed like a good idea. The usual place for this from other photos I have seen looks to be towards the back 'horn' as in the last mocked up picture. But now we have everything out of the cavity (and the mid control off the board 🤦♂️) it seems that there is no space in the back position because the shaft & legs on the new pots are shorter, so the board is pulled closer to the front, and there is a capacitor on the board in roughly the same position that will likely snag on the new mid pot. So do we persevere and try to find a way to squeeze it into the usual position, or do we go with an alternate layout as pictured making a five dice face configuration, and if so with a normal side control knob or a different smaller one? The enormous top hat example is obviously not an option 🤣 I do like this bass and am not looking to sell currently, but it may become surplus to requirements (or due to GAS) and is not cheap, so I don't want to be making a change that'll put a big old dent in the value down the line!! Currently stuck in horrendous indecision. Does the 5 dice layout work (it's growing on me) and if so do I go with a fifth standard size top or a smaller one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 All of those look crap to me. Why not just leave it in the cavity, where you haven't missed it all this time? 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 Yes indeed. Not sure whether we may be past that option as the board control is off. 😭 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Doctor J said: Why not just leave it in the cavity, where you haven't missed it all this time? For years I chose basses that had 3 band EQ only to find I never really used the mids. I now have 3 basses with treble / bass only and if I want more mids (rarely) I use my amp. I guess it comes down to whether you use this facility much. If not I'd just go with the 4 knob option and adjust mids in the cavity. If you find a way of getting the 5th knob into the cavity I would go with the last photo layout as it is what potential Zon owners would be familiar with and most likely hold its value better(?) Edited February 8, 2023 by Acebassmusic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 7 hours ago, Doctor J said: All of those look crap to me. Why not just leave it in the cavity, where you haven't missed it all this time? I've got to admit I agree with Doctor J on this. I dislike all of the configurations you've shared and wouldn't do it, especially given it's a Zon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingPrawn Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 I see this as being very simple. its a ZON. Can you move the capacitor or as suggested just leave it in the cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 None of the layouts to move the control to the face look very good to me. I hope you can solve this dilemma without too much issue. A Legacy is a very special bass indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 Mirroring what everyone else is saying... don't add the 5th knob to the outside, they all look awkward and obviously not 'factory'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 It is an option as seen HERE BE A PIC but working out how to do that is a problem. Currently investigating putting the pot back on the board as it apparently came off cleanly so is hopefully possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 Definitely the last one for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 If you plan to sell the bass, which is something will all end up doing, don't do anything to this Zon that will turn it into an obviously diy modified bass (and all your layouts are just suggesting this). And as @Doctor J said, you didn't miss the mid control before, so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munurmunuh Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 Not so much a tangent, as a scarcely relevant interruption. Sorry. In my daydreams, I have a bass that on the outside has vol + tone knobs, and a three-way switch. A pair of Nordstrand Big Splits. BB neck, TRBX body On the inside are 12 trimpots: 2 sets of neck vol / bridge vol / treble / mids / mids freq / bass. The switch on the front goes between these two nicely set — sorry, these two "sculpted" tones. The third position is neck pickup, passive. I know what I like, and I don't need to have the knobs sitting in front of me, distractingly asking to be twiddled with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 21 hours ago, Acebassmusic said: If you find a way of getting the 5th knob into the cavity I would go with the last photo layout as it is what potential Zon owners would be familiar with and most likely hold its value better(?) This is good advice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 9, 2023 Author Share Posted February 9, 2023 11 hours ago, Downunderwonder said: This is good advice. The control was originally in the cavity on the board adjusted by screwdriver through the control cavity cover. Currently investigating putting it back. Getting it into expected position for five knobs on the front seems unlikely to be possible unless anyone at Zon can tell us how Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwilym Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 No to adding the 5th knob for all the reasons already given. Adding the mid pot in the cavity is a good option, also you could then potentially move one of the other knobs into the cavity and have the mids on the front along with bass or treble. Alternatively get a stacked pot so you can have e.g. treble/mid stacked and bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 We’re looking at putting the original mid control back in the control cavity on the board where it always been and giving up on the idea of putting a pot on the front (a suggestion by Zon as a possibility in the first place when I talked to them about replacing the pots) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 On 08/02/2023 at 12:39, WalMan said: it seems that there is no space in the back position because the shaft & legs on the new pots are shorter, so the board is pulled closer to the front, and there is a capacitor on the board in roughly the same position that will likely snag on the new mid pot. Or you could wire the ppt up via 3 very short wires, rather than directly on the pcb … but I think you are possibly right in not modding if it’s not easy to do simply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 4 hours ago, LukeFRC said: Or you could wire the ppt up via 3 very short wires, rather than directly on the pcb … but I think you are possibly right in not modding if it’s not easy to do simply Indeed. The other possibility we talked about last night was cutting down the shaft of the extra pot that came from Zon and finding a way to fix it in the cavity so that the split shaft presents flush to the hole that was originally in the back plate for the mid control originally on the board. Depends whether the old mid pot will go back easily or not, but then it would be broadly back the way it was before with the Mid control on the board and adjusted through the backplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 25, 2023 Author Share Posted February 25, 2023 We ended up back at as it was with a couple of tweaks to get the board to fit, but essentially it is unchanged. Email from Joe Zon following up on a couple of queries as to how to make it fit Quote Thought I’d address this directly. The way I mod the old basses is by removing the treble and mid control from the board and reconnecting them with wires. I then drill another hole forward to the where the treble control was positioned. With the extra hole, the mid control now lives where the treble control did and the treble control lives in the newly drilled hole. Regarding the jack, this is a bit tricky. You have to pull the jack through the hole in the body and then insert the board. Snug the board down and then push the jack in. Getting the wires around the board can be difficult, but doable. If the jack contacts the board, a portion of the board can be cut away, as long as the traces (silver lines) are not damaged. As long as the little white nib on the inside of the jack can move freely and the plug stays intact, you’ll be fine. If necessary, we could zoom with the repair person to solve this together. Just waiting on a meet up to pick up the bass 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 No way to rewire the bass and treble controls onto a stacked pot? Or use a circuit that isn't the standard Zon/Bartolini one? Something like an East Uni-Pre wouldn't irritate any future buyers as long as it was cleanly installed as it's clearly an upgrade from the stock setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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