Problems with L-2000 single coil mod

[fender3x]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

I pretty much play in passive all the time myself, so I've never really payed much attention to the active circuit and generally don't even have a battery in the bass (I know that the active guts are still in the circuit even in passive, so I prefer to keep them from affecting the tone as much as possible!). I'm sure it could be wired as you are suggesting, though I don't really see the point if you never use the treble boost...
One big concern worth mentioning is that the control cavity on an L2000 is ALREADY packed to near capacity with wiring, pots, switches, and the preamp- I have one stacked pot and one push/pull in mine, and there is literally only JUST enough room to pack the preamp in (G&L glues the pre to the back of one of the pots from the factory). Another concern I would have about your proposal is that the most readily available push/pull pots, the Alpha branded ones, are kinda flimsy feeling when pulled out- I think using one would be fine, but I know from experience that they will tend to turn really easily when pulled out. Alpha pots simply are not the greatest pots in the world, so I wouldn't recommend using a bunch of them in your bass if you can avoid it! Also, the 1 Meg ohm value push/pull needed for the bass cut are not as readily available as other values (Stewart Mac doesn't carry them, though a Google search does bring a couple results).

Karl

Wow, that's really helpful.

The lack of real estate in the control cavity does not bother me too much, since I plan to move the battery to an external location. I *could* put the pre in the battery cavity, which would give me room for push-pull pots.

The other problems you raise are more difficult. The flimsiness of the pots...the difficulty getting the 1k push-pull...

...and then there is my own basic ignorance to contend with. I didn't even know that the pot was 1k!

It is still looking like the simplest solution might be to add a fourth switch.

The little playing out I have done, I leave the bass in passive or active, but have not used the t-boost. That does not mean I never will...which accounts for my reluctance to eliminate it altogether.

An additional hole won't hurt my resale value if I don't sell the bass...also I have the flaky crapazoid swirly finish (don't get me started) anyway or I wouldn't even consider putting an additional hole in the front.

[sunbeast]

Then I say go for it! And the bass pot is 1M, not 1K ! Same value pot used on some Telecaster guitars.

Karl

[fender3x]

Originally Posted by sunbeast

Then I say go for it! And the bass pot is 1M, not 1K ! Same value pot used on some Telecaster guitars.

Karl

Oops! Now to find out what the difference is between the tribby and US 3 way switches is...

[rotassator]

Well, it's taken a while, but I'd like to report that my mate finally sorted out the original problems with the mod wiring.

To refresh everyone's memory, I enlisted a friend to do DavePlaysBass' mod to enable switching between Single Coil (outside) / Parallel / Single Coil (inside). However, something went weird with the mod. Read the OP for more details.

I now LOOOOOOOOVE this bass. I had never quite gelled with either series or parallel modes for most songs/styles I play. Now with the mod installed, I am very happy.

I played the bass in church last Sunday and it gave me pretty convincing P-Bass tones (SC outside, neck pickup), J tones (SC outside, both pickups or back pickup) and something like a punchy, ringy Music Man tone (SC inside, both). Awe. Some. The SC modes are currently my favourite settings.

For the record, the problem with the mod was that one pair of grounds had been soldered to the wrong place (the bass tone pot, I imagine).

So very glad to have this bass back, and couldn't be happier.

Steve.