| They're the bridging resistors Fender used so the tone controls wouldn't interact. Without them (as the Vintage Series are made) turning down the tone control on the bridge pickups also shunts highs to ground from the neck PUP.
They also reduce the output, which is why Fender decided to leave them out when they started the Vintage Series in 1982. And, it's why Jaco yanked out the stacked pots and modded his 1961-ish (I think) "Bass of Doom" to have a V/V/T set up instead of the stock stacked set up.
jte
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