swapping out pots and jack? Worth the trouble?

miketallica315 · #1 09-02-2010, 08:45 AM

Hello bass friends,
On friday of last week I bought a brand new 2009 Fender precision bass (sunburst/rosewood) with the intention of making my own '62 RI out of it. I am ordering the original 62 precision pickup from guitar center and the pickguard to match as well. My question is this, I was looking around on ebay and I came across pots and a jack from a 1999 American Vintage '62 RI. Should I swap out the mexican jacks as I am installing the '62? Would a difference in tone even be noticed? Would I also get the same tone effect from an American standard pot set? I really want this bass to sound its best. Please let me know what you think. I am thinking that the '62 RI pots/jack are going to be the way to go, but if you don't think that the tone would really be noticed then I wont bother with it. Thanks for your time everybody! Keep on thumpin'

Gord_oh · #2 09-02-2010, 08:52 AM

you probably wouldnt notice a difference, but ITWM i would do it just to have it matching.
as long as you dont break the bank on it.

i keep extra parts like that around because you never know.

i have geddy lee pups and an upgraded control plate just lying around screaming "build another jazz bass".

funkybassinator · #3 09-02-2010, 08:57 AM

Probably not worth it. At least for the jack. If the MIM pots work fine and aren't scratchy noisy etc., I'd just leave em. AFAIK, the only thing that effects pot performance is impedance. What you might want to do is swap out the stock capacitor for one of these: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/e...capsorange.htm (I think you want the .047mfd one). I have no experience with that though, I have just heard it recommended around here. See if someone else will chime in.

Jefenator · #4 09-02-2010, 09:45 AM

I don't have any experience with MIM electronics. If the pots and jack were lighter-duty than MIA, I'd be wanting to upgrade them. (I've experienced failures with both & it's nice to keep that as infrequent as possible IMO.)

Unless that '99 American reissue wiring harness goes for super cheap, I'd just buy new parts (CTS pots, Switchcraft jack) and wire it up myself.

I've had good luck with this source:

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/b...wiringkits.htm

The stuff is good quality and the "kit" runs around $15.

miketallica315 · #5 09-02-2010, 10:09 AM

That '99 RI harness is $40. To me, that isn't bad. But if that is going to give me the same tone as the CTS then those are cheeper.

mulchor · #6 09-02-2010, 10:27 AM

This is not a vintage restoration project or anything like that.

So I'd keep them as is unless there's something in poor condition, which isn't likely on a 2009.

$40's an awful lot to pay for no change.

SurferJoe46 · #7 09-02-2010, 11:05 AM

Unless there's something seriously wrong with the cap and pots in the bass now, then replacing them is an act of futility.

You won't hear any difference if you go like-for-like anyway.

What could be wrong with the existing parts? Broken or out of specs or internally the pots could be worn out.

Why would you want to change something that's not broken? Bragging rights - but not much else.

Change out the jack for a better quality as they are often the place where the electronics go south first - in a physical bad connection. There are no Ohm/Watt/Amp qualifications to the jack that can improve anything, and it's just the security of holding the male end a little better/snugger/tighter to make a better connection, that's all.

You can add a little something to your TONE by way of a toggle switch and another cap to change the HIGH-CUT a little (or a lot).

I went for A LOT by putting a .1uF cap switchable into the output with just a flick of a switch.

And you don't need to buy a 'DROP' type cap. You can get some nice ones at Radio Schlack, and they come in twosies and threesies for a very low price.

Voltage ratings on a cap for the voltages we are running don't matter at all.

Here's a stock P-Bass set up:::

SGD Lutherie · #8 09-02-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miketallica315

That '99 RI harness is $40. To me, that isn't bad. But if that is going to give me the same tone as the CTS then those are cheeper.

Pots don't have a tone. A CTS pot "sounds" like an Alpha.

Unless they don't work well there's no reason to change them.

And $40 is too much for that. You can get a rewiring kit from Mojo for $14.95 and that includes CTS pots, Switchcraft jack, and an orange drop cap... but they wont change the tone.

If on the other hand the pots are scratchy and wont clean up, or have a bad feeling taper, or you just want better quality parts, then you can change them. But don't spend $40 for that stuff. That's a rip off.

BigOldHarry · #9 09-02-2010, 02:39 PM

I would not bother. Only reason I'd do it is is the current parts are faulty.

CapnSev · #10 09-02-2010, 02:45 PM

Unless you don't like the taper of the pots, or the value of the cap, I wouldn't bother.

walterw · #11 09-02-2010, 09:09 PM

i'm all about upgrading parts on instruments, but the mexican standard pots are the same cts as the american.

a better pickup should be all the electronic upgrading you need.

SGD Lutherie · #12 09-02-2010, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

i'm all about upgrading parts on instruments, but the mexican standard pots are the same cts as the american.

Well that's decent of them.

Quote:

a better pickup should be all the electronic upgrading you need.

I agree.

Bassman822 · #13 09-02-2010, 09:29 PM

AFAIK the newer MIM Fenders have better quality pots and jack that the earlier ones. I have 91 MIM Jazz and its pickups/pots/jack were all junk. My 95 MIM Jazz at least has better quality pots

miketallica315 · #14 09-03-2010, 07:00 AM

Thank you to everyone who gave their help. I am glad that there are websites like this that a bass player can come to and get some help from fellow bass players around the globe. Again, thanks from Toledo, (OH)

MrLenny1 · #15 09-03-2010, 07:18 AM

In my experience the input jack is always junk and will break down on you.
My Yamaha cheapy P bass had junk PU's,Pots and input jack.
I replaced all 3 with all American Fender parts and now it's a very nice P bass.
Yamaha always has a good playing instrument IMHO.

rojo412 · #16 09-03-2010, 07:21 AM

I agree with the advice above and this job is one where it's no big deal to swap a pickup...

But personally, I'm one of those people who goes the route of:
"well, if I have to take this all apart, I may as well do everything."

If your pots are good, then you don't need to replace them.
Instead of the pots, you may want to invest in some shielding and do that, while the bass is apart.
Just a thought.

bassbenj · #17 09-03-2010, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

Pots don't have a tone. A CTS pot "sounds" like an Alpha.

Unless they don't work well there's no reason to change them.

And $40 is too much for that. You can get a rewiring kit from Mojo for $14.95 and that includes CTS pots, Switchcraft jack, and an orange drop cap... but they wont change the tone.

If on the other hand the pots are scratchy and wont clean up, or have a bad feeling taper, or you just want better quality parts, then you can change them. But don't spend $40 for that stuff. That's a rip off.

Exactly. The only reason to change pots is if they get "scratchy" and after you "poof" them with control cleaner the noise returns. Or perhaps you want to change the taper or value if you are into more advanced mods. You need to be a bit careful with pot changes too. They come with different size mounting threads and different shafts. Press-on knobs won't work on a solid shaft. You can tighten down a solid shaft knob onto a split shaft but the knob may wobble when you turn it! All this is the more reason to leave things that are working alone.

The orange drop tone cap is a must change ONLY if the instrument uses a cheap ceramic disk cap. They are prone to leakage and actual capacitance quite different from marked values. Any other (paper, mylar etc.) tone cap will be fine as is.

And lastly, by FAR the biggest problem with bass electronic parts is the jack. I've talked to a number of bass manufactures and they assure me that only switchcraft makes a jack that will do the job properly. All the other ones tend to use soft metal where that main contacting prong looses it's spring and pretty soon the jack gets noisy when the cord wiggles. Yes, you can go in and bend the prong to restore the tension but my experience is that pretty soon the tension is gone and the old problems are back. A nice sturdy switchcraft jack solves all that hassle. Note that not all basses can use a quality switchcraft jack because of the way they have extra contacts that operate when you plug in. Yours will, however. Note that many cheap Chinese jacks LOOK exactly like a Switchcraft jack but will have the soft metal parts. Word to the wise.