.068 vs .1 caps- 2 basses same pickups- one's brighter than the other

[Pbman]

I went with a 500k after some back and forth. It's slight but enough to open up the sound

Thanks!!

 

[DJ Bebop]

Both have the exact same strings that are the exact same age?

Same string heights?
Same pickup heights?
Same neck relief?

A lot of unseen or unthought-of things can make a difference.

 

[Pbman]

yes to all

 

[JenderBazzFass]

The tone cap's effect on the tone becomes more pronounced as the knob is turned down, it affects how much is being rolled off at a given knob position, so if you're running the tone at 10 you aren't hearing it.

 

[Pbman]

thanks

 

[jdjk7]

Thoughts please-

2 bass's- both with Rosewood necks

Bass 1- Fender 2023 AVRI Series 2 (Alder) P bass stock with PV 60's- .1 PV white cap

Bass 2- Starr Guitars- Ash Body- with PV 60's- .068 mylar cap

The Series 2 has more detail in the high end when the treble is open all the way. Not with the Ash. Ash sounds duller when opened up.

Will the .1 in the Ash open that up too?

Thanks!

Others have recommended the no-load pots, which is a good idea if what you want is high-end detail. However, what I've come to as my preferred solution for this type of situation is, bypassing the volume and tone knob with a switch. This accomplishes the same thing as no-load pots, but you can get a lot more utility out of it because you can switch it on and off without futzing with the knobs positions.

 

[Pbman]

I installed the 500k instead, it seems to help a bit. Plus I checked my setup. It may have bee a little to straight and some of the strings may have been hitting

 

[micguy]

Neither will matter a bit when the tone knob is dimed.

This is the absolute truth - you won't hear a difference with the tone control anywhere north of "half tone", but when you get down to the tone control almost off, you will hear some difference. If you're hearing differences with the tone controls on full between two basses, it isn't the tone capacitor that's doing that.

I posted a thread called "how tone controls work" a while back that explains this in more detail:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/how-tone-controls-work.1644471/

 

[micguy]

I was thinking wide open. Caps are cheap, go for it. If you don't like it... it's soldering 101 time, or get CTS pots... you'll be glad you did.

CTS pots are more reliable than some pots, but not the most reliable you can get. They won't sound any different than any other pot of the same value, so long as both pots you are comparing are working.

 

[micguy]

I installed the 500k instead, it seems to help a bit. Plus I checked my setup. It may have bee a little to straight and some of the strings may have been hitting

500 K pots will make a bass a bit brighter sounding than 250 K's at full volume, but if the volume control is a 500K, it will be duller when you turn the volume down than a 250 K pot.

 

[B-string]

I tried bypassing both pots. I went on and off with them in and out of the circuit , no difference.

A word to all. If you want to try bypassing the tone control be sure to lift one lead of the cap. If it remains the "R" in the RC circuit is placed on the pickup coils and is not only variable but is affected by the inductance of the pickup coils (an LRC circuit).

 

[B-string]

A word to all. If you want to try bypassing the tone control be sure to lift one lead of the cap. If it remains the "R" in the RC circuit is placed on the pickup coils and is not only variable but is affected by the inductance of the pickup coils (an LRC circuit).

I just realized this might sound more dramatic than need be. The bottom line is you can't "hear" the natural "voice" of the pickups if you don't lift one cap lead to remove it from the circuit when bypassing the tone pot.

 

[Yahboy]

Thoughts please-

2 bass's- both with Rosewood necks

Bass 1- Fender 2023 AVRI Series 2 (Alder) P bass stock with PV 60's- .1 PV white cap

Bass 2- Starr Guitars- Ash Body- with PV 60's- .068 mylar cap

The Series 2 has more detail in the high end when the treble is open all the way. Not with the Ash. Ash sounds duller when opened up.

Will the .1 in the Ash open that up too?

Thanks!

A500K or 1Meg volume pot .