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All basses should have a passive tone control. Period.

#41
ctmullins said:
Thanks, but more specifically - what does a PTC do that an active treble cut doesn't do?

Is it the resonant peak when the PTC is rolled all the way off? Or something else?
Click to expand...
I personally like using the tone roll off in conjunction with a treble boost, I find it adds some brightness and serious bite, without the zing !
I figure it creates some sort of bump in the highs, followed by a gentle high cut, which mimics the resonant peak / hi roll off thing ?
My East Uni-Pre even has a "bright" switch, which by it's own could be too glassy for my tastes but is nicely tamed by the passive tone control. They definitely do not completely cancel each other out, but rather combine to create something different.
 
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#42
XLunacy said:
I personally like using the tone roll off in conjunction with a treble boost, I find it adds some brightness and serious bite, without the zing !
I figure it creates some sort of bump in the highs, followed by a gentle high cut, which mimics the resonant peak / hi roll off thing ?
My East Uni-Pre even has a "bright" switch, which by it's own could be too glassy for my tastes but is nicely tamed by the passive tone control. They definitely do not completely cancel each other out, but rather combine to create something different.
Click to expand...
I concur - even for settings with the passive tone rolled back, my Roscoe Century Standard Plus sounds best with active bass & treble boost still engaged.
Ironically, out of all the active instruments I've had, the one that finally has a tone knob is the one that needs it the least. (The tone is inherently gentle & organic.)
 
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#44
ClusterFlux said:
I prefer passive. But...

There is no magic to a tone knob. It's just a low-pass filter. There are lots of ways to add that function to your pedalboard.
Click to expand...
It’s not usually going to give the same results as putting the tone control directly after passive pickups in the circuit though. Once your signal hits a buffer (including the onboard preamp) the response changes quite a bit. I personally find the response of a typical passive tone control to be too non-linear for my taste in many cases, but for people that prefer that tone/response it is definitely best done right after the pickups in the circuit which means pre onboard preamp
 
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#45
Now... I'm trying to build this Obp-3 for a Jazzbass:
-Vol + Tone (dual knob) (better if tone works in active mode too)
-Blend
-Bass
-Mid
-Treble
-Active/passive switch
-Mid freq switch


Any wiring diagram for this OBP3 ?
Thanks in advance
 
#48
I’ve had a couple basses with an inherently smooth tone that didn’t need a passive tone control, but I’ve also had a couple that were too edgy and didn’t have one. They ended up on the block so I’ve taken the approach with a new bass - better to have one and not need it.
 
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#51
The best compromise I have found is with the EMG modular preamp systems. After the pickups and after the pre, and any other module you want in the signal chain, I put at the end of the signal chain one of the tone knobs that comes with an EMG active pickup just before the output jack. I find that by putting it here I can roll it off to 9 and kill any residual hiss, to 8 to tame new string zing until the strings seat in, or I can use it as you would a passive tone control, setting all the preamp knobs to neutral, for a more passive feel.
 
#52
ctmullins said:
Thanks, but more specifically - what does a PTC do that an active treble cut doesn't do?

Is it the resonant peak when the PTC is rolled all the way off? Or something else?
Click to expand...

The biggest benefit of a passive treble cut on an active circuit is that you can cut highs without losing gain. Many active treble cuts work more like a notch filter, they cut frequencies around (both above and below) the center frequency, not just above it like a passive (shelving) control does. So as you cut an active treble more and more, you'll actually start to change (lose) your gain staging as you bring down the other frequencies with it. A passive (shelving) cut only rolls off the frequencies above the cutoff point and is easily tuneable to the player's preference via changing the cap value. A PTC was actually the first mod I made to my MTD 535 because I hated the active treble control, and it changed the game on this bass so much that I added it to my other main players.
IMG_20211011_082813_636.jpg

Stacked knob is Bass/Treble, PTC is where the treble used to be :D
 
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#53
iplay5strings said:
The biggest benefit of a passive treble cut on an active circuit is that you can cut highs without losing gain. Many active treble cuts work more like a notch filter, they cut frequencies around (both above and below) the center frequency, not just above it like a passive (shelving) control does. So as you cut an active treble more and more, you'll actually start to change (lose) your gain staging as you bring down the other frequencies with it. A passive (shelving) cut only cuts the frequency above the stopping point and are easily tuneable to the players preference via changing the cap value. A PTC was actually the first mod I made to my MTD 535 because I hated the active treble control, and changed the game on this bass so much that I added it to my other main players. View attachment 4981440
Stacked knob is Bass/Treble, PTC is where the treble used to be :D
Click to expand...
Yep. MTD is the primary bass I was thinking of when I made the OP. Such a sizzly bass with no good way to lose the edge without having to adjust everything.
 

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