Does the volume pot position affect the timbre?

[Flamingo21]

I think you were speaking in generalities concerning all players that put ONE mark on their pot marking their sweet spot.

Yes, that was my idea.

 

[A9X]

micguy and KBD have explained it perfectly in earlier posts, but as my experience with musicians over the years (building and repairing amps etc) is they know and understand little about electronics. So I will just add that none of this applies to EMG pickups as they have an amplifier inside the pickup casing and the pots won't affect the tone.

 

[A9X]

I don't know a source at all. Maybe someone will chime in for you.
But, the negative issues that I see in a specialized pot is if it goes bad, it may not being easy to get another specialized pot (original company may change inventory/processes based on demand).

Buy from somewhere like Mouser/Digikey/RS/Element 14 in a normal value and you should always be able to get a replacement. They're usually much higher quality than found in most MI's.

 

[RobbieK]

It also depends on where in the circuit, the volume pot is. Most active basses have the volume before the preamp, but not all. The Stingray is the most common of these. Having the pickup directly feeding the preamp input, with the vol pot on the output, means changing the volume doesn't change the load on the pickup coils.

Another thing that changes the tone is passive blend pots. They also change the load on the pickups. Even active basses with their vol pots on the output usually have MN or A/C blend pots wired before the preamp.