Fender MIA Standard P-Bass S1 Switch use

[FJBass82]

I bought a used 2005 Fender MIA Standard P-Bass this past Thursday night at GC. It's in great condition; no dings or scratches. It's a 3-Tone Sunburst with a brown tort pg and RW fretboard. Cost was $789.00. I jumped on it, after playing it awhile, since I'm ready to ditch my MIM P's, which, to be fair, have all been really good basses, but I was ready for a MIA Standard P.

So anyway, I noticed that the volume knob is not totally flat on the top, that it has a lip around it, not totally flat like the tone knob. I asked the salesman about it and he mentioned something about a feature that this particular P-Bass has but didn't know exactly how it worked.

After some research, I learned that some older model MIA P's have an S1 Switch. I understand about the series/parallel mode and what it's supposed to do. The consensus seems to be that not many like it. But how do you use this S1 Switch? Do you push down on the volume knob or ??? I didn't see an actual switch on the bass so I'm assuming that the volume knob can be manipulated somehow to activate this feature.

I'm at work now so I can't go home to play my new bass and experiment with the S1 Switch.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[Son of Wobble]

I bought a used 2005 Fender MIA Standard P-Bass this past Thursday night at GC. It's in great condition; no dings or scratches. It's a 3-Tone Sunburst with a brown tort pg and RW fretboard. Cost was $789.00. I jumped on it, after playing it awhile, since I'm ready to ditch my MIM P's, which, to be fair, have all been really good basses, but I was ready for a MIA Standard P.

So anyway, I noticed that the volume knob is not totally flat on the top, that it has a lip around it, not totally flat like the tone knob. I asked the salesman about it and he mentioned something about a feature that this particular P-Bass has but didn't know exactly how it worked.

After some research, I learned that some older model MIA P's have an S1 Switch. I understand about the series/parallel mode and what it's supposed to do. The consensus seems to be that not many like it. But how do you use this S1 Switch? Do you push down on the volume knob or ??? I didn't see an actual switch on the bass so I'm assuming that the volume knob can be manipulated somehow to activate this feature.

I'm at work now so I can't go home to play my new bass and experiment with the S1 Switch.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

It's a push pot: Just depress the top and it will engage.

The pot is disliked by purists simply because it isn't a classic design, but the S1 gives you tonal options so that your Precision can sound more Jazz-like.

The pot is also distrusted because it is perceived as failure-prone, but I haven't heard any anecdotal evidence that this is actually true, and the pot can be replaced with a standard pot with no modification or additional routing needed, so it's no big deal in any case.

Enjoy!

 

[Thuddy Waters]

I bought a used 2005 Fender MIA Standard P-Bass this past Thursday night at GC. It's in great condition; no dings or scratches. It's a 3-Tone Sunburst with a brown tort pg and RW fretboard. Cost was $789.00. I jumped on it, after playing it awhile, since I'm ready to ditch my MIM P's, which, to be fair, have all been really good basses, but I was ready for a MIA Standard P.

So anyway, I noticed that the volume knob is not totally flat on the top, that it has a lip around it, not totally flat like the tone knob. I asked the salesman about it and he mentioned something about a feature that this particular P-Bass has but didn't know exactly how it worked.

After some research, I learned that some older model MIA P's have an S1 Switch. I understand about the series/parallel mode and what it's supposed to do. The consensus seems to be that not many like it. But how do you use this S1 Switch? Do you push down on the volume knob or ??? I didn't see an actual switch on the bass so I'm assuming that the volume knob can be manipulated somehow to activate this feature.

I'm at work now so I can't go home to play my new bass and experiment with the S1 Switch.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

I have a 2005 P-Bass with the switch on the volume knob that you speak of. When you push the top of the knob in, it gives the bass a much more trebly sound. I never use it. It's no big deal.

 

[FJBass82]

Thanks for the info.! Much appreciated!

 

[michael_t]

I understand about the series/parallel mode and what it's supposed to do. The consensus seems to be that not many like it.

I personally find the S-1 switch on a P bass rather pointless. Why would you take something that's naturally big and phat (series) and make it sound thin and wimpy (parallel)?

However, I do find the S-1 switch on a J bass intriguing. I would love to have an option on my J (naturally parallel) to be switched to series for a meatier, almost P-like tone.

 

[Jeff K]

I personally find the S-1 switch on a P bass rather pointless. Why would you take something that's naturally big and phat (series) and make it sound thin and wimpy (parallel)?

However, I do find the S-1 switch on a J bass intriguing. I would love to have an option on my J (naturally parallel) to be switched to series for a meatier, almost P-like tone.

That has been my experience as well. On a Jazz Bass, the S-1 can be a good thing, providing yet another sound. But on a Precision, it just seems to detract from the goodness of the P's tone. I used to have a beautiful Sunset Orange Transparent Jazz with the S-1. Our sax player at the time, loved it. He used to look over before certain songs and say, "Hit your switch for this one!!!" But I didn't care for it at all on a P.

 

[Son of Wobble]

He used to look over before certain songs and say, "Hit your switch for this one!!!"

Studio rats would say it is always a good idea to have an "extra switch," if only for its placebo effect.

 

[michael_t]

Studio rats would say it is always a good idea to have an "extra switch," if only for its placebo effect.

Let Lee Sklar tell you all about the "Producer Switch".

Here's an excerpt from the Bass Player Magazine interview with Lee:

And how about your “Producer Switch”?

Ah, the Producer Switch! That was inspired by incompetent producers ignorant of music terminology, who would make nebulous statements like, “Can you make it shimmer?” Or, “Can you make it more mauve-y?” I had done a TV session where Tommy Tedesco—out of sight of the producer, except for his head—kept bending over and picking up the same acoustic guitar when asked to try mandolin and other stringed instruments. He would simply play in a different position on the neck, and it worked! So I immediately went home and drilled a hole in my bass and put in a dummy Switchcraft switch. Then when I would get one of these tenuous requests, I would make sure the producer could see me hit the switch, and I’d just play higher up on the neck or pluck closer to the bridge, and they’d say, “Perfect!” On my Warwick Star Basses there was an extra hole from a change in the electronics, so I had them put a Producer Switch on them.

 

[FJBass82]

Well, my S1 switch is acting up. This afternoon I started to play my P-Bass and all of a sudden the sound got really scratchy and then totally cut out; no sound. So I pressed in the S1 switch and it worked, but with the thinner tone. I pressed it again and got no sound. Pressed it again, thin tone. Pressed it again, nothing. But then I lost the thin tone as well. I banged on the knob a little bit and everything worked again.

Long story short, I'm going to replace the S1 switch with a standard pot and not have to worry about this problem again. I'm not going to return the bass to Guitar Center; got too good of a deal on it, plus I've taken my basses in the past to a really good guitar tech who I trust, who has always done good work for me.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Well, my S1 switch is acting up. This afternoon I started to play my P-Bass and all of a sudden the sound got really scratchy and then totally cut out; no sound. So I pressed in the S1 switch and it worked, but with the thinner tone. I pressed it again and got no sound. Pressed it again, thin tone. Pressed it again, nothing. But then I lost the thin tone as well. I banged on the knob a little bit and everything worked again.

Long story short, I'm going to replace the S1 switch with a standard pot and not have to worry about this problem again. I'm not going to return the bass to Guitar Center; got too good of a deal on it, plus I've taken my basses in the past to a really good guitar tech who I trust, who has always done good work for me.

This is the first anecdotal evidence I've heard of S1 failure -- but then, those components aren't getting any younger.
And I don't imagine anyone makes a generic aftermarket version, do they?
If you've got a tech you trust to do the pot swap then it's as good as done. Glad you're not throwing out the baby with the
bathwater, enjoy your bass!

 

[FJBass82]

No way I'd get rid of the bass just for the S1 switch problem. It's in too good of condition (no dings or scratches), I've been wanting a Fender MIA Standard P for too long, got a great deal on this one, plus it's the color I wanted most.

 

[Turnaround]

Series/Parallel switching became a bit of a fad for a while. Suppose it is still of value to some players. But I'm sure that when Fender realized that a number of players were modding their Jazz basses to switch the pickups in to series more to gain a more aggressive presence, they thought why not do it to the Precision as well. But in the case of the Precision, it was going backwards - away from the additive feature of a series winding into the subtractive nature of parallel pickups. Not all ideas are winners. To me the SI on a Precision was really a questionable "innovation".

 

[Turnaround]

A little further on the S1 thing...

Instrument makers have been drawn into the same marketing domain that car manufacturers have been subject to for many decades - that of the new model year. You can't come to the market this year with the exact same model that you offered last year. Something has to be "new and improved". Events such as NAMM trumpet such model changes and if you are not at NAMM with something new, you are not in the game.

Imagine that you are an instrument maker. You've got to come up with something new for this year. Last year you introduced the new colour combos and high-mass bridges. The year before it was string-through options and new pickup switching options. You would have done a new active pickup, but the marketing department insisted that active pickup sales were declining. One of the flaky musician-types in the R&D department seemed to have a good idea, but the bean counters said it was an expensive option that would push the product out of it's target price range.

Yes, this is the way it goes in production instrument making these days. The S1 switch is a low cost "innovation" that hopefully helped maintain market share. I don't think it worked, despite the hoopla (by now NAMM should spring to mind).

Or maybe I'm just far too skeptical. But I don't see a serious advancement in electric basses since the advent of active electronics. There have been refinements, but all other "advancements" I can think of have been little more than fads. And some of those innovations that may have proven worthy have failed because of a lack of popular acceptance. And why did they not get popular acceptance? Could it be that real musicians did not find usefulness or value in them?

[Soapbox Off]

 

[FJBass82]

Took my MIA P to the guitar tech's shop one day last week and got it back yesterday. When I got it to his shop the tone pot had totally stopped working, so he replaced it with a standard tone pot. Problem solved; no more S1 switch! I replaced the S1 tone knob with a Genuine Fender Parts P-Bass standard chrome knob and she's good to go!

 

[fretlessman71]

Reviving a zombie thread because a friend just bought a bass with the S1 switch. Should he be worried about it failing?

Interestingly, I just had a fretless bass built with double P pups and a push-pull series/parallel switch, and it essentially gives me 4 amazingly beautiful and useable sounds.

 

[LG TPAFL]

Reviving a zombie thread because..... I have a 2007 American P bass with this switch. Love the bass, Don't get the switch. Never put it in down position-sounds like crap to me. I want to keep this bass intact with no mods, but see no value in this switch.

 

[rockear]

Reviving a zombie thread because..... I have a 2007 American P bass with this switch. Love the bass, Don't get the switch. Never put it in down position-sounds like crap to me. I want to keep this bass intact with no mods, but see no value in this switch.

IMHO it is pretty much useless on a P. I have an '03 Jazz with the S1 switch and I keep it enabled more often than not. I bought it new and it's never given me any issues.

 

[Pet Sounds]

Reviving a zombie thread because..... I have a 2007 American P bass with this switch. Love the bass, Don't get the switch. Never put it in down position-sounds like crap to me. I want to keep this bass intact with no mods, but see no value in this switch.

I'm not sure, but maybe it's possible to install a standard P-Bass chrome knob to keep you from accidentally engaging the S-1?
I'm surprised I never commented on this thread because I hate the S-1switch on a Precision Bass. As you said, they make the bass sound lame when engaged, and I encountered at least two broken ones on new basses in music stores when the S-1 was being offered. It's worse than useless, imo.

 

[michael_t]

Reviving a zombie thread because..... I have a 2007 American P bass with this switch. Love the bass, Don't get the switch. Never put it in down position-sounds like crap to me. I want to keep this bass intact with no mods, but see no value in this switch.

S1 switch on a P = useless.
S1 switch on a J = useful.

 

[GIBrat51]

Well...
I guess it's just an option; one that you can use - or not. I have quite a few basses that have similar options, and to be honest? I mostly don't use them. There are basses in my "herd" with options that do get used; mostly it depends on what I want to play, or... I just feel like fooling around with it. I have a 4001 and a 4003 Rickenbacker; I put the push/pull treble tone pot in both of them. Had to put the capacitor in the 4003's treble p/u circuit, too ('01 4003's didn't have one). I do use the 4003's switch quite a bit; the 4001? Hardly ever... As far as my P-Bass is concerned? Well... '78 P-Bass's didn't have an S1 switch; and, since I've gone to some trouble to put it back to the way it came from the factory (foam mute in the bridge cover; p/u cover and thumb rest; and light gauge flats very much like the original Squier Light Flats it came with), it won't be getting an S1 switch any time soon... But, I'm sure there are a few people that do use the thing...