Four knobs on a passive PJ bass?

[lazarus31]

So I tried this cheap Ibanez looking bass at my local music store, I love the color and it plays great. But I wonder what this extra knob do, cause this kind of setup normally has 3 knobs but this one has 4, is that a thing? I'm kinda new to the bass world so I can't really tell.

Do you know any passive basses that came stock with four knobs?

 

[kodiakblair]

Do you know any passive basses that came stock with four knobs?

2 Vol/ 2 Tone.

It's not the norm but it's not unheard of, probably the most well known using that set up is Rickenbacker.

 

[CletusMarley]

One of them opens up a secret compartment to stash your weed.

 

[Jefenator]

I am curious.
My first guess would be maybe there's a battery in the main cavity and the knobs are vol/blend/bass/treble.
Easy enough to find out, just from trying the knobs.

 

[PhatBasstard]

I am curious.
My first guess would be maybe there's a battery in the main cavity and the knobs are vol/blend/bass/treble.
Easy enough to find out, just from trying the knobs.

OP say its 'passive' in the thread title...

2 Vol/ 2 Tone.

It's not the norm but it's not unheard of, probably the most well known using that set up is Rickenbacker.

This is most probably the right answer.

 

[two fingers]

So I tried this cheap Ibanez looking bass at my local music store, I love the color and it plays great. But I wonder what this extra knob do, cause this kind of setup normally has 3 knobs but this one has 4, is that a thing? I'm kinda new to the bass world so I can't really tell.

Do you know any passive basses that came stock with four knobs?

Welcome to TalkBass!

For years Ibanez made basses that were "mostly" passive. In other words, they were volume/volume/tone, and a "Phat" knob that was an active bass boost. I wonder if they are still doing that?

Edit: Yes, they are.
Ibanez Gio GSR200TR Bass Guitar - Transparent Red | Sweetwater

This bass has volume/volume/tone and "Phat II EQ". Four knobs. I suspect this is what you have found if they are claiming it is a "passive" bass. I could be wrong but....

What's the model number of the bass? That will clear up everything. We can look up the specs.

 

[lazarus31]

Welcome to TalkBass!

For years Ibanez made basses that were "mostly" passive. In other words, they were volume/volume/tone, and a "Phat" knob that was an active bass boost. I wonder if they are still doing that?

Edit: Yes, they are.
Ibanez Gio GSR200TR Bass Guitar - Transparent Red | Sweetwater

This bass has volume/volume/tone and "Phat II EQ". Four knobs. I suspect this is what you have found if they are claiming it is a "passive" bass. I could be wrong but....

What's the model number of the bass? That will clear up everything. We can look up the specs.

It's actually not an Ibanez but looks a lot like it, so I figure the control would be similar. Thank you all for your answers! Very happy to join this big community!

 

[Smooth_bass88]

One of them opens up a secret compartment to stash your weed.

(shhh… whatever you do, don't mention weed)

WEED! WEED! WEED!

 

[two fingers]

It's actually not an Ibanez but looks a lot like it, so I figure the control would be similar. Thank you all for your answers! Very happy to join this big community!

Ah. What's the brand?

 

[Jefenator]

We can all guess & suppose from a distance, six ways till Sunday.
Without looking in the control cavity and/or experiencing what each knob does, we're flying blind.
If the brand & model were known one could at least Google that.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Add a producer switch / knob.

 

[Killing Floor]

VTVT. Very common.

In fact it's the same wiring as the old stack knob Jazz basses.

 

[JC BASS 91]

Add a producer switch / knob.

I may do the producer switch thing on my Glarry short scale build...just for grins and jollies.

 

[JRA]

welcome to talkbass, OP!

also, many 'budget' manufacturers use VT for each of two pickups: so you have two volumes and two tone controls: VTVT (VVTT).

 

[BlueRock]

27013001[/URL], member: 355902"]VTVT. Very common.

In fact it's the same wiring as the old stack knob Jazz basses.

The only difference between those and a 3 knob Jazz is the '62 stack knob pots are 250k vol and 500k tone. On the 3 knob they're usually all 250k pots.

 

[lazarus31]

We can all guess & suppose from a distance, six ways till Sunday.
Without looking in the control cavity and/or experiencing what each knob does, we're flying blind.
If the brand & model were known one could at least Google that.

Ah. What's the brand?

The brand is 'Savant' no serial number, no country of origin, no information on the internet beside that one listing at my local marketplace. I figure it's just another Glarry or CorTek product. I'm from Indonesia so we usually able to get CorTek products sooner.

 

[lazarus31]

So this bass is in my bucket list. Say, I want to experiment with the wiring

What would you recommend for four knobs passive setup?

 

[PhatBasstard]

Welcome to TalkBass!

For years Ibanez made basses that were "mostly" passive. In other words, they were volume/volume/tone, and a "Phat" knob that was an active bass boost. I wonder if they are still doing that?.

Or is it a faux bass boost like on a G&L L1000? Where it's an odd EQ manipulation that makes it seem like an active bass boost when it actually is passive.