A couple of years ago I built a Shoreline gold '62 style Jazz bass (quickly removed the neck pickup cover though). I wasn't a Jazz bass fan until I saw a custom shoreline gold JB, and have been in love ever since. I bought the body from Warmoth, and purchased all authentic Fender parts for the rest. I bought the control plate pre-wired since I had never soldered before, but I shielded the cavities and wired the Pups, and put it all together. Now I'm in tinkering/upgrade mode.
I wanted more output, so after reading some great advice here, I ordered some Fralins (installed yesterday and sounding great). But the work on the control plate isn't great, and I'm sure with my original soldering of Pups, I did some damage to the pots. Plus they just look kind of gross, so I want to start fresh.
I've read a lot on here about linear/audio pots and I've decided I want linear for volume, audio for tone (please no further advice on this - not being rude but TB has more than enough threads about it, and I am set on that decision). All the stacked pots I see out there seem to be Audio/Audio, and I don't know enough about the wiring, so looking for some advice.
Do I buy some standard concentric stacked pots, and remove the volume pot and replace with a linear one? How difficult is this? I tried to find some info online, but couldn't see anyone explain how these come apart/go back together.
Or do I just buy some 250k audio and 500k linear pots, and put them together? Again, need some info on how to do this, and what hardware would be required, since I need the concentric knobs. Can you buy single pots with concentric knobs? I haven't seen any yet, which is why I was thinking I might have to buy audio/audio and disassemble.
And I've seen some 500k/500k stacked pots. I'm looking for a warm vintage tone, and it sounds like the 500k tone would be brighter. Am I right there? Just wondering if I should consider straying from the standard 500k/250k.
Also, I've got some '62 wiring diagrams and they show .03 and .05 capacitors. I've seen some "jazz bass wiring kits" that come with .022 and .047. Does that make a big difference? Does the fact that I am using hotter pickups mean I should get any different caps?
And I've seen some talk of upgraded output jacks. What does a better brand of jack give you? Just less noise maybe?
Finally, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for best places to buy. I'm in Canada, so shipping is always a factor. I know some of the standards, StewMac/AllParts/GuitareELectronics/BestBassGear and of course, Ebay. Just wondering if anyone has any little gem sites they frequent, or if they know some place that is cheaper/better than the rest.
Thanks in advance for any/all advice I get here. I never post on TB, but I read it all the time and learn so much, so I hope the great bass minds on here can steer me in the right direction. If anyone has any great ideas for books/websites that they think I should read to help me further educate myself on wiring etc, please let me know. Always glad for more knowledge.
I wanted more output, so after reading some great advice here, I ordered some Fralins (installed yesterday and sounding great). But the work on the control plate isn't great, and I'm sure with my original soldering of Pups, I did some damage to the pots. Plus they just look kind of gross, so I want to start fresh.
I've read a lot on here about linear/audio pots and I've decided I want linear for volume, audio for tone (please no further advice on this - not being rude but TB has more than enough threads about it, and I am set on that decision). All the stacked pots I see out there seem to be Audio/Audio, and I don't know enough about the wiring, so looking for some advice.
Do I buy some standard concentric stacked pots, and remove the volume pot and replace with a linear one? How difficult is this? I tried to find some info online, but couldn't see anyone explain how these come apart/go back together.
Or do I just buy some 250k audio and 500k linear pots, and put them together? Again, need some info on how to do this, and what hardware would be required, since I need the concentric knobs. Can you buy single pots with concentric knobs? I haven't seen any yet, which is why I was thinking I might have to buy audio/audio and disassemble.
And I've seen some 500k/500k stacked pots. I'm looking for a warm vintage tone, and it sounds like the 500k tone would be brighter. Am I right there? Just wondering if I should consider straying from the standard 500k/250k.
Also, I've got some '62 wiring diagrams and they show .03 and .05 capacitors. I've seen some "jazz bass wiring kits" that come with .022 and .047. Does that make a big difference? Does the fact that I am using hotter pickups mean I should get any different caps?
And I've seen some talk of upgraded output jacks. What does a better brand of jack give you? Just less noise maybe?
Finally, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for best places to buy. I'm in Canada, so shipping is always a factor. I know some of the standards, StewMac/AllParts/GuitareELectronics/BestBassGear and of course, Ebay. Just wondering if anyone has any little gem sites they frequent, or if they know some place that is cheaper/better than the rest.
Thanks in advance for any/all advice I get here. I never post on TB, but I read it all the time and learn so much, so I hope the great bass minds on here can steer me in the right direction. If anyone has any great ideas for books/websites that they think I should read to help me further educate myself on wiring etc, please let me know. Always glad for more knowledge.
