How Do YOU Set Your Pickup & Tone Knobs?

[JxBass]

I set them completely by ear.

 

[Dave W]

I don't have any particular settings, I change them all the time.

Yep. It depends on the song and the bass, but I could check off all of those options.

And what about single pickup basses that aren't P basses? Actives?

 

[deeptubes]

Both of my gigging basses are active, so the poll doesn't really apply to me and probably half of all TBers.

Soooo, if you have an active bass, it doesn't have pickups or tone control?
Just couldn't resist.

 

[Bigfoot92]

On my 4003 i usually play (fingerstyle mainly, close to the bridge) with the bridge pickup only with the tone wide open.

However i sometimes play with the neck pickup soloed, tone wide open with a pick just above the neck p.u. to get a bassy and aggressive tone; and if i want a really warm and smooth tone, i go with neck p.u. with tone off and fingerstyle above the neck pickup.

 

[klejst]

P Bass and tone knob full on, love the found I get from mine. Of course half and full off sounds great as well when needed.

 

[jnammy]

seems like no matter what bass it i use, what sounds best to me is favoring the bridge very slightly by turning the pickup pan knob a 1/4 inch towards the bridge pickup. i eq for the room by adjusting the amp and i change tone from song to song by moving my right hand closer or away from the bridge.

 

[JTE]

jte, i know you know what you're talking about and so i ask, why volume all the way up on the bass? does it act like the gain on an amp?

Partly from playing passive so long ( since '76). Volume wide open for best signal-to-noise ratio and control dynamics with my fingers. I've never had an active that was substantially louder than my passive beasts so I keep the volume up on the too.

Unless I crank the EQ there simply isn't a significant volume difference as I change settings. Most of the control over both volume and tone is in the hands. Comes from starting as an acoustic guitarist I think.

John

 

[Korladis]

I play mainly a Rickenbacker 4001.

Most of the time, it's bridge pickup only, tone wide open.

But when it's not, it's neck pickup only, tone wide open.

On my Peavey, which is a one pickup bass, I just play it with the volume and tone all the way on.

 

[Korladis]

for those of you guys who frequently change your pickups and tone knobs from song to song, how do you deal with the volume changes that come with that? do you just wait for an opportune time to stop playing and adjust the volume?

The volume change is an intended effect. I don't deal with it, as it's precisely what I'm going for.

 

[Duckwater]

for those of you guys who frequently change your pickups and tone knobs from song to song, how do you deal with the volume changes that come with that? do you just wait for an opportune time to stop playing and adjust the volume?

I set up my basses so they have nearly equal volume with the configurations I use

 

[I<34080]

ric 4003, both volumes maxed, neck tone 50%, bridge tone 75%

 

[Mike 257]

I have no idea what any of the knobs do on my bass, I can hardly hear a difference when I turn them .

 

[Catbuster]

Jazz Bass: Neck maxed, bridge 50-75%. Or, neck 50%, bridge 50%. All with tone pot maxed.

P Bass: Everything all the way up.

P/J: Same as the P Bass.

 

[DerTeufel]

Schecter stiletto 4 string with two volume and a single tone control: Neck dimed, bridge 50%, tone in the middle

ESP LTD B-55 P/J with a two band EQ: Neck maxed, Bridge 25% or off, bass flat, treble flat

SBMM Ray35: 3-way toggle set to the rear position, all tone controls flat, volume dimed

 

[countbassiedad]

I almost always favor one or the other pickup - mostly the neck unless active where you can boost the bass on the bridge (like on a MM).

To me the interaction of the two pups on most basses seems to take some of the sparkle out of the highs/mids. I'd rather run one pup amd use the tone to tame the highs.

One exception - with my HH Ray running both pups together is a good way to get a thumpy tone with a quick flip of the selector switch. Actually all the positions sound great and I use them all. On every other bass usually I only use the neck (or piezo on my fretless).

One other exception - I often run mudbucker 50/50 with bridge or middle on my modified Fenders.

 

[Dave W]

Soooo, if you have an active bass, it doesn't have pickups or tone control?

A standard tone control like a passive bass? No, not usually.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

When I'm jamming alone I do roll my tone off, but never in a band setting.

 

[deeptubes]

A standard tone control like a passive bass? No, not usually.

Come on, man. That's kind of like saying "I don't want a Chevy. I want a Camaro." They're different, yet the same.

4 of my 5 basses are active. They all have a tone control of some sort or another. Are they all the same? Probably not. The 250k tone pot I just replaced on my HM was actually a blend pot with a resistor and a capacitor. Turn it up, and it cut bass. Turn it down, and it cut treble. Middle detent, both were wide open. Went bad, swapped it for a standard 500k. Much more aggressive sounding, and obviously brighter.

So, what basses don't come with some sort of tone control?

 

[KTFunkAlive]

On my passive Jazz basses, vol+vol+tone all the way up.
That's the best Jazz bass sound IMO. Most of the time.

 

[4001]

What tone knobs??