Ibanez SRX 700 mod

[P-Boy69]

Got a SRX 700, Korean made, very Purrty but the electronics have been butchered, so hey, project !!
Instead of going back to active, I am tempted by a Passive, Vol, Tone, Tone, Pan configuration...
Any experience on a Tone-Tone config for Humbuckers, does it make sense?
What Pots CTS, Fender.....?
What Pot specs - 500k seems to be the norm, how about 250 on Vol and 250 on Tones or any other combo.
I am ready to buy a bag of pot(s)

 

[dwizum]

In terms of what pots - get yours out and see what size they are and what the shafts are like. Then buy from a major brand in a matching configuration. Alpha, CTS, and Bourns are all fine. No need to spend a ton on specific brand names.

I'm not personally a huge fan of two tones on one bass but some people love it. The tones will both impact the signal whenever both pickups are on, so keep that in mind. If you're just trying to fill all the holes from the old pots, there are lots of ways to get creative. You could do a series/parallel switch. Or get crazy and add a switch to select different loading resistors to change the load on the pickups (think of it as a way to switch between 250k pots and 500k pots on the fly).

Resistor value selection is really personal preference. 500k will be brighter overall with everything pegged. Some will like that, some won't. Personally I like 500k pots on passive basses, then you can roll the tone back a little if it's too much - it's harder to add brightness to a 250k bass than it is to take it away from a 500k bass!

At the end of the day, buying a bag of pots is the best idea. Then you can test things out and decide what you like. Passive bass controls are simple, cheap, and easy to change. Ripe for experimentation!

 

[P-Boy69]

I guess the other question I would have is what is the deal with the Pots that have a Capacitor attached, useful?

 

[Crater]

I would have is what is the deal with the Pots that have a Capacitor attached, useful?

Those are passive tone controls.

 

[P-Boy69]

Those are passive tone controls.

So needed for tone controls? Any inputs on values of capacitance?

 

[dwizum]

You don't need to buy a pot with a cap attached, you can buy a pot and cap separately and solder them together. A tone control is literally a pot and a cap in series. There are plenty of wiring diagrams on the internet if you're looking for references.

Typical tone cap values are between .015 and .1 uF. The most common is probably .047. Don't get sucked in to the marketing BS about caps - a cap is a cap in terms of our tone circuits, there's no reason to pay lots of money for special caps.

The cap only really comes into play as you turn the tone control down. The value of the cap determines the frequency at which the tone control rolls off higher frequencies. A higher value means the roll off point is lower down - more highs get rolled off. Lower values move the frequency higher, so you retain more highs (less highs get rolled off).

Caps are dirt cheap, pennies each if you're smart about buying them, so you might as well get a handful of values and try them.

 

[Aidenn7]

I'd wire it up.. two volumes and two killswitches.. do 1meg vol pots on those pickups.. and get the most out of those pickups.. since it's a neck tru.. it'll have a nice sustain.. I'd also file the bridge.. very lightly.. besides doing a setup.. I'd take a heavy scotch pad.. and sand the back of the neck.. those basses are made for shedding.. and jazz.. carol kaye- played one of the honey burst.. those are nice basses..

 

[P-Boy69]

You don't need to buy a pot with a cap attached, you can buy a pot and cap separately and solder them together. A tone control is literally a pot and a cap in series. There are plenty of wiring diagrams on the internet if you're looking for references.

Typical tone cap values are between .015 and .1 uF. The most common is probably .047. Don't get sucked in to the marketing BS about caps - a cap is a cap in terms of our tone circuits, there's no reason to pay lots of money for special caps.

The cap only really comes into play as you turn the tone control down. The value of the cap determines the frequency at which the tone control rolls off higher frequencies. A higher value means the roll off point is lower down - more highs get rolled off. Lower values move the frequency higher, so you retain more highs (less highs get rolled off).

Caps are dirt cheap, pennies each if you're smart about buying them, so you might as well get a handful of values and try them.

Thanks for the detailed explanation, I have a buddy who loves to do this poopie so I am not worried about soldering stuff, but wanna know why and what if that makes sense.

 

[P-Boy69]

I'd wire it up.. two volumes and two killswitches.. do 1meg vol pots on those pickups.. and get the most out of those pickups.. since it's a neck tru.. it'll have a nice sustain.. I'd also file the bridge.. very lightly.. besides doing a setup.. I'd take a heavy scotch pad.. and sand the back of the neck.. those basses are made for shedding.. and jazz.. carol kaye- played one of the honey burst.. those are nice basses..

Honey burst?

 

[Aidenn7]

Honey burst?

yeah that's the model.. killswitch engaged or shadow's fall's bassist had a black version with just a volume..

 

[Deleted member 365158]

Caps are dirt cheap, pennies each if you're smart about buying them, so you might as well get a handful of values and try them

I got these on Amazon, I doubt ill have to buy any ever again!
This was a great kit to help answer some of my tone questions.

 

[P-Boy69]

I got these on Amazon, I doubt ill have to buy any ever again!
This was a great kit to help answer some of my tone questions.
View attachment 4429673

Well that’s not overkill !

 

[iiipopes]

Why is everybody posting esoteric and personal favorite wiring schemes, when what the OP wants is a playable bass? Yes, the original electronics are active 2-band (MV, Bal, Tr, Bs). If the OP wants to get a similar setup, there are many aftermarket versions available. If he wants it passive, then any 2-V 2-T wiring diagram on the web will help him.

Considering the OP's situation, I would not recommend any passive/active switching or anything more esoteric. Please, let's keep it to getting the bass up and running for him, and if he wants to change it later after learning about how bass electronics work, then is the time to suggest something. Not now.

From the OP's questions, this is something I recommend a GOOD tech help him with (and I say good, because there are so many bad techs out there - in decades past even I had to endure one and have a wiring job completely redone) so he can get personal instruction on what guitar electronics actually do, and what controls go with what type of wiring, since pots, capacitors, etc. are all different when wiring an active setup as opposed to a passive setup.

 

[arbiterusa]

Any experience on a Tone-Tone config for Humbuckers, does it make sense?

It seems to for Les Pauls.

When confronted with the same situation on my basses, I went VVT and I plugged the extra holes and refinished them, but that’s not exactly practical for most folks. I think the dual tones is a fine idea.

 

[P-Boy69]

Why is everybody posting esoteric and personal favorite wiring schemes, when what the OP wants is a playable bass? Yes, the original electronics are active 2-band (MV, Bal, Tr, Bs). If the OP wants to get a similar setup, there are many aftermarket versions available. If he wants it passive, then any 2-V 2-T wiring diagram on the web will help him.

Considering the OP's situation, I would not recommend any passive/active switching or anything more esoteric. Please, let's keep it to getting the bass up and running for him, and if he wants to change it later after learning about how bass electronics work, then is the time to suggest something. Not now.

From the OP's questions, this is something I recommend a GOOD tech help him with (and I say good, because there are so many bad techs out there - in decades past even I had to endure one and have a wiring job completely redone) so he can get personal instruction on what guitar electronics actually do, and what controls go with what type of wiring, since pots, capacitors, etc. are all different when wiring an active setup as opposed to a passive setup.

Thanks
Why 2V, 2T i/o 1V, 2T and a span? I like the one V so when I have to cut off, only one knob, is there other factors I should consider?

 

[iiipopes]

Thanks
Why 2V, 2T i/o 1V, 2T and a span? I like the one V so when I have to cut off, only one knob, is there other factors I should consider?

In my 46 years of experience, balance knobs on passive pickups (for example, MV - Bal - T - T) have impedance drops resulting in volume losses in the mid position. You should have a V-V-T or V-V-T-T, or an active setup, to avoid volume drops, and even then, you will get them. Best example: the loss in volume when all knobs are dimed on a vintage-style J-Bass. Back one volume off a hair, and all the volume comes back.

If you want MV-Bal-and two tone controls, please consider a 2-band active setup, as was originally on the bass: clean output, good control over the overall tone, since the bass and treble knobs usually boost as well as cut in an active setup, and the active balance takes care of pickup impedance issues. This is pretty much the standard for active basses (yes, many now add a sweepable mid as well).

 

[Ryan in PDX]

Hey @P-Boy69 I have an SRX300, which (I'm pretty sure) uses the same electronics. Some day I'll get around to converting it to passive... The stock wiring uses passive Volume/Balance, which feeds into the always-on EQ.

Depending how badly your electronics have been butchered, you might be able to salvage the Vol/Bal pots by (drum roll...) not touching them at all! Then simply replace the EQ circuit and pots with a passive tone control. I have never wanted separate tone controls on a bass before, and this post eloquently outlines some of the reasons why it's not super popular or practical, but it is theoretically possible.

If you go with the single tone, you could use the remaining hole for a tone cap selector, or a "producer switch." I converted an active Vol/Vol/Bass/Treble Jazz Bass to passive VVT, and the 4th hole is now a "producer knob." No one's asked about it yet, but it's only been ten years.

As far as pot values, I'd try the stock 500K first, and then size up or down if need be.

 

[P-Boy69]

Hey @P-Boy69 I have an SRX300, which (I'm pretty sure) uses the same electronics. Some day I'll get around to converting it to passive... The stock wiring uses passive Volume/Balance, which feeds into the always-on EQ.

View attachment 4430128

Depending how badly your electronics have been butchered, you might be able to salvage the Vol/Bal pots by (drum roll...) not touching them at all! Then simply replace the EQ circuit and pots with a passive tone control. I have never wanted separate tone controls on a bass before, and this post eloquently outlines some of the reasons why it's not super popular or practical, but it is theoretically possible.

If you go with the single tone, you could use the remaining hole for a tone cap selector, or a "producer switch." I converted an active Vol/Vol/Bass/Treble Jazz Bass to passive VVT, and the 4th hole is now a "producer knob." No one's asked about it yet, but it's only been ten years.

As far as pot values, I'd try the stock 500K first, and then size up or down if need be.

Ohhh it is butchered enough and I think I figured they tried a Vol-Tone-Tone-Broken passive config....so...
1 pot doesn't do anything
1 tone (bridge) seems to be on/off type behavior where brights come in reaaal quick and cuts the volume completely off if you turn it down too much and also seems to have some dependence on how the volume is set
The other tone (what I think is the neck one) is fairly subtle and might even be influenced by the other tone...
So yeah, it's butchered

 

[P-Boy69]

So I took y'alls advice on this and simply did a Vol-Vol-Tone following a Jazz Bass Diagram (excepts 500k Audio Pots and .047 capacitance), but if both volumes are full ON (100%) the tone knob seems to have almost no effects. Tone knob really works great for each Pup individually. It seems you need to turn down the Neck Vol down a tad for it work and if the bridge vol is turned down a tad, the whole volume collapses......

 

[P-Boy69]

So I took y'alls advice on this and simply did a Vol-Vol-Tone following a Jazz Bass Diagram (excepts 500k Audio Pots and .047 capacitance), but if both volumes are full ON (100%) the tone knob seems to have almost no effects. Tone knob really works great for each Pup individually. It seems you need to turn down the Neck Vol down a tad for it work and if the bridge vol is turned down a tad, the whole volume collapses......

Actually, by turning down the neck volume from 10 to 9, when both started at 10, basically cuts off the volume of the neck pickup which is why the tone seems to have a super beefy effect. Seems you have to also turn down the bridge pickup value to get some volume back on the neck pickup.....begs the question, how can you really blend them then...??