Noll 500k/220k stacked volume/blend pot

[Dade8283]

Hi guys!

Im looking for a stacked volume/blend pot to install in my G&L L2000 since I feel limited by only having the 3way switch.

As far as I know, only MEC and Noll electronic are making such pots. The one from Noll seems to be the best choice and can be found here:
Noll 500K/220K Volume/Blend Stacked Control - Best Bass Gear

However I know that it’s far from perfect. The L2000 uses a 250k audio taper volume pot and the one from Noll above is 500k and linear I think. It also seems like the blends are only 220k. It doesn’t say if it’s a true blend pot or not, but I emailed Noll and the Said it’s in fact a true blend pot.

My question is, would this Work or not in my G&L L2000? Would it change the function or tone of the bass in a negative way? If it would work, how should I wire it? I know how to solder but dont know what part of the stacked pot is the volume part and vice versa

In that case I would replace the existing volume pot with the stacked pot and leave the 3way toggle unconnected. Drilling another hole or permanently altering the bass is not an option. VVT is also not an option!

 

[ABtheBassPlayer]

The Noll pots are MEC pots. By “true blend” are you referring to an M/N taper? If so, then this isn’t a “true” blend pot. The tapers on these are A/C.

Pots are universal. The biggest concern is, measure the hole diameters on your bass. I think the MEC/Noll pots have a 7mm bushing. Also the shaft diameters on these are 4mm/6mm. You’re going to have to buy the MEC/Noll knobs also available at BBG.

The tone will change but for the better or worse is up to you. In passive mode, the 500k will make your bass sound brighter versus the 250k you have now. Also I personally prefer the linear taper for volumes but you might prefer otherwise. Also the blend, even though it’s an A/C, is still pretty smooth. (I have one of these pots on my Warwick Thumb)

Here’s a picture showing how Warwick wires it on their basses. The top 2 sections are for the blend, next is the volume, and then the switch. There are other ways to wire the switch to bypass the preamp which are better than this I think. But whichever way will work.

What if you just replace the switch with a blend pot?

 

[Dade8283]

The Noll pots are MEC pots. By “true blend” are you referring to an M/N taper? If so, then this isn’t a “true” blend pot. The tapers on these are A/C.

Pots are universal. The biggest concern is, measure the hole diameters on your bass. I think the MEC/Noll pots have a 7mm bushing. Also the shaft diameters on these are 4mm/6mm. You’re going to have to buy the MEC/Noll knobs also available at BBG.

The tone will change but for the better or worse is up to you. In passive mode, the 500k will make your bass sound brighter versus the 250k you have now. Also I personally prefer the linear taper for volumes but you might prefer otherwise. Also the blend, even though it’s an A/C, is still pretty smooth. (I have one of these pots on my Warwick Thumb)

Here’s a picture showing how Warwick wires it on their basses. The top 2 sections are for the blend, next is the volume, and then the switch. There are other ways to wire the switch to bypass the preamp which are better than this I think. But whichever way will work.
View attachment 3068776

What if you just replace the switch with a blend pot?

By a true blend pot I´m refering to it actually going: neck 100% - both 100% - bridge 100%. Won´t a A/C pot be able to do this? How is it acting in your Thumb? no wierd pickup loading issues?

The 500k volume part might make a really bright bass even brighter. I have heard that you can wire a couple of 1meg resistors to make it 250k, but it might be fine in active mode. Linear taper on a volume doesn´t bother me. I either have it full on or make volume swells sometimes. It´s not that I have a lot of choices anyways right?

Since I´m installing this in two G&L tributes, I´m quite sure it´s metric sizes, but thanks for the heads up. It´s allways better to measure before ordering!

Thanks for the diagram. Since I´m not getting a push-pull variant, just leave out the bottom part? And btw, dare I solder al the grounds to the back of that pot? The case looks thin.

About replacing switch with a blend, I don´t like the idea of drilling up the hole for a pot and also think it will look wierd with two knobs so close.

 

[ABtheBassPlayer]

No. The A/C pots (like the MEC) are the ones that still have resistance in the center. The M/N (like Bourns and some Noble pots) have no resistance in the center therefore giving you 100% of both. I haven’t experienced any loading issues at all.

Sorry I thought you were going to use a preamp bypass switch. In that case yes, just ignore the bottom part. You can solder to the back (bottom?) of the pot just like you would any other pot. I’ve done it before and that’s how my Warwick and previous Warwicks were soldered.

 

[Dade8283]

No. The A/C pots (like the MEC) are the ones that still have resistance in the center. The M/N (like Bourns and some Noble pots) have no resistance in the center therefore giving you 100% of both. I haven’t experienced any loading issues at all.

Sorry I thought you were going to use a preamp bypass switch. In that case yes, just ignore the bottom part. You can solder to the back (bottom?) of the pot just like you would any other pot. I’ve done it before and that’s how my Warwick and previous Warwicks were soldered.

Oh I see. I read something here the other day about A/C blends working better than M/N blends (without loss in the middle) when the blend is feeding a preamp directly and having the volume pot at the output of the preamp. Apparently that´s the way Warwicks are wired and why a A/C blend pots are used.

You can find it here (post 60):
Blend pot tapers

If that´s the case I wonder if this would apply for the G&L L2000 wiring. The L2000 seems to be wired so that the blend would be first (replacing the 3-way switch) followed by the treble-, bass-, volume control and finally the active preamp, so the preamp is last but not followed by the volume. I wonder if that matters?

 

[RobbieK]

A/C pots and audio taper pots in general vary quite a bit in taper, but I'd think the noll one, that's designed for guitars, will have a taper closer to a true log/antilog pot. IOW at halfway, the smaller resistance would be closer to 10% of the pot's value. technically, going from a pickup switch and a 250k vol pot to a 220k blend (essentially two volume pots) and a 500k volume pot will place a bit more load on the pickups, potentially giving your bass a slightly warmer tone. But you should try the blend pot without the earth connections to counter this.

 

[Dade8283]

A/C pots and audio taper pots in general vary quite a bit in taper, but I'd think the noll one, that's designed for guitars, will have a taper closer to a true log/antilog pot. IOW at halfway, the smaller resistance would be closer to 10% of the pot's value. technically, going from a pickup switch and a 250k vol pot to a 220k blend (essentially two volume pots) and a 500k volume pot will place a bit more load on the pickups, potentially giving your bass a slightly warmer tone. But you should try the blend pot without the earth connections to counter this.

Thank you so much for answering. The l2000 is really bright and I allways roll the treble off to around 75 % to combat this, so maybe some treble loss isn’t an issue. What would that 10% of resistance halfway (in the center?) mean in practical terms? The only thing that worries me is that I’ll have to much signal loss att the center position. Right know i play mostly with both pickups full on and like the tone, but would really like some more mids from favoring one of the pickups a bit more.

Btw, ”without the earth conections”, so just don’t ground the blend?

 

[honeyiscool]

Thank you so much for answering. The l2000 is really bright and I allways roll the treble off to around 75 % to combat this, so maybe some treble loss isn’t an issue. What would that 10% of resistance halfway (in the center?) mean in practical terms? The only thing that worries me is that I’ll have to much signal loss att the center position. Right know i play mostly with both pickups full on and like the tone, but would really like some more mids from favoring one of the pickups a bit more.

Btw, ”without the earth conections”, so just don’t ground the blend?

Right, an ungrounded blend means that the pickup inputs and the blend output lugs are connected. You lose some things and gain other things. You lose the ability to perfectly isolate pickups as you merely introduce resistance between the output and the pickup, but you also gain better and more audible blend of pickups as you're closer to center.

 

[Dade8283]

Right, an ungrounded blend means that the pickup inputs and the blend output lugs are connected. You lose some things and gain other things. You lose the ability to perfectly isolate pickups as you merely introduce resistance between the output and the pickup, but you also gain better and more audible blend of pickups as you're closer to center.

Thanks for clearing that up!
I´ve also read that it´s possible to mod the pot to be "no-load" by cutting traces to solve that:
Ultimate No-load Ungrounded Blend Pot (Pics!)

However, I dont´t think that´s possible with the Noll pot since the housing seems to be all metal. I guess I´m down to the point where I just have to order a couple to try it out myself!

 

[Dade8283]

Oh, wait, Will the blend pot even work in series mode? I’ve been reading that it won’t, atleast when it’s wired like a jazz bass. I have no clue but that will be a problem since I play mostly in series with active treble boost on!

 

[honeyiscool]

Oh, wait, Will the blend pot even work in series mode? I’ve been reading that it won’t, atleast when it’s wired like a jazz bass. I have no clue but that will be a problem since I play mostly in series with active treble boost on!

An ungrounded blend works in series if you use the correct diagram.

Having said all of the above, I think you should just use the switch. You lose a lot with a blend in my opinion.