P-Bass tone control

[Pbassmassacre]

I have a '62 Precision that, back in the punk days, I took the tone pot out so it's just a volume knob. I guess I just wanted to be, "Wide Open".
Question: Is not having the tone pot in there the same as having the tone set all the way clockwise (treble)? Because now i'm thinking I want to reinstall it back to stock. That is, if I can find it.
Thanks

 

[wild4oldcars]

close, but no cigar. someone can explain it way better than I, but even cranked, there is still load on the pot that affects tone

 

[M0ses]

A tone pot set to wide open will still leach just a little bit of treble because it still puts a resistive load on the circuit. It's noticeable but just barely.

 

[JimmyM]

Correct, Oldcars. That's part of the reason I installed a Stellartone Tonestyler in my 09 Precision...when it's wide open, there's no load on the pickup and it's brighter. The other reason is because it cuts treble without affecting the mids, unlike standard tone controls.

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[Gasman]

Hey Jimmy. Did you get the 6 position or 11 position Tonestyler? I've been very interested in dropping one of these into one of my P basses. Any idea if there's a big difference between these?

 

[bmason81]

Love the tonestyler, I have the ten position one in my pbass. I would recommend it to anyone

 

[petrus61]

Or you could install a Fender No Load tone pot. Problem solved.

 

[line6man]

Question: Is not having the tone pot in there the same as having the tone set all the way clockwise (treble)?

It depends on the value of the pot and the impedance of the signal.

Most of the time, there is very little noticeable difference between 500k and an infinite resistance (No tone control.), but there is a noticeable difference between 250k and an infinite resistance. In any case, however, the greater the resistance, the less influence the LPF has in the circuit. With no tone control, you just have the load of the volume pots on the pickups, so you get more treble.

 

[wvbass]

Or you could install a Fender No Load tone pot. Problem solved.

I converted a standard 250k CTS pot to be a no load pot. It was a five minute job.

 

[JimmyM]

Hey Jimmy. Did you get the 6 position or 11 position Tonestyler? I've been very interested in dropping one of these into one of my P basses. Any idea if there's a big difference between these?

I got the Ten because I couldn't stand the thought of not getting positions that aren't on the Six Not really sure what the differences are, but the dude who runs Stellartone will be quite happy to tell you in great detail if you contact him He's a really great guy but he gets a little excited about his products.

 

[petrus61]

Based on what OP is saying, introducing more capacitance is not what's desired. A tonestyler does just that (along with resistance and a bypass). It seems that its kind of counter productive to just throw a bunch more caps and resistors in there when a no load pot would do the trick while retaining the option to bleed treble if desired. Even cheaper than a tonestyler (if you're breaking out the soldering iron) would be a no load pot and a lower value cap...like a .033 or .022.