The magic of a tone knob

[Jefenator]

I like how I can – and frequently do – use the entire sweep of my passive tone knobs.
With most active EQ controls, that would really be asking for trouble.

 

[BassmanNate]

I think the usefulness of a passive tone control can vary a lot from bass to bass (or is it more accurate to say from pot to pot?). My P Bass loses pretty much all note definition if I roll the tone off too much, whereas my Mustang retains a lot more midrange. I think that can be attributed to the "Greasebucket" tone circuit that Fender advertises on some instruments, so if you've never tried one of those, it might be interesting to spend a few minutes messing with it next time you're at a music store.

Well, that thing looks interesting. All the circuit diagrams I see are in strats. Are the cap and resistor values the same in a bass? Might have to try this.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

That's another thing I noticed is just how underrated this feature is. A buddy told me Fender had the toggle on their J basses for a while until they found it was detracting from P bass sales since the J became too versatile with that parallel/series toggle on hand, so they've nerfed it ever since.

It's the most useful mod I know of for a Jazz bass, and it's not hard to do.

 

[Brandon Shea]

Well, that thing looks interesting. All the circuit diagrams I see are in strats. Are the cap and resistor values the same in a bass? Might have to try this.

Someone way smarter than me will probably have to chime in about differences in bass and guitar versions of the circuit.

It really works for me though, at least on my Mustang. The whole range of the pot is really useful, and I think it warms up the tone in a way that I can't really emulate on my older MIM Fenders. I know there are plenty of people that like the classic style circuits better, so I guess if nothing else, it's just one more thing to be aware of when checking out an instrument.

Now I'm mildly curious which of Fender's basses have the Greasebucket tone circuit… I know this Mustang can't be the only one, but Fender is always a little unpredictable with how they pick components for different parts of the lineup.

 

[Selim]

Years ago, I went to Mas Hino here in NY and asked him to install an Alleva/Coppolo preamp in a parts bass (to go with the lowish output AC pickups already on the bass). Mas worked with Jimmy Coppolo for a time. The AC preamp is a 2 knob bass and treble - boost only. Mas said: we're going to leave in the tone control, you're going to need it." He was right!

It's got me wondering if there are any preamp/EQs out there that are also have a "tone knob" in their circuit.

 

[joeLowB]

I've been playing my Mustang for the past few days since I put new strings on it, and I'm really enjoying the VVT controls on that as well. It's very much like a jazz bass, so some of the typical Fender tricks work really well. Most recently, I've really enjoyed turning off the bridge pickup, dropping the volume slightly on the neck pickup, and rolling the tone completely off. Sounds absolutely massive.

With that said, I completely agree with the original post here. It's tough to beat a good passive tone control!

I do exactly the same on my Jazz basses... sounds great to me

.

 

[Brandon Shea]

Years ago, I went to Mas Hino here in NY and asked him to install an Alleva/Coppolo preamp in a parts bass (to go with the lowish output AC pickups already on the bass). Mas worked with Jimmy Coppolo for a time. The AC preamp is a 2 knob bass and treble - boost only. Mas said: we're going to leave in the tone control, you're going to need it." He was right!

It's got me wondering if there are any preamp/EQs out there that are also have a "tone knob" in their circuit.

My Sire basses (P8 and V7) both have active circuits with a passive tone control. Obviously Sire's preamp is different since it has a mid band and all three can be boosted or cut, but it's definitely cool to have a functional tone knob in addition to everything else. I'm sure there are plenty of other great examples (Fender American Ultra?) out there.

 

[drewk]

No, I have not had that experience. I can get the tone I want from a bass with a typical P layout, to a 2V/2T layout like a Gibson, to my three-band active basses. Different basses let you do more or less on the bass itself, but any differences can be easily explained by the design of the circuit, and adjusted for in other ways, i.e. with the amp.

For any given gig, I almost never pick a bass based on tonal reasons, because I can get almost any one of them sounding like the next. I usually pick based on range first, then color/looks.

@2F/2F could you please drop me a PM,

Thanks

Drew