To knob or not to knob?

[MynameisMe]

One of the nice things about making your own basses is...you get to do things the way you want to.

One example: a single pickup bass, but with some additional flexibility. The pickup is wired in parallel, then loaded down with capacitance - by changing the loading, you get the sonic equivalent of different pickups, and each "mode" gets a different flavor of tone control - this thing will give you a palette of sounds you can't get from standard tone controls. Add a switch to switch between the 2 modes (you can set up two sounds you like and switch instantly between them), and:

View attachment 4173693

Example 2: I like the snarl you can get from two pickups on a jazz bass, but I DO NOT like the hum that can happen or the way VVT controls act. So, with both pickups on all the time (literally hard wired together, so it's one humbucking pickup), I have the the bridge pickup further away from the strings (this is actually a better way to blend pickups than with controls - assuming you always want the same blend). I also realized that I only use a fairly narrow range of tone settings most of the time, so the tone control on this thing only does the range I use (it's about the most subtle tone control out there, other than a broken one). Net result is a very simple user interface - a volume control, and a tone control that doesn't have any tones that I won't use:View attachment 4173702

Anyway, the point is, most folks live with whatever the factory gives you in the way of controls. But, if you know what you like and use, you can do things your own way - either modify what you have, or build what you want. To me, that's the point of a custom bass - it's your instrument, made for you, designed around the the way you play and want to interact with it - you don't have to adapt to it, it's been adapted to your needs. This is also why signature basses are often the worst instruments for most people - it's an instrument designed around an artist's needs, not yours.

I do custom wiring for folks. Although I draw on what I've learned doing my own basses, I've never made one for a client that was a complete clone of any of my basses - I chat quite a bit with the person, find out what they need, and (hopefully) make just what they want.

Nice!

 

[MynameisMe]

So this is a no then?
View attachment 4173784

This kind of reminds me of someone wearing their underwear outside their pants.

 

[58kites]

The single pickup exception is a Music Man Stingray but that has the 3-band eq. (It also has the pickup selector switch but I keep that in parallel mode.)

Do you mean MusicMan Sterling Bass?

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey everyone! Hope the pandemic isn't too harsh on all of you

There has been something brewing in my head for a little bit, brought on by my own Jackson CBX V.

I've been looking at her, playing and thinking to myself "All these knobs on the body, I don't need those."

My bass has a a very typical set of knobs such as volume/tone/high/mid/bass and the more I see them, the more I realize how of little use they are to me. The only one I use is the tone to roll it off a bit because it makes the sound a bit more punchy to my ears,
otherwise all I use is the amp knobs.

I do understand that this might be different if you're on a stage but come on, I've never even played her outside of the apartment, let alone any stages.

Suddenly all these classical fender Ps and Js look way more inticing, which I find really funny because when I started playing bass I absolutely hated the look of fenders, I thought they looked "generic".

But, alas... The more my playstyle and outlook on bass playing evolves the more I start to realize what I like/dislike about different instruments and my taste is evolving, accordingly.

A year ago the thought of owning a fender was so bad it felt almost insulting and now I start thinking to myself "... what if I owned one?".

Slippery slope.

What do you make out of it? Do knobs on basses annoy you, do you use them, do you care?

Thanks

I hear you. Pretty much I use the amps EQ instead of the bass B is wide open, Volumes knobs and tone. My active Warwick is set to flat.

It helps if your amp has a 3 band parametric midrange EQ that very few amps have today, Mesa and Eden do, being the exception opposed to the rule. In your case depending on your onboard 3 band EQ and what frequencies that get cut or boosted could suffice.

 

[MustangWally]

Agree totally - simple as possible is the way to go.

My Mustang PJ currently has Vol/Tone/Blend and I am about to toss the Tone pot for a 3 position on/off/on switch that will have a 0.022uf cap on one side and an 0.047uf cap on the other. I only ever have the tone pot full on or off so it seems pointless to bother with having a pot and this way I get 3 tone choices: middy, none or traditional P bass.

 

[MCS4]

I understand this feeling.

My No. 1 bass is a Carvin LB70 (active Jazz-style), which has several knobs that I rarely use. At one point many years ago, I dropped all of the pots back into the electronics cavity and wrapped them up with something to keep them safe and secure, and then covered up the holes. I think I just left the volume knob out on top, but I'm not 100% sure that I didn't leave it at full-on and put that into the cavity as well. Granted, it wasn't tremendously long afterward that I felt silly and put everything back to normal.

As a lefty, I've also in the past converted some right-handed guitars and basses into lefty, and if the knob placement was inconvenient I would just drop them back into the cavity or remove them entirely. When I converted a Gibson Flying V bass I removed all of the pots entirely, covered up all but one of the holes with decal and installed a simple on/off switch (killswitch).

 

[MynameisMe]

Granted, it wasn't tremendously long afterward that I felt silly and put everything back to normal.

If that's hilarious and sounds like something I would do, LOL.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Hey everyone! Hope the pandemic isn't too harsh on all of you

There has been something brewing in my head for a little bit, brought on by my own Jackson CBX V.

I've been looking at her, playing and thinking to myself "All these knobs on the body, I don't need those."

My bass has a a very typical set of knobs such as volume/tone/high/mid/bass and the more I see them, the more I realize how of little use they are to me. The only one I use is the tone to roll it off a bit because it makes the sound a bit more punchy to my ears,
otherwise all I use is the amp knobs.

I do understand that this might be different if you're on a stage but come on, I've never even played her outside of the apartment, let alone any stages.

Suddenly all these classical fender Ps and Js look way more inticing, which I find really funny because when I started playing bass I absolutely hated the look of fenders, I thought they looked "generic".

But, alas... The more my playstyle and outlook on bass playing evolves the more I start to realize what I like/dislike about different instruments and my taste is evolving, accordingly.

A year ago the thought of owning a fender was so bad it felt almost insulting and now I start thinking to myself "... what if I owned one?".

Slippery slope.

What do you make out of it? Do knobs on basses annoy you, do you use them, do you care?

Thanks

Eh. I prefer the simplicity of my pbass. I got a G&L ASAT awhile back ( 2 or 3 switches; 3~4 knobs) I initially liked the versatility, but in practice I got lost fiddling around. it got annoying fast! I had to print out diagrams & tape them to the amp, so i tell what I was tweaking! it was maddening, I was driving myself & band crazy! Constantly Fiddling around all the time! I relented to just getting it in the ball park (not perfect) and stop! so yes, I prefer the simple to too many options! I dont haveOCD, but it sure feels like I am when i have that many options!it takes away from my playing & into my inner critic! " Maybe a little more mids, less treble,& more bass, etc.,Etc." its a trap!

 

[Passinwind]

What do you make out of it? Do knobs on basses annoy you, do you use them, do you care?

More knobs = more tone, everyone knows that.

But seriously, I have less than no use for passive basses or even a bypass switch, as my whole electronics ecosystem is heavily optimized for active ones. Do I care what anyone else prefers? Sure, but it has no influence on my choices at all.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

@Katoosie, I strongly suggest you never buy an Alembic. My favourite bass (the one on the right) has 2 knobs. I use both of them, but can't see a need for any more.

 

[JonathanPDX]

Controls are super important if you work in a studio, work at numerous venues with different acoustics, or work with groups that require you to jump between different sounds and eras. Your P-bass will be fine in a punk rock band, but if you are jumping from BB King to Steely Dan you're going to have to fine-tune your sound. It's way easier to dial it in on the instrument than the amplifier, especially mid-performance.

Right now with the bars closed all my work is a duo, just bass and guitar. I have to cover walking, chord comping, solos, melody, and adding loop layers underneath some songs. I'm constantly changing my onboard tone to match the song and my role(s) within it.

I'm having a new bass built this year, the plan is 4 switches and 9 knobs. Looping alone requires a number of distinct colors, a looping gig with a singular tone would sound terrible.

 

[dkelley]

No knobs!View attachment 4173646

I get the "few knobs" concept, but this example is taking it too far. Unless it has sliders on the side of the axe.

How do you mute it when you put it on the stand next to the amp so you don't get feedback? Or is that just a phenomenon I have experienced multiple times? Or muting it when sitting in the orchestra pit playing bass and it's time to stop making sound because it's a spoken section of the show you're playing for?

Bass isn't like trumpet where it takes effort to make sound (aside from dropping a trumpet or hitting the music stand or microphone with one). If your bass is sitting in your lap and you reach over to turn the page, it can make notes play - loudly.

 

[Iridescentone]

Suddenly all these classical fender Ps and Js look way more inticing, which I find really funny because when I started playing bass I absolutely hated the look of fenders, I thought they looked "generic".


A year ago the thought of owning a fender was so bad it felt almost insulting and now I start thinking to myself "... what if I owned one?".

That's because they do look generic, which is one of the things people like about them. Understated...the unexciting Fender guitars, forever selling the "steak", not the "sizzle".

Looking through the other end of the telescope from a utilitarian perspective...."Here's a plain ol' Fender bass...can you make good music with it?" If not, then why not?....everyone else always did.

"This is my Fender bass. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Listen to me with your ears. Listen to what I'm playing, instead of what I'm playing it on."

 

[3bc]

I'm too ADHD to get stuck in one mode for very long. I had a gibson third for a few years, and always thought the nikki sixx version with just the on off switch was really a cool thing. But then my musical horizons broadened and the look of the bass became a lot less important than the sound and feel. I'd love a simple bass with one or two knobs, but I sit in on a variety of different music. My current bass allows me to cop a convincing P, J and MM sound. So the five knobs don't bother me in the least cause I like the versatility of it.

Kinda like that with everything now. Versatility is good for a no waste/ADHD mind. Don't buy an article of clothing unless I can reasonably dress it up for a business meeting as well as dress it down for a night out with friends. Both seem like distant memories!

 

[Slidlow]

I get the "few knobs" concept, but this example is taking it too far. Unless it has sliders on the side of the axe.

How do you mute it when you put it on the stand next to the amp so you don't get feedback? Or is that just a phenomenon I have experienced multiple times? Or muting it when sitting in the orchestra pit playing bass and it's time to stop making sound because it's a spoken section of the show you're playing for?

Bass isn't like trumpet where it takes effort to make sound (aside from dropping a trumpet or hitting the music stand or microphone with one). If your bass is sitting in your lap and you reach over to turn the page, it can make notes play - loudly.

Standby switch on my amp? Standby also on my tuner pedal? Also have volume pedal? Hand muting? Anyway there is a volume and tone hidden on the top edge.

 

[Plectrum72]

If you are looking for permission to buy a P bass, I hereby grant said permission

I definitely appreciate the simplicity of my 2 measly knobs.

I could probably get away with just a tone knob. For me, the volume is either all the way up, or all the way off, and I could do that with my tuner. Maybe a tone knob and a killswitch. That could be neat.

I did this with my Peavey Fury. Kill switch and tone knob. It's become my new favorite.

 

[Rib 13]

What do you make out of it? Do knobs on basses annoy you, do you use them, do you care?

Thanks

I started playing in the early 80s when the bass industry was running away from flatwounds and passives into roundwounds with actives with as many different ways to split, isolate, invert, re-route, sweep, and switch as possible..... so, for my subgroup generation, the more knobs the better

Personally, I love the Swiss Army bass approach of making one instrument sound like many but Im a minority of that approach ---- just reading TB, Im of the opinion that most bass players are of the 'set-it-and-forget-it' variety, of which one knob can most definitely work for many of those players

 

[iiipopes]

I am middle-of-the-road on this issue. I like ability to adjust volume and eq on the fly, but I recognize the limitations of being on stage, and how it is all changed anyway in the mix or the studio. So I have on my #1 gig bass: volume, balance, treble, bass. I actually removed the mid unit because it wasn't doing anything for this particular band (double entendre intended). My two-pickup passive basses that I use on stage have the typical V-V-T. I have a couple of basses with other stock configurations, but in one case it isn't worth tinkering with, and the other is worth too much to change.

 

[Robscott]

Go full on Joe Dart....one knob, but make it a big one!

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Just depends on what mood I'm in.