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What's up with the Strat knobs?

DRafalske

DRafalske

Nov 6, 2008
608
94
Hebron, KY
#1
I'm hoping a Fender expert can chime in here as I'm a recent convert and know little of the "lore" behind them.
I was looking for a MIM P in Midnight Blue... a color that discontinued in the late nineties or early 2000's. I found one for a fair price on eBay and it should arrive in a couple days.
Anyway, lots of them that I've seen from then (including the one I wound up buying) have Strat knobs. I was wondering if this is something Fender did or if that many people changed them out? Personally, I don't care for the look and will put on a set of proper chrome knobs.

Thanks
Dave
 
#2
Someone more knowledgeable can chime in here, but I believe that was common on the 90's and early 00's MIM Fender basses. They're fairly easy to change out if you don't like the look (honestly I don't like them either).
 
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#5
danomite64 said:
MIM Jazz basses had the Strat knobs up until 2003. They also had the 2 neck pickups, which means the pickups didn't cancel each other out from 60 cycle hum, and the bridge pickup route is a bit shorter than standard.
Click to expand...
This is partially false. My '95 MIM had a proper humbucking pair of single coils. They were both the same size. I replaced the strat knobs with proper Jazz Bass items.
 
#6
That's funny... I actually sought out one of those particular MIM Jazz basses with the "full" pickguard and strat knobs to match my Strat. I even moved the jack to match. These are the "resident" instruments for my home recording "studio" (basement).

Yes, the P/U routes are the same front and back on this one, but I got a set of DiMarzios installed, I think it just took a tiny bit of Deremel-ing to get them in.

StudioPair.gif
 
#9
M.R. Ogle said:
That's funny... I actually sought out one of those particular MIM Jazz basses with the "full" pickguard and strat knobs to match my Strat. I even moved the jack to match. These are the "resident" instruments for my home recording "studio" (basement).

Yes, the P/U routes are the same front and back on this one, but I got a set of DiMarzios installed, I think it just took a tiny bit of Deremel-ing to get them in.

StudioPair.gif
Click to expand...

That's awesome.
 
#11
Thanks!

I agree that when I first saw the single-ply "full=plate" Jazz pickguards, my response was "Ewwww..."

But in the right context, it works. To the average, non-musician observers, it just looks like a pair of matching guitars.

And, no I wasn't concerned with reducing the resale value of the bass with these mods. It's a beat-up MIM Jazz... whether I had it gold plated or stuck "Hello Kitty" stickers all over it, it would still only be worth $300 or so on the open market.
 
#12
danomite64 said:
MIM Jazz basses had the Strat knobs up until 2003. They also had the 2 neck pickups, which means the pickups didn't cancel each other out from 60 cycle hum, and the bridge pickup route is a bit shorter than standard.
Click to expand...

They had two same-sized pickups, not two neck pickups. The 60-cycle hum is a trait of single-coils and the pickups wouldn't cancel them out if the wrong leads were connected. It really hasn't a thing to do with reverse-winding the bridge pickup.
 
#16
I thought Fender did that in the early - mid eighties with the MIA basses...Like around 1983? I prefer the standard look with the chrome plate separate from the pickguard...but wouldn't change it out since it's likely original.
 

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