Which bass has YOUR ideal knob/switch setup and why?

[line6man]

I prefer one or two volumes and a tone with a pickup selector switch, plus a preamp and active/passive switch.

Having a pickup selector switch limits the resistive loading against the pickups from the volume pots, because fewer pots are needed. It also allows for the volume pot(s)' wiper terminal to be wired to the output regardless of pickup selection, avoiding the variable impedance loading effect you get with two volumes or a blend pot when the wiper terminal is wired to the pickup. I never play two pickups together, so I don't care about the limited pickup blending options. 50/50 is good enough if I ever want to use both pickups on a bass.

Most people don't use their tone controls, and especially if there is onboard EQ, but nothing beats the option to apply a low pass filter when you need it.

Active/passive switches are a must for me as well. Of course, having the passive option on a bass with a preamp or buffer means the volume pots must control the high impedance signal from the pickup(s) before the input of the preamp/buffer, instead of the low impedance signal after it, but so be it.

I don't usually go for wild switching schemes, things like phase inversion just give you useless sounds. Series/parallel/single coil switching gives you output differences, and usually the options don't sound very good.

 

[Gord_oh]

 

[SwansonEricJohn]

Depends on the gig... but the gigs I usually end playing are drunken background BBQ's so the P-Bass setup is best. Less time (effort) trying to figure it out. Plug in, turn up, play. Often beer is spilled on or near the instrument so, again, simplicity is best!

The Alembic stays at home for the backyard gigs!

 

[darkstorm]

For me the fave setup is two pups. Vol, vol, or master volume and blend. Plus 3band active eq. Bass, mid, treble. My fave pups are soapbars that while haveing the soapbar type voicing which isnt doable with J or P, can also do a decent P pup type voicing. This wont have the note bloom of a P pup, but rather the thickness of P voicing. For my P pup bass it does have active 2band eq. I do require versatility with single pup basses to. LOL.

 

[Engine207]

My current project will use Lakland Chi-Sonic pups wired volume/volume/tone, with a 3-position Tele switch. line6man showed me how to wire it!

 

[zachoff]

P bass. No need to complicate things.

 

[lareamond]

On this one its pickup select, volume, and then treble, middle, bass.
My ESP F205 has the same setup but seems to have a tone knob, pickup select, and then treble, middle, bass. I just have to keep turning knobs to get any sound I could ever want.

My F204 has that same layout, only it's neck volume, bridge volume, then bass, treb, mid. Add a phase switch and a pickup selector (easier to switch between pups) and that'll be my dream setup.

 

[johnk_10]

out of all of my basses, probably my fave is this:

but lately, this one is working really well. it kinda has alot of controls/voices but is actually super simple to use them.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Passive: Fender got it right; one or two volumes, and one tone. That's all I need!
If I were to own an active bass, I'd want a pretty simple 3-band (bass, treble, mid) and volume, and pickup blend. However, I've enjoyed the MM SR5 HH, with it's 5-way coil switch.

 

[lindseyp]

For active preamps I appreciate the bass/treble/midrange, front to rear, setup my Carvin LB75 has. I can set the bass and treble one time, adjust the midrange on the fly by reaching for the last knob. Nothing gets in the way.

 

[Hnz]

I've come to appreciate a passive circuit more and more. Sure, you've got a lot more tonal possibilities with an active bass, but a passive bass has a so much more dynamic sound. And if you vary the position of your right hand, a very versatile soundspectrum can be yours.The only thing that would come in handy every now and then is a little bass boost.

Sander de Gier, a luthier from Holland did exactly that! His passive jazzbass model, named The BeBob has a 'fatboost' as he calls it.
A 4th knob that switches on and off an active boost for the low frequencies. When switched off, the bass is passive, but the bass boost is there if you need it at the turn of a knob.
His standard set up is vol-vol-tone-fatboost. But whenever I order such a bass it will be vol-blend-tone-fatboost.

Both Marcus Miller and Richard Bona already got one! Check it out: Invalid Link Removed

 

[Nev375]

Volume

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[Sufenta]

I would love to build a custom passive P w/ 1.5 neck that has one small switch out on the lower horn that was Full Volume with Full tone and Mute or Off.

 

[GCool]

my #1 volume only
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my #2 neck up on/off bridge pu on/off tone on/off series/parallel
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[Destructobot]

My '77 Ibanez silver series P/J. Master volume, master tone, 3-way toggle.

 

[fourstringbliss]

I'm more of an overboard kind of guy. I have a fiver with dual-coil soapboar pickups. I'm installing a Nordstrand MM pickup between them. The controls will be treble, high mid, low mid, bass. The soaps will be connected to a mini-toggle pickup selector switch and then to the preamp as the "neck pickup". The MM will be connected to a mini-toggle series/single-coil/parallel switch and then to the pre as the "bridge pickup".

I should be able to get lots of tones!

 

[bassbenj]

G&L L-1000 the ultimate evolution of the Precision bass. Invented by Leo Fender in 1980.
Passive controls. Volume, Treble cut, bass cut. Coil tap switch. Humbucker, single coil and single coil with bass boost.

I don't have knobophobia. I like to be in CONTROL of my instrument rather than my instrument telling me what I should do!

Close to optimum for me are my G&L L-2500s in fretted and fretless. The ultimate evolution of the Jazz bass. passive but still with active boosted highs to two levels. passive tone controls, Mine setup with humbuckers in series or parallel plus a single coil selction. In addition I've got a global series/parallel to put the two pickups in series or parallel. It's like the ultimate control over a passive bass and THEN you've got some active boost you can switch in like icing on the cake. So many players seem so scared of all the knobs and switches. I don't get that.

Another really great "control" bass is my Modulus TBX. Three barts with a switch on each that lets you turn it on or off or put it in series or parallel. You can go from one "sweet spot" pup all the way to all three pups in series or parallel. Add to that the usual two band active EQ and the graphite neck and you have...BASS HEAVEN!

As for anyone with knobophobia, my Conklin 7 is the one to push you round the bend! Knob city! Even I had to come on TB and beg for a .pdf telling me what all the adjustments do. It's sure no P-bass with just a volume control! But then if it had been one, I'd have never bought it. The sounds you can get out of it are absolutely astounding! So knobosity is a small price to pay for that IMHO.

 

[Nev375]

I don't have knobophobia. I like to be in CONTROL of my instrument rather than my instrument telling me what I should do!

That statement just does not make sense to me.

Nothing against those that like/want a lot of knobs on their bass, but some of us just don't need knobs to get several different tones out of a bass.

Just give me one great pickup and a volume knob to turn up. I'll dial my tone in on the amp and from there it's all technique.

Just because we don't find all those tone controls and switches particularly useful does not mean we have a phobia, nor does it mean our instrument is in control.

 

[embellisher]

I am a knob twiddler. I like a preamp, but also like to be able to bypass it.

My ideal among the basses that I own is my Nordstrand. 3 band preamp, active bypass, and passive tone control.

My ultimate ideal would be the 4 band preamp from the Bongo, with an active bypass and a passive tone knob.

 

[bassbenj]

That statement just does not make sense to me.

Nothing against those that like/want a lot of knobs on their bass, but some of us just don't need knobs to get several different tones out of a bass.

Just give me one great pickup and a volume knob to turn up. I'll dial my tone in on the amp and from there it's all technique.

Just because we don't find all those tone controls and switches particularly useful does not mean we have a phobia, nor does it mean our instrument is in control.

Well obviously I don't "need" knobs to get several tones out of a bass! (It's "all" in the fingers, right?) Well obviously it's not. You can get several tones out of a knobless bass but they aren't the SAME tones I get out of mine with knobs and switches.

So I'm expecting you to be one of those "one tone" dudes who have found "their" sound and use it for everything. But that isn't right either is it? You freely admit you use the knobs on your amp to adjust your tone to your liking. Well, that sure ruins the "no knobs" argument! That just makes it a positional thing. Knobs here or knobs over there. Why have a volume control on your bass, I mean there is one over on the amp?

The point is, that there are lots of tones you can get out of a bass. Some are produced with fingers and techniques. Some are produced by the brand and model of the given bass. Some are produced by EQ or switching around of pickup wiring or selection. Some are produced by electronic manipulation of the signal. LOTS of different sounds. But nobody has to like them all. Hey, maybe you like only a couple of them or maybe only ONE of them. Maybe the music you play only requires one tone.
Sure fine.

But I say that musical knowledge should include some idea of what all these things can do for you. If you've tried it, you can reject it all as your opinion and that's alright. But to reject it out of hand BEFORE you try any of it is to me "knobophobia". It's like saying "my mind is made up...please don't confuse me with any facts." And that's what some of the "one knob" people seem to be saying to me...

I see this as the difference between the guy who says; "I've got a Fender Deluxe V and I found the tone I always use with it so I've measured all the pots when set for "my" tone, and replaced them all with fixed resistors. Now nothing can ever be adjusted from "my" tone. Well Ok. That's his opinion.

And between the guy who says, "My P-bass only has a volume control because if it had anything more on it I'd start playing with it and pretty soon it'd ruin my music!" THAT to me is "knobophobia".