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Who decided this was a good idea? (w/ poll!)

What's your thought on this switch trend?

  • I love the switches, fast toggling between tones is more important than finite control

    Votes: 127 40.8%

  • I hate the switches, give me back V/V/T or a fader knob

    Votes: 184 59.2%
  • Total voters
    311
#21
I like a blend when it works. But typically, as soon as you fade to one side or another, it becomes JUST that pickup. So in essence, a switch would be fine.

I don't love VVT configurations because when you need to turn down, you need to turn down both knobs. And more often than not, it also kind of acts like a switch when one is dialed back. So in essence, a switch would be fine.

So while it feels weird to only be able to switch to pickups individually in some respects, in most cases, that is what either of the other configurations tends to do. So having a switch makes a lot of sense.
Unless you have an active blend that actually mixes signals properly OR a mute switch OR a VVVT configuration.
I don't love THAT placement of it though. Guitar or bass, that just seems like a bad area for a switch to be.

But hey... TB is gonna TB, so what do I know?!? :meh:
 
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#23
IMG_1401.jpeg
 
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#24
It is not a bad idea, it truly depends on your preference and needs.

For studio work, I prefer to have the subtility of tones that VVT or VBT offers. For live use (in a rock band context), I have no use for in-between settings, I prefer it straight to the point and fast switching.

Replacing the switch/pots to make it VVT or VBT is an easy, cheap and reversible mod to do, so if you love the bass but wand different controls, you could go ahead and do the mod.
 
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#25
BBJBG said:
View attachment 5253096

This has been really really bugging me....I can't think of a time when I'm ever up 50-50 on both pickups on my J-Bass, why would Fender lock me into just this?
Click to expand...
Maybe I'm mis-reading this, but that switch does not put the pickups at 50-50. One position is neck pickup on full, the middle is both pickups on full (100-100) and the third position is bridge pickup on full.

I have preferred a PU selector switch over blend or VV simply because I don't hear enough difference in those middle blended regions to matter. A switch to go from neck-only to both to bridge-only is just faster and cleaner than spinning one V down and the other up. To put this into context though, I've moved away from dual pickup basses because I pretty much played them with only the neck PU soloed. Now I'm single pickup only for all my instruments.

So my preference is "none"
 
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#26
Also, I think switches like this make a lot more sense on e-gtr. I would not dream of replacing the 3 way switch on my PRS with a blend pot. Bass is a different beast and the idea of rapidly switching from a lead to rhythm tone is pretty much non-existent.
 
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#28
BBJBG said:
View attachment 5253096

This has been really really bugging me. I'm going to fix it on my own bass I got recently from Fender that has this configuration but I can't think of a time when I'm ever up 50-50 on both pickups on my J-Bass, why would Fender lock me into just this?

I see YouTubers are almost always on my side on this, but I do see a few people who do like it. All of this is preference, so I'm just curious, am I being a grumpy old man about this (very crotchity in my 40s)? Where does everyone fall on this switch-thing in recent years? Why does Fender seemingly keep either fader or V/V config on high-end Americans? Is this a cost thing, like is routing this switch cheaper than an additional CTS pot? Seems like it would be a tradeoff on the manufacturing side.

Last MIM I got was in 2003, a 2 year old used J-Bass, zero mods. This new MIM? I want to replace everything and things like this just annoy me.

Is there some, "you don't understand how preamp circuits work" reason for this?

Thanks, and I await to find out just how stupid I am :D
Click to expand...

I’m a grumpy old man as well. I agree with your assessment, being forced to have both pickups with the same setting being maddening. I too much prefer the VVT control set up on my PJ for the same reason as you point out. But I will say this. 99 % of the time playing live, I play with both pickups on full, which is what you would get with the center detent of the aforementioned toggle.

In general I can see using the bridge pickup only for that dubby tone, but for the life of me I can’t think of any music that I play requiring that bridge pickup being solo’d.
 
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#30
On a Jazz I think a selector is a little kooky. Series switch, yea.

On a PJ I seem to keep them as VVT and run the J pickup a hair below the P pickup. But, I have had a Blend pot to keep the PJ sound maintained, with the control of a Master volume. So yes, I see value in the switch.
 
#31
dbsfgyd1 said:
I’m a grumpy old man as well. I agree with your assessment, being forced to have both pickups with the same setting being maddening. I too much prefer the VVT control set up on my PJ for the same reason as you point out. But I will say this. 99 % of the time playing live, I play with both pickups on full, which is what you would get with the center detent of the aforementioned toggle.

In general I can see using the bridge pickup only for that dubby tone, but for the life of me I can’t think of any music that I play requiring that bridge pickup being solo’d.
Click to expand...
 
#34
upload_2023-11-16_9-25-52.png


My Wilkins P/J has the 3 way switch. P only, Both, J Only. Yes it is less flexible however the theory is that the pickup selector allows for a more "pure" P sound as it actually isolates the P or J when selected. I have heard that a blend knob always keeps the other pickup in the circuit regardless of position and this somehow influences the response of the "soloed" pu.
I would concur that when soloed, the P on this bass sounds very P-ish. Due to the placement of the J however, it's hard to say - it is fuller than a typically positioned J. The middle position is my favorite though and I leave it there mostly. It's like one big, luscious, plump, meaty and juicy butterball turkey of a pickup pear that punches and growls for days............
 
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#35
Lownote38 said:
That Player Mustang has a switch because that was the cheapest way to integrate a second pickup without changing any of the hardware. Just a route in the wood and a hole in the pickguard. A better option would have been to use the output jack hole in the control plate for a third knob, and then put the output jack through the bottom, but that would cost more than what they did. I prefer a blend knob, and if I had this bass, I would take the switch out and put a blend knob in. I still don't like where it is, though.
Click to expand...
When I built this short scale bronco jazz I did V V T(parallel/series push pull tone)
I then just re spaced the extra control knob onto my control panel template for the PG I designed.
SS jazz.jpeg
spaced the control holes on my template for the control panel.
 
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#36
For me it depends. Each control scheme has its pros and cons. My AFB200 would seem weird without a switch. My active V3 weird without a blend….

what does matter to me is location. I really don’t like switches near the horn like some mustangs (or hollow Gretschs) have. Put it next to other controls please!
 

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