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

[ezstep]

Carrots.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

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

I love it.

 

[lOmnivore S]

"...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?"

You nailed it right, in 1st sentence.

 

[jdjk7]

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

For myself, I tend to prefer master volume/master tone/pickup switching for a couple reasons. I find multiple pickup volumes to be a little fiddly, and sometimes it can be hard to reproduce exactly the tone I got last gig. Having switches gives me a limited but repeatable number of options, with the more manageable single volume and tone for adjustment as needed. This can be especially helpful on a 3 pickup bass, which is what I often play, as having so many knobs for pickup controls would quickly begin to suck.

In fact, my preference in pretty much any case is on/offs for each pickup-- I think it's the most intuitive solution, and versatile. With a practiced hand, it's as quick as a normal switch. I can simply look down and see what pickups are on and which are off, without my brain having to translate the position of a five way switch (for a three-pickup bass) to pickup status. I can turn everything off in place of having a dedicated kill switch.

The other reason I prefer switches+master volume/tone is reducing the issue of pickup loading. This is particularly relevant to PJs like the one posted, as one of the potential reasons PJ basses can sometimes not quite sound quite like a P even with the J pickup muted is because the P pickup is seeing twice the load from the extra volume pot in the circuit. This will take just a bit of definition, top end, and upper mid that a normal P would otherwise have. A switch can be used to remedy this by taking the J's volume pot out of the circuit when the P pickup is soloed. Of course, this doesn't apply to a master volume/tone bass, like what you posted.

But, I am not remotely qualified enough in electronics to actually talk much about pickup loading, so it's a bit of dark wizardy to me. I've just found what I like and stick to it.

 

[fishdreams]

depends on the setup. On my Martin Keith 6 string i love the 2 switches: 1 for active/passive, 1 for the single pickup: HB series/HB par/Single Coil. All sound different, all sound great. I just use those, and the knobs are totally set-and-forget to me. The less knobs, the better as fa as I am concerned

 

[Lownote38]

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.View attachment 5253250 spaced the control holes on my template for the control panel.

Very nice!

 

[BlueTalon]

This was the first bass I ever had a direct say in how it was built. V/T1, V/T2, V/T3, V/TM, and a six position rotary switch. Technically, it's a switch, but since it has a knob on it, I don't count it for the purposes of this poll.

 

[39-Bassist]

Personally I prefer 3way with 1 vol 1 tone BUT that is only because I have found the sounds really love with the pickup combinations I use.
I know this is NOT for everyone. But for me it works.
I also do have a VVT Jazz that works for me too though.

 

[n!k]

I almost never, and I mean never, play with one pickup alone or 50/50. It's almost always 60/40 towards Neck or 40/60 towards Bridge. I play Thunderbirds (V/V/T) where this is so automatic now I make this adjustment with one hand pass. However, I recently set up an Epiphone Embassy and I kept its volume/blend/tone setup and I like it. You can tilt with one knob which is handy for me.

 

[MattZilla]

A switch with no ability to alter the levels of each pickup sucks.

Switches are cool sometimes, depending on the pickups. Gotta have individual PU-vol’s or a blend, though.

 

[BioDriver]

Huge fan of switches for better isolation between pickups. (or so I’ve been told) even bigger fan of switches for splitting pickups

 

[Chickenwheels]

This was thought to be a good idea back in the seventies, which I think is the point of this instrument. A recreation of a “hotted-up” Fender in the style of that era. It might be alright, you’d have to play it to know

 

[GreyBeard]

I like a combination of both. Like a SR5 or ATK

 

[el murdoque]

I really dig switches on basses that work that way. Modern dual humbucker basses for instance. I never solo a pickup on a Jazz bass. I dial in enough of the other pickup to cancel out the hum. Make that impossible with a switch and I'm out.

Ah by the way: My favorite bass in the world has a Jazz setup, with VVT. I hate it and would much prefer VBT.

 

[Lowbrow]

Two pickups on a bass? Agree that it's a questionable idea.

 

[ToddB1963]

Yamaha BB series... legendary

I concur. The three-way switch on the BBs is excellent.

The middle position on the BB2000 for example - one of the greatest bass tones I've ever heard in a mix, or on a recording, or used personally on a gig. It's the reverse P pickup in combo with the rail bridge pickup that does it. Straight down the middle - the tone is sublime.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

My P/J has a toggle. P, blend, J. Works great!
*It's not FMIC..

 

[Bob_Ross]

I'm mostly indifferent to the issue of no separate volume controls versus no blend control ...not completely indifferent, but the bigger issue I see here is that the toggle switch is in the WORST. POSSIBLE. POSITION. for a bass.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Adding a j and 3 way was a popular mod that gets a certain tone. This bass looks weird with extra knobs and only slightly weird with stack knobs. Could keep the switch and make if vol/vol with no tone.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I haven’t wired up the Freeway switch yet, I got the one with “six gears”, it looks and feels very high quality, better be for $40. They have an “8 gear” for coil splitting too, but I just have single coils.