Why are there no 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 switch basses?

[OOD]

I've wanted to change my Jazz to be Volume, Blend, and Tone. I like having a single volume so I can easily boost/kill my sound on stage without having to move two knobs.

I have that on my Jazz Ultra. I pretty much only use the blend pot as a pickup selector. You can’t blend like you do with two volumes because one is always on 100%. If it ever breaks I’ll replace it with a 3-way switch.

 

[JW56789]

Aren't some Esquiers (back-pickup-only Teles, no bridge pickup) wired so the switch bypasses the tone, and it's pickup through the gain straight to the jack ?

 

[GretschWretch]

The circa 1980 Martin EB-18 had this arrangement; so did its Vega counterpart.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

I have 2 BBs and 2 Yamaha attitude standards with if.

 

[Bass4Brkfast]

I have a PJ wired this way, 1v 1t, switch.
Works nicely with a split j in the bridge to avoid hum.

 

[skyline_01]

Not really Tele wiring, but G&L Kiloton was one of the first things that came to mind. The switch doesn't change cap values, it's just a S/SC/P selector. Cool friggin' bass though.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I would have thought Tele-style wiring would be popular on bass. But NO! Why not? I'd like to try it, but have no clue for values on pots or capacitors (2 jazz-type pups). Any suggestions?

Volume, tone, 3 way switch.

250k pots

Standard Fender capacitor. Not sure the value.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I would have thought Tele-style wiring would be popular on bass. But NO! Why not? I'd like to try it, but have no clue for values on pots or capacitors (2 jazz-type pups). Any suggestions?

Fender Tony Franklin

 

[DJ Bebop]

Fender Tony Franklin
View attachment 4421320
View attachment 4421326

 

[Basslice]

The older Yamaha BB's had that setup, I quite like it on my BB415. Simple and effective. I don't need just-so tweaking live, either I'm kicking the J pickup in or I'm not.

(not mine, just a pic to illustrate).
View attachment 4420843

I was going to say the same thing. My BB1100S can run that way if I turn off the active circuit.

 

[soundsupport1]

The Gibson Les Paul Junior bass has volume, tone, and the volume can be pulled up to switch between humbucker and single-coil mode on the pickup. Actually pretty versatile.

Peace,
SoundSupport

 

[sabre79]

My favorite setup. I like bright, so I always use 500kOhm pots.

Actually, I never use the tone control, so my favorite setup is really Volume/Switch.

Is your tone knob set to full on bright?

 

[JKos]

Volume/blend

What are you blending between with the four pickups?

 

[ctmullins]

Is your tone knob set to full on bright?

Of course.

 

[MrSidecar]

Volume/blend

hate too many switches and knobs

View attachment 4420947

Am I the only one not smart enough to understand how to blend all these pickups with one knob?
Best
Sidecar

 

[sotua]

This 6-string Skjold is like that. The top knob is volume, the bottom is tone, the middle is a 4-way switch. Neck only, both parallel, both series, bridge only.

View attachment 4421056

That's how I wired my JBass. Replaced one pot with the rotary switch. Getting it to fit in the J cavity was... challenging.

 

[r_bnks]

There's plenty....

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Some old Ibanez Roadster II series have both.

 

[NoiseNinja]

But there is.

Even from stock.

Just not as common on basses as guitars.

 

[2F/2F]

Early G&L SB-2 and Lynx.

IMO, master controls suck on multi-pickup instruments. Terrible design idea. The times when I want the same exact tone knob settings on both pickups are...almost never. Thus such instruments lead to constant knob adjustments.

The other thing that sucks about V/T/switch is that you can't blend the pickups. Pickup blending is basically just a passive midrange control, and it can be quite useful in some situations.

I love my SB-2s and my Lynx...but I only ever use them as SB-1s.