Why is a J Bass set up the way it is?

[GreggBummer]

RapierSix,
That is a fine looking bass. Looks neat with the xtra controls.

G

 

[RapierSix]

Right now I would kill for the official specs and manual for my bass... or a brand new Rickenbacker, I would be satisfied with that.

 

[Benjamin Strange]

I rewire all my basses with a switch and no knobs. Even my Dingwall Super J has been gutted with this mod. It's purely a personal preference, as I always want one all the way on or off.

Some of my more traditional bassist friends get most of their tone from the bridge pickup, and blend in the neck pickup just a tad to fill in the low end. Not for me, but whatever floats your boat...

 

[snakeinasack]

This is a

One of the great things about the volume/volume on a J bass is the ability to roll the neck pickup volume back just a slight touch (e.g., 10% or less) This still keeps the 'humbucking' thing in place enough to mostly eliminate hum with single coil pickups, but results in a nice bump in the mid range for a more articulate burp. Same thing with rolling the bridge pickup back a touch if you want the big boom.

A volume/blend configuration would allow you to keep the ability to vary the pickup blend and also have a single 'master volume' knob.

A switch would be a disaster on an instrument with single coil pickups, since the 'all or nothing' thing with only one pickup one would cause lots' of hum.

Finally, if you really like the sound of extreme 'blend' settings (i.e., all neck or all bridge pickup), you can swap your pickups out for split coils, which will totally eliminate hum and still get you close to a true J tone.

...and if you choose to wire the pickups phase-shifted, this "burp" will be even more significant.

 

[mongo2]

You should've seen the originally released J bass setup. Volume and stepped tone for each pickup, the volumes had two isolating resistors so they wouldn't interact but that resulted in lower output, and it had felt mutes cradling each string.

 

[Billy Low]

I have installed "kill" swtches for player who prefer VVT set up on J-style basses yet need the ability to mute. Some seem to dig it.

I personally prefer to have the ability to adjust my timber utilizing the independant volume controls. My favorite setting is when I have the neck pickup 100% and the bridge 70%: it give a REALLY sweet burp when I thump and pluck. I am currently building an instrument for myself that has Master Volume, Volume, Volume, 4 band EQ. I guess I am a bit of a control freak!

Oh yeah, these will be stack pots! IMO there is nothing that looks worse than an instrument that resembles the control panel of a fighter jet!