• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

will changing pots and cap help?

allanhearn

allanhearn

Supporting Member
Apr 22, 2004
324
427
#1
I have a vm squier jazz bass. I changed out the pickups to Lindy Fralins, put a badazz bridge and an american neck and tuners.

I have a CIJ bass with the same mods.

The CIJ sounds way more present with more highs.

the sqier sounds darker, like a blanket us covering it up.

Does any think that changing the pots to cts and a better cap help
or do you think it is the body wood.

any advice will help
 
#2
It can certainly help. If the measured resistance of the Squier pots is significantly lower than 250k ohms than the tone will be darker. It makes sense to change the tone cap if you're changing pots but that's not really going to affect anything until you roll back the tone knob.
 
#8
allanhearn said:
I have a vm squier jazz bass. I changed out the pickups to Lindy Fralins, put a badazz bridge and an american neck and tuners.

I have a CIJ bass with the same mods.

The CIJ sounds way more present with more highs.

the sqier sounds darker, like a blanket us covering it up.

Does any think that changing the pots to cts and a better cap help
or do you think it is the body wood.

any advice will help
Click to expand...

unless the pot and cap values are different than your CIJ, it would almost have to be the Fralins with the maple body of the VM jazz. That's about the only thing you didn't change, which brings me to another question.........
 
#10
johnny5string said:
I just put a new paper in oil cap in one of my students fender aerodyne jazz bass. The difference was quite dramatic. I put pio caps in all my basses. I bet the squire has a two cent tiny ceramic cap in it that chokes the tone.
Click to expand...

That's doubtful. There is not a lot of difference between capacitor compositions in this application. What was the actual rating of the cap? It's possible that you were hearing a difference of ratings, given loose tolerances.
 
#12
line6man said:
That's doubtful.
Click to expand...
You're being charitable. ;)
There is not a lot of difference between capacitor compositions in this application.
Click to expand...
In this application (as opposed to a high-voltage active circuit) there's none. Even in theory, there would only be an imperceptible change in the roll off curve.

I do wish that people would do well-controlled direct-injection digital recordings of their before and after miracle modifications. You don't need an EE degree to hear that most of the improvements are either imaginary or too small to have been worth the expense and trouble in the surprisingly few instances they matter at all.
 
#13
johnny5string said:
I bet the squire has a two cent tiny ceramic cap in it that chokes the tone.
Click to expand...

Chokes the tone? How would it do that? The cap in only in affect when you turn the tone control down. At that point it rolls off the high frequencies.

When the tone control is on 10 the cap does nothing. No signal flows through the cap, so there is no tone being choked.

This is physics, not conjecture. If you hear a difference with the tone control between 7 and zero, then the new caps have a different capacitance rating than the original.
 
#14
I'm 90% sure that my VM Jazz had 500k pots and a .047 cap. That should make for it being pretty bright.

EDIT: I know they are 500k pots I just dug them out of my parts drawer.

What strings are on it at the moment? If you want a brighter tone that would be the first place I would start.
 
#16
SGD Lutherie said:
Chokes the tone? How would it do that? The cap in only in affect when you turn the tone control down. At that point it rolls off the high frequencies.

When the tone control is on 10 the cap does nothing. No signal flows through the cap, so there is no tone being choked.

This is physics, not conjecture. If you hear a difference with the tone control between 7 and zero, then the new caps have a different capacitance rating than the original.
Click to expand...

Let us not forget! Fender used ceramic caps in old Jazz basses, and people still rave about their awesome vintage tone! :hiding:

Though I disagree that the capacitor does nothing when the tone pot is at "10." That would depend on the value of the tone pot. Depending on the pickup impedance, you can usually hear a difference if you remove the pot from the circuit. A lot of guitarists like 250k no-load tone pots that click off to an infinite impedance at "10."
Otherwise, indeed, the capacitor is only in the circuit when you want it to be.
 
#19
line6man said:
Let us not forget! Fender used ceramic caps in old Jazz basses, and people still rave about their awesome vintage tone! :hiding:
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I posted this picture in the other cap thread of my '72 Mustang guitar.

mustang.jpg


Though I disagree that the capacitor does nothing when the tone pot is at "10." That would depend on the value of the tone pot. Depending on the pickup impedance, you can usually hear a difference if you remove the pot from the circuit. A lot of guitarists like 250k no-load tone pots that click off to an infinite impedance at "10."
Otherwise, indeed, the capacitor is only in the circuit when you want it to be.
Click to expand...

You are hearing the resistance loading of the pot, not the cap. The impedance of the cap in the range of the resonance is a much less than the pot value.
 
#20
SGD Lutherie said:
Exactly.

I posted this picture in the other cap thread of my '72 Mustang guitar.
Click to expand...
That's not a ceramic cap, but the "green Chiclet" mylar.

I'm also guessing that it's not original. :confused:

What I find mildly amusing is how Fender goes to the effort to use .05mFd "vintage value" ceramics instead of the much more common .047mFd. :p

BTW, Fender is still using cheap disc ceramics.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back