Your P Bass Tone Knob

[chuck3]

For blues/jazz walking, rolled all the way off, or nearly so.

Same here. My P is a '78 fretless that I use mainly for jazz. I roll off the tone about 75% and have the amp pretty flat. People say it sounds like an upright, which of course it doesn't really, but I think it's just their way of saying it's mixing well for jazz.

It took me a long time to discover that tone knob, but now that I have I realize its power!

 

[Bassman316]

Mine is set full up with 40 year old flats.

 

[taurus1]

I always had the tone knob wide open on my Pbasses and my strats. a few years ago I discovered the tones available from backing it off. now, I use it from full on to full off and everything in between.

 

[jay tay]

I rewired mine to bypass the tone knob, the pot's still in there to fill the hole in the scratch plate. I loaned it to a friend once and I swear it took him around two hours to figure the knob didn't do any thing!

 

[jay tay]

actually the volume doesn't do anything either...

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Does the bass do anything?

 

[jay tay]

Yeah, I only play it rarely and in the same settings, with the same sound. I kept having to mess around with it, as the controls would accidentally move in storage, so I experimented with some fixed resistors, and capacitors, it kinda sounds like the volume is on full, and the tone rolled off slightly, I can't remember what size the components are, without opening her up, as I did it about three years ago. I wouldn't suggest doing it to your main bass, but like I said, I very rarely use this bass. It is the ultimate in minimalism.

 

[rydin4lifebass]

hell of a variety of answers....I've been really playing around with mine..put new strings on and have it almost all the way down...loving the sound.

 

[DTF]

100% off

 

[stingraysvt]

Depends on what I'm trying to achieve, typically at 75%, I just try to take a little edge off. When I pick up a p-bass I think to myself... WWJD? (What Would Jamerson Do?)

 

[Rezdog]

Greetings from the North,

Usually 75% to 100% on does it for me. Strung with LaBella flats.

Rezdog

 

[dancehallclasher]

Full on most of the time, occasionally 75% or so.

 

[carlos840]

Right in the middle and i go either way depending on the song!

 

[parsons]

either full on or backed off about 15%. Mine have the greasebucket circuit.

 

[Matthew_84]

I have a VT Bass Deluxe and a P bass strung with GHS precision flats. I have three different settings on the VT 1)Clean and round 2)bit of distortion, bit of growl 3)high treble and distortion (trying to cop Geddy's Lee tone). All three are set at the most amount of treble I would like with the tone knob at 100%. But from then on I change the settings, and tone knob depending on the song.

 

[bass dan]

rolled off most the way depending on the rig and how dense the mix is. If it's a really dense mix I'll usually have it at a little over the half way point.

 

[David Jayne]

Around half, unless I'm using a pick, in which case I back it down a bit more- this reduces the pick clack and brings up the low mids. P basses are funny that way- roll the tone back to around 30% from closed and the low mids start to pop out a bit more. In case you didn't know.

 

[odin70]

All the way off, most of the time.

 

[zachoff]

Mine's at ~8/10

 

[rouge127]

Fifty percent. Btw I love p basses!