the bass in question is a new build, I wanted black knurled knobs, the cheapeast way to get them was to buy a loaded control plate from china. I used everything bar the plate itself.
Compared to my prototype (plywood bitsa with pickups of a Lindo bass, same type of strings) it sounds oomphless, no vah vah voom, worn out.
I was of the opinion that a pot is a pot, but I'm not so sure now, it's the only thing I haven't tried yet.