tone knob on jazz ,all or nothing

[gub]

I have a great old antori jazz which i am loving playing its just that the tone knob issue in that it seems i have to turn it all the way down before it takes anything off and turning it up doesnt make any difference past about quater of a turn . any ideas? does it mean i have to get the pot changed or could it be an easy fix?

[brensabre79]

probably a cheap or wrong type of pot. I find LIN works best for tone, (LOG for volume) have a look out for CTS 10% tolerance (vintage style) pots. they are about £6 online and well worth it. changing the pots is not that hard and not expensive but can make a huge difference...
I used to have an Antoria EB-3 copy which was great to play. I miss that bass sometimes. but the electronics were sh*te.

[brensabre79]

you might also want to upgrade the capacitor on the tone pot too. get hold of the 'paper in oil type' for a lovely smooth warm rolloff

[ahpook]

if it were me, i'd replace the whole wiring loom, pots and all.

then you know it's all ok.

[icastle]

Pots either work or they don't - usually due to mechanical failure, resulting in scraping noises as you rotate the control.

I'd say that the pot is either the wrong type or value (fault has been the same ever since you've owned the bass) or that the capacitor has failed (fault has appeared recently).

[StraightSix]

This is a cheap upgrade for old electronics: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jazz-bass-Wiring-Kit-poly-capacitor-Alpha-pots-/130409643934?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1e5d053f9e"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jazz-bass-Wiring-Kit-poly-capacitor-Alpha-pots-/130409643934?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1e5d053f9e[/url]

[rmorris]

alternative view: the effectiveness ( or otherwise) of tone controls in high impedance ( standard passive pickup ) circuits is always an issue due to the electronic parameters involved.
Do you really need a high impedance tone control at all or can you better get the tonal variation wanted using amp / preamp / pedal controls ?