Passive Distortion potentiometer wiring.

[NancyJohnson]

I don't have a bass available to try this but has anyone experimented with onboard passive distortion circuitry? 

 

In theory, it should be as simply as wiring a couple of diodes into a potentiometer, as shown by Josi's post below.

 

 

[tauzero]

They'd have to be germanium diodes, and you'd need pretty hot pickups as they'd need to output more than 200mV which is where Ge diodes start conducting. I have in the past built an active version of this in a guitar with a transistor amplifying the signal so it was pushed to > 200mV, and then took it out again because it sounded shit.

[Hellzero]

It's what Marshall used to do in their Valvestate series if this helps answering your "question"...

[NancyJohnson]

3 hours ago, tauzero said:

They'd have to be germanium diodes, and you'd need pretty hot pickups as they'd need to output more than 200mV which is where Ge diodes start conducting. I have in the past built an active version of this in a guitar with a transistor amplifying the signal so it was pushed to > 200mV, and then took it out again because it sounded shit.

 

I saw this whole concept come through on Facebook earlier today and watched a short video from a European guy who'd done the wiring to an Epiphone SG and showed the process on a Strat of some kind.  The SG (w/humbuckers) did sound quite mushy, but the Strat just sounded like it was being played hard through a clean amp (giving some clipping, which the user was able to control but rolling the pot on and off).

 

Naturally I wondered whether the wiring/process would convert to a bass.