Very honky jazz bass

[colleya]

Hi

My beloved 1993/4 US Jazz is currently sounding really really honky/barky to the point where I'm having trouble getting any oomph without it becoming uncomfortable to listen to. I play in a rock covers band, so being able to get an almost P bass sound is pretty important. At the moment, my tone is more suitable to a jazz/funk trio. I'm definitely not a 'take it apart just to see how it works' sort of bassist (but I'm having to learn quickly), so please excuse any silly questions.

I've tried rolling off the bridge pup and scooping the mids to limited effect, but it doesn't seem like the neck pup is pulling its weight.

For the first time since I've owned her, I've had a look under the bonnet, and there seems to be a double tone pot, which I didn't think was normal for a Jazz. The wiring doesn't look standard either compared to the diagrams. I'm getting the pups and caps checked to see if they're doing what they should too.

Right, time to ask some questions.....

Has anyone else come across this problem, if so, how did you cure it?
Is the double pot normal for an early 90s jazz? (i bought it second hand, so I suppose it could've been modded)
Would a rewire help cure the problem, or am I in new pup territory?

Cheers.

[dan670844]

[quote name='colleya' post='854426' date='Jun 2 2010, 07:47 AM']Hi

My beloved 1993/4 US Jazz is currently sounding really really honky/barky to the point where I'm having trouble getting any oomph without it becoming uncomfortable to listen to. I play in a rock covers band, so being able to get an almost P bass sound is pretty important. At the moment, my tone is more suitable to a jazz/funk trio. I'm definitely not a 'take it apart just to see how it works' sort of bassist (but I'm having to learn quickly), so please excuse any silly questions.

I've tried rolling off the bridge pup and scooping the mids to limited effect, but it doesn't seem like the neck pup is pulling its weight.

For the first time since I've owned her, I've had a look under the bonnet, and there seems to be a double tone pot, which I didn't think was normal for a Jazz. The wiring doesn't look standard either compared to the diagrams. I'm getting the pups and caps checked to see if they're doing what they should too.

Right, time to ask some questions.....

Has anyone else come across this problem, if so, how did you cure it?
Is the double pot normal for an early 90s jazz? (i bought it second hand, so I suppose it could've been modded)
Would a rewire help cure the problem, or am I in new pup territory?

Cheers.[/quote]


Sounds like the tone pot or caps are on the blink to me. You should get them replaced, a double tone pot is not std, i guess someone wired it in as a replacement. Incidently have you tried moving both the pot controls, does it make any difference? how many wires go to the tone pot? 4 or 2?. Maybe someone has made an interesting mod, check it out. It could be that you have a tone pot to each pickup. Thats cool. You can always wind up the bridge pickup to see if the sound becomes beefer. if not i would think you have lost you bridge pickup.

[colleya]

[quote name='dan670844' post='854464' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:01 AM']Incidently have you tried moving both the pot controls, does it make any difference?[/quote]

Erm, pass! Just getting into this problem, so haven't had time to do anything much yet, plus, this is the first time I've attempted to understand the guts, so I'm on a steep learning curve.

[quote name='dan670844' post='854464' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:01 AM']Show many wires go to the tone pot? 4 or 2?.[/quote]

2, but here are a couple of pics to show the wiring and the double pot.

EDIT: Playing around with the top off (oo-er), the black wire from the neck pot to the jack socket was very loose and came away. Time to borrow a soldering iron and see if that solves the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Andy

Edited June 2, 2010 by colleya

[johnnylager]

Looks modded to me, the dual pot & resistor are not std. A quick fix back to std would be -

[list]
[*]remove the resistor
[*]unsolder the white wire from the bridge vol pot & the wire attached to it going to the jack
[*]resolder these to the middle lug of the uppermost track of the dual pot [where the resistor is currently]
[/list]And ignore the dual pot.
The way to get a more P-like sound is to insert a series / parallel [S1 style] switch, giving you single vol & tone. These are available aftermarket as complete looms, but a bit pricey, or use your local guitar shop. A push - pull vol pot is a good idea to switch between them.

Andy Rothstein does a great one from the US [[url="http://www.guitar-mod.com/rg_pw_bass1_passive.html"]the JSP[/url]] & there's got to be someone over here who'll do them.

[colleya]

Cool, cheers for that. Not sure I'm up for changing the circuit yet. Gonna try a rewire (and possibly a new pot) to see how it goes. Failing that, new pickups are next on the shopping list. I'll let you know how it goes.

Andy

[wateroftyne]

Check the pickups aren't too close to the strings, too.

[geoffbyrne]

The double pot is a Fender TBX tone pot. This extends both the bass & the treble when turned past '5'. This may be the source of your 'honk'' Turn it back to about 4 & see what it's like. Google TBX. Find here:

[url="http://www.axesrus.com/axeElectronicsPots.htm#Alpha"]http://www.axesrus.com/axeElectronicsPots.htm#Alpha[/url]

G.

[colleya]

Cheers guys. I've experimented with as many tome options as I can dial in (bass and amp). Gonna rewire with a standard 250k pot and probably swap the pickups for a set of Wizard 84s that I've been coveting for a while!

[colleya]

Brief update. Rewired with standard pot but no real difference. Hopefully, the Wizards will arrive tomorrow in time to be fitted before the evening's gig. White Hart, Whaley Bridge, Peak District by the way if anyone's about!

[redstriper]

Have you tried turning the bridge pup off completely and reducing volume of neck pup to about 60% ?
Turn up gain on amp to compensate and you should hear no honk.

[colleya]

[quote name='redstriper' post='857862' date='Jun 5 2010, 12:14 AM']Have you tried turning the bridge pup off completely and reducing volume of neck pup to about 60% ?
Turn up gain on amp to compensate and you should hear no honk.[/quote]


Cheers, I haven't tried that one yet. Gotta be worth a whirl if I can't get my hands on the pickups in time. Just chased the postie down the street cos I'd nipped out at the precise moment he turned up to deliver my parcel! He's coming back with it at the end of his shift so I've gotta sit tight and wait - fingers crossed.

[redstriper]

I think you'll be surprised how much the pup volume affects the tone and I would definately try it before changing pups.

[colleya]

[quote name='redstriper' post='858149' date='Jun 5 2010, 01:43 PM']I think you'll be surprised how much the pup volume affects the tone and I would definately try it before changing pups.[/quote]

Went to try it and my neck pup had died completely, luckily, the postman knocked on within 30 mins of it happening. New Wizard 84s sat happily in place (even with my noob soldering skills) and sounding amazing at low volume. Can't wait to get out tonight and give em a damn good thrashing! Big recommendation to Wizard for service and delivery too - only ordered them on Thursday.

[redstriper]

No wonder it honked if you were only using the bridge pup - hope the Wizards do the job for you.

[colleya]

They did, and how! Never sounded better, sat below the mix driving it along all night, tone, definition and sustain was brilliant. Only problem is, I'm gonna have to improve my technique. All the little variations in attack or slight misfrets show up in startling clarity now!