precision bass wiring problem

[Fitzy73]

hi ,i am wiring a project precision bass , i have got new pots (250k audio for volume & 250k linear for tone). i used the seymour duncan wiring diagram for standard precision bass . the problem is when the volume pot is in off position i am still getting some volume ,its not as much as in the on position but its enough to be a problem . other than that i have no buzz etc anty help would be great cheers

[johnnylager]

12 views & no replies? If you are confident that your wiring is good, then it sounds like a dodgy pot to me. I have had a pot like this in the past, a new one too. I thought the P-basss used 2 audio-taper pots? Ssouldn't be relevant to this fault though.

Edited June 17, 2010 by johnnylager

[Fitzy73]

thanks johnnylager , found the problem i didnt ground the 3rd lug on the volume pot right . the new alpha pots on this precision made sound so much better . i was thinking maybe its just bad wiring in the first place or do more expensive pots make a real difference . if so i will be replacing pots on all my basses .

[JackLondon]

New pots can make a difference, recently I've rewired my guitarists les paul and it sounds so much better, I'm no expert but when I saw the inside of the guitar's cavity I thought it was the worst piece of work I ever saw!

[henry norton]

[quote name='JackLondon' post='871566' date='Jun 19 2010, 11:25 AM']New pots can make a difference, recently I've rewired my guitarists les paul and it sounds so much better, I'm no expert but when I saw the inside of the guitar's cavity I thought it was the worst piece of work I ever saw![/quote]
Most potentiometers(!) are just a thin carbon track with a bit of springy metal wiping over it, so even a few years of use can wear it out. People only replace them when they break or start to crackle but like allot of things, you don't notice the difference if it happens over a long period of time. The pots on my Precision are from 1982 - 28 years of wear and tear I never even thought about 'til I read this thread! I'm going to replace them next chance I get and I'll try to do a direct, back-to-back comparison.

[Al Heeley]

you mean you dont just leave them all turned up to full all the time? No wear then, no resistance!

[JackLondon]

Well my guitarist always has them on full but his guitar is a bit of a puzzle because he bought it in 2005 but the pots were dating back to 1995 so a huge question mark appeared in my head and I was thinking WTF? When I took the pots out I took a DMM to measure them and funnily enough 2 were around 600k, 1 was 390k and 1 was 470k. I've bought a whole new wiring kit including some orange drop caps that replaced the ceramic discs!