BaCHbird

[gweimer]

author=Denis link=topic=434.msg59516#msg59516 date=1273439226]
Sweet! Do you have the part number handy for the CTS pot you used?

I just got one of the CTS 500K mini taper pots off of Ebay.

[jumbodbassman]

Sold my yamaha 10 anniv sheehan so what the heck

i have just closed the deal with Rob so in a few weeks i should be a happy owner of a red th-1.  now i need to talk about upgrades....

Gweimer - is that the stock artec pup or did you put the 60's gibson pup in that baby? 

500K pots makes sense.  what about the cap??

bridge spacing ok or too tight??

[gweimer]

I put a '60s Gibson pickup in mine.  I had one that I got about a year ahead of the TH-1.  It only cost me $125, so I went for it.  It also had the cover, which is why I didn't need the NOS one.  Other than the pickup, pot and knobs, I haven't done a single thing to mine. The bridge, tuners and pickguard are just fine with me.

[the mojo hobo]

Why 500K pots? The original '60's birds had 250K pots, which are usually recommended for humbuckers. 

I have a SD Basslines pickup I'm wanting to install in the Bachbird. It recommends 250K. I have 500K in there. Which should I use?

[gweimer]

I'm not the expert.  I just followed someone's recommendation.  Experts?

[jumbodbassman]

USUALLY  250k is for single coils,  500k is for humbuckers as  the 500k will maintain more treble.   now that is the norm but gibson birds never had a lack of treble. Maybe that is why?? Newer type pups may say differently  but they are made different then the old with bridge versus neck windings etc....
The  Capacitor may be more of what should be changed.  What comes with the Bachbird versus what is stock in the gibson birds - anyone know and what is the pickup output of the artec versus the gibson.  when i get mine i will do a comparison  of the above if no one else answers this before it arrives.  Probably next week?

[nofi]

wow! me and my fender brain waltzed right in here. your security is slack. awhile back i stared a thread about caps. the general consensus says it's in your mind,literally. most folks can't tell the difference between different ones.

[the mojo hobo]

I'll find out tonight when I change the cap first, but I think it's the type of cap that doesn't make any difference, it's the value that does.

Browsing stewmac.com for parts and I found the answer to both questions:

Caps
• 0.050µF and .100µF are used for electric bass
• The higher the value, the more bass output from the tone control at its "zero" setting.

Pots
250K =warmer
500K =brighter
1 Meg = brightest

Usually, 250K pots are used with single-coil pickups and and 500Ks are used with humbuckers.

[jumbodbassman]

CHANGING CAPS IS WAY OVERRATED  - JUST LISTEN TO MOST VARITONE POTS.   SOME ARE VERY USABLE TONES,  SOME TONES ARE NICE TO HAVE BUT WILL NEVER USE.... THAT BEING SAID THE WRONG CAP WILL MAKE A BASS TOO TREBLEY OR TOO BASSY.....

I THINK CAPS ARE WAY MORE IMPORTANT ON GUITARS GENERALLY

[chromium]

what is the pickup output of the artec versus the gibson.

My Artec measured 12.4K, and the TB+ soapies that I replaced it with measured 10.2K (which I think is on the hotter side as far as  those go).

I agree that for a bass, changing the type of cap (ceramic disc vs. polypropylene film "orange drops", etc...) makes less difference to my ears than changing the value of the cap (which alters the frequency at which the tone circuit rolls off).

FWIW, I don't find that the brand of pots makes a noticable difference either with a bass.  I see it as more of a tactile change - the way the pot feels when you turn it.  I put CTS in my BaCH so the knobs would have that same clunky feel as my other Gibsons.  I use 16mm and/or 24mm Alphas in my synth-related projects, since they match the smooth feel that you usually find there.  I have some gear with sealed mil-spec Bourns and Spectrol pots that tend to feel fraile and "wobbly" by comparison, but supposedly have a longer lifespan, don't require cleaning, etc...  At the end of the day, they all provide a variable resistance.

[jumbodbassman]

i agree although a linear versus audio is a noticible difference but really only in how the volume or tone rolls off.

[chromium]

i agree although a linear versus audio is a noticible difference but really only in how the volume or tone rolls off.

Yeah that is correct- the pot taper is important to consider along with the resistance value of the pot.  The taper dictates how the resistance is distributed across the pot, and audio/logarithmic taper is better matched to the way our ears respond to volume changes.  I think you can go either way with the tone pots, but you'll see audio taper used there a lot just because its simpler for a manufacturer to source the same pot for everything.

I haven't experimented with the different pot values mentioned above (250K, 500, etc...).  I would expect that to have some perceptible impact to the sound.

[Highlander]

I stripped out the tone circuits from all of my basses... works for me...

[patman]

I have always opened up everything on the guitar...never needed a tone control, although I don't remove them.

[jumbodbassman]

true for almost all my passive basses.  I find that active basses without B & T controls i tend to use it much more  - especially alembic pups and emg's on occassion......

i use my fingers for 99% of the time but the occasional pick tune i find myself toning down a bit even on  passive basses with roundwounds.