A tale of two bass tone controls (working now, thanks)

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bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
edited July 2017 in Making & Modding
I gutted two basses today to fit full-size CTS pots, wired up classic jazz bass style. Both pickups are normal two-wire jobs.

On the first bass, the tone control cuts a bit of treble, but mainly volume, and cuts the bass out at zero. On the other, the tone control reduces volume but doesn't cut out completely at zero.

This was the diagram I followed


Is there anything obvious I should do before I post pictures and expose my shame to the entire forum?
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Comments

  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    Nah. Just upload da pics.
    Be seeing you.
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  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
    edited July 2017
    Here you go, this is one of them.


    It's a beat-to-shit 78 antigua jazz that's been gone over with black, smashed into three pieces and screwed back together again, and someone put mini pots in there at some point. My mate wanted decent pots in there, so I said I could have a go for him.
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  • GagarynGagaryn Frets: 1553
    I suspect part of the problem is that you might have shorted the neck live wire to ground by melting the insulation whilst grounding to the back of the pot
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    Looks like the tone control is wired wrong - the wire from the volume pots should go to the middle terminal, not the top one, along with the wire to the jack.

    If so the quickest solution is to just solder together the top and middle terminals.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    bbill335 said:
    Here you go, this is one of them.
    Er, since you have presented two wiring problems in a single thread, it might help if you included a description of which fault belongs with each set of photographs.
    Be seeing you.
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  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
    bbill335 said:
    Here you go, this is one of them.
    Er, since you have presented two wiring problems in a single thread, it might help if you included a description of which fault belongs with each set of photographs.
    ??? There is one diagram and one picture of the bass' wiring (which was faulty).

    I have it working now. I had wired the tone pot wrong. Thanks everyone.


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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    edited July 2017
    I am referring to this.
    bbill335 said:
    I gutted two basses today ... On the first bass, the tone control cuts a bit of treble, but mainly volume, and cuts the bass out at zero. On the other, the tone control reduces volume but doesn't cut out completely at zero.
    *
    bbill335 said:
    Funkfingers said:
    Er, since you have presented two wiring problems in a single thread, it might help if you included a description of which fault belongs with each set of photographs.
    ??? There is one diagram and one picture of the bass' wiring (which was faulty).
    Yes ... but ... which one of the two faulty bass guitars described in your opening post appears in the photographs in post #3 of this Discussion?

    Knowing which wiring fault is under investigation avoids wasting time and brain effort, looking for possible errors which are not actually relevant. 
    Be seeing you.
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  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
    ??? The jazz was easier to open up and I thought I'd tackle them one at a time  :s 

    I'd made the same mistake on both, did the same fix on both and it's all ok now, thanks.  :)
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