I am considering doing an upgrade for my (stock) Squier CV 70s Precision bass, in particular to the tone. My first instincts were to start looking for a nice set of pickups for this bass.
Then I started wondering: how important are your tone pots? Is it worth upgrading the stock squier pots if you’re going to put in new pickups? Asking since I feel like I have no idea about how important the tone pots you use are.
Bonus question: If you think swapping stock squier tonepots is worth it, please leave a recommendation for good “bang-for-your-buck” tonepots
It’s very useful to control the treble/edge/bite and the depth and darkness of the tone. it’s especially useful if you have roundwound strings. except for special uses (like metal only) I would not recommend a bass without a tone pot.
How much the value of the capacitor counts ?
A tone control is a low-pass filter, and the capacitor value controls its frequency. I recommend a 47nF (0.047uF) capacitor, except for very low tunings where a 68nF can better match the frequencies of the instrument (but a 47nF still works OK).
How much the potentiometer value counts ?
It determines the “100%” point of the control. in general, a 250k pot is suitable for single coil pickups and a 500k pot is suitable for humbuckers. a 250k will make humbuckers sound darker, even when the pot is set to 10. also a lower value pot (250k) tends to behaves better, with a more linear feel.
How much a linear or log/audio taper counts ?
It doesn’t change at all the tone when the pot is set to 10 but it greatly changes the behavior of the pot. I recommend a log/audio taper pot.
Thanks a lot for your in depth response!
I will definitely know what type to look out for when I order new ones
What I really meant, though, is:
Does buying tonepots of higher quality give you a noticeable result in terms of the tone that your pickups can produce?
