Switchable Hi-Z input impedance, how ?

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Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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hi
it plays good
but same as the other bass
set up for slap bass

same round wound strings with tapered ends
and I bet they are hex core too
I suppose any other string sounds soft in comparison

I will have to change strings
questions is...which type
probably ground wound or flatwound

man, this bass is loud
my ears are beginning to protest

next post...tone control cap
 
Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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I love the deep brown back of this one

but wire harness is a complete mess
might sound like out of phase or something
can't make head or tail out of it
I have to cut them, and rewire

hard to see now, but I ended up with 2x 15n caps in parallel
tried a lot of other caps
even 1.5uf, but soon realised I should go smaller instead :clown:
strangely, this time I made it smaller that stock 47n
and with these values it doesnt take much to make a big difference

but when pots are rewired, the caps might change again, maybe
 

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Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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looking at it in daylight :clown: though messy, it appears to be mounted exactly like I would myself, with each coil wired to their own pot, and in parallel

I suppose any other configuration only results in higher impedance
not much I can change there
30n cap stays I guess

other than maybe try the known 'hifi-trick' and mount a ground resistor to pot wiper out, making the linear pot function more like a log pot
since the pot would be turned more up or 'open', I take it that would also lower output impedance
 
Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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gosh! I am completely hopeless, buying these cheap basses :clown:

and this one will be a lot of work to get right
fortunately I can do it myself
and Im sure it will be a good 5 string bass
man, I think they forgot to tighten all them screws

and that active stuff in there is real trash
man its noisy, and dangerous

no surprice everyone seem to convert to passive these days
this one will be passive too
 

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Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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sounds like I got the 4 string straight now

its wired like it was originally, but this time with correct phase
I was surpriced to see red pickup wires connect to ground
obviously this was responsible for most of the sharp metallic sound
maybe they think the more the merrier

but now it has a sweet snerring growl instead
and balance between neck and bridge pickups is much smoother now
tunes better, plays better
I would say its quite good now

btw, due to the many many experiments the soldering now looks like crap
all will have to be redone before putting the lid on again
 

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Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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its been a real teaser
dont know how many different combinations I have tried by now :eek:

finally I decided to rip out all wires and start all over
this time I tried with shortest and direct ground wires
and it seems like it helped
also the ground resistor on the tone pot seems to have a positive effect

I should note that I tried it on my 12" PA woofer
and I could hear no effect from the tone pot at all, nada :scratch2:
 

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Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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now tone cap is 0.033uf (again)
also tried 3x 10n, which is about the same
but this single green one somehow sounds smoother

cap type does seem to matter
metallic sound is now replaced by a light crispy sound
I think its as good as it gets this way
and Im not even sure I want to change strings now
but would probably have been next on my list
 

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Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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... shielding the inside with copper tape can be big improvement for hum & RFI reduction

maybe its more important with active curcuits :scratch2:

and my new 5 string showed to be exstremely noisy :eek: cheap stuff :D

ripped out the active curcuit
I think the pickups are passive designs
but Im not 100% sure

hmmm, pots are lowish 100K and 50K...:scratch2:
 

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maybe its more important with active curcuits :scratch2:

and my new 5 string showed to be exstremely noisy :eek: cheap stuff :D

ripped out the active curcuit
I think the pickups are passive designs
but Im not 100% sure

hmmm, pots are lowish 100K and 50K...:scratch2:

Fairly obviously active pots are lower value than passive ones, no need for the high values with active.

I've never seen any problems with active basses either, all sound great and are nice and quiet. It's not rocket science, the electronics in an active guitar/bass are pretty simple, it would be hard to mess it up.
 
Ex-Moderator R.I.P.
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a 300USD 5 string, with active curcuit...I dont think so

but it works really well wired passive :)
did a very quick test with both pickups wired in parallel into the same pot
just straight, with no tone pot

I would say it sounds very promising
but the jack plug is crap
the jack connector is too loose fit, and unsafe
definately have to be changed
 

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a 300USD 5 string, with active curcuit...I dont think so

Active electronics are cheap and simple, no problem in a $300 bass.

but it works really well wired passive :)
did a very quick test with both pickups wired in parallel into the same pot
just straight, with no tone pot

I would say it sounds very promising
but the jack plug is crap
the jack connector is too loose fit, and unsafe
definately have to be changed

Nothing 'unsafe' about it - no way it possibly could be.
 
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