LeftyBassist.com

Picked up a P parts bass. Just discovered the tone pot doesn't do anything. All the highs & lows are present but nothing is getting rolled off when I turn the knob. Knob feels normal. Literally no highs get rolled.

No idea if the wiring is right.

Share any thoughts including if I should just spring for one of those souped-up pre-built harness jobs from those people? (Bayou?)

I don't know if any of what I have here wiring wise is quality or correct or anything. Maybe it was wired to bypass? Or maybe the pot just died. I know it's gotta happen a lot but it would be my first.

Pretty happy so far with the rest of the instrument and would consider it a good excuse to upgrade the p/u.

Here's some pics:

Looks like the short, white kinky wire isn't properly connected to the middle terminal of the tone pot. I would start by clipping, stripping, and resoldering that end. No need to spend any money yet.

I would also double check that the cap wires have good connections--just try to give it a little wiggle and make sure you get resistance from the lead wires on both sides.

Hope that makes sense. I'm very tired

Here's the standard wiring diagram from SD that might help you work out what goes where..

The SD diagram is wired differently, so I would still suggest fixing the obvious bad solder joint before uprooting and replanting the entire garden to match that diagram.

Great eye!

I read your post then went to double check the actual wiring and not just the pics I took and it is totally disconnected. When I snapped the pic it was touching in such a way to make one think it was soldered. Of course it would do that! Doh!

Thank you for taking the time and checking out my pics. I will check on the other recs you made and get into this tonite.

Thanks man! I'm gonna check out the differences. Wondering why mine differs?

I'm guessing it could be anything between incompetence to someone's secret sauce wiring mod.

The amusing thing is that it works even with the unattached wire!

After I fix it I may have to unfix it!

When I get in tonite I'll reflow/attach that wire and see what happens.

When you feel like it, chime in on why there's different correct ways to wire a passive P. Of course I'm assuming a passive P is the simplest and that I am understanding your earlier comment that mine differs from SeyDuncan diagram.

Is it a six of one, half-a-dozen of another kinda thing or is mine just wired wrong but still works is what I'm wondering.

Thank y'all for the info!

Better angle of wire.

Yes, there are several perfectly workable ways to wire a passive P. If you do some searches you'll see different diagrams. Also, it could be reversed for left-handed pots. But I bet that if you resolder that bad joint you'll be all set and there won't be any need to work through the rest of the wiring.

Good luck!

Good point! Totally forgot to mention that the diagram I posted was for righty pots wired righty. I do have two basses wired lefty with lefty pots, but three are righty,so I sometimes forget that not everyone likes to have the wiring both ways around.

I used to have a good link on how to determine the inner workings of certain pots, and from there you could be certain which lug to connect to. I haven't referenced it in years since I always use the same pots these days.

it's why some people connect the hot to the volume pot side lug, and others to the center lug (as an example)



tim - good catch on seeing that the wire wasn't actually connected on the tone pot!