1st timer building an ESB-4

[fender3x]

Better pots won't hurt. No-name pots can be very inconsistent. Just because they say A may not mean they are A. Also wondering about the output from your pickups? Maybe it is very low.




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[Simon Barden]

It could also possibly be a damaged potentiometer (though unlikely that two would fail in exactly the same way).

Upgrading the pots is never a bad thing, but you may need to stay with mini-pots depending on the size of the F-hole, as a full-sized pot may not fit through, especially with the wiring attached.

[fender3x]

For sure on the minis. Normal sized pots won't fit even unwired.

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[PeterSik]

the kit came with 4 identical pots (i did check) there is a pic of my wiring on page 1 or 2 of this thread. .they all work the correct way round so no probz there.. i used the schematic i found on the pitbull site..

about the pickups.. i really need to crank up my amp to get any sound from them.. and it's not the pots.. in my search for my electrick gremlin i connected the pups directly to the amp.. no change.. i i were a gigging bass player i would deffo not be amused.. as it stands i'll only play the thing at home but i'll still be replacing them and the vol. pots. just not in a huge rush to do so

[Simon Barden]

Now found the picture - I probably wasn't expecting one so far back. On the kit pots, the A500k and B500k text is normally on the other side of the pots to that in the picture. It's easy to miss, even when you're looking for it. But they may have sent you all linear pots, which still seems to me like the most likely cause of your volume control problem.

I've totally forgotten to say that otherwise the bass looks great (I'm afraid I do get so absorbed by technical issues to the detriment of other items). So once you get some new pots and maybe some new pickups, it should be a good bass.

On the pots, I'd look for either CTS, Bourns or Alpha pots. With the existing pickups, I'd look for 500k audio/log pots for the volume pots and 500k linear pots for tone.

The real problem you have is finding some replacement humbucker-sized bass pickups. It's one reason my kit order is for an un-routed bass, so I can fit any pickups I want. I did find some active ones that were the right size, but without cutting a hole in the back and fitting a battery compartment, there's nowhere to fit a battery where it can easily be accessed.

[PeterSik]

i've been lookin about for pups.. and yea they are kinda hard to find in that size..
EMG does make some that i found though both in active and passive.. dont like the look of em though for this bass..
the tone pots seem to be working just fine.. another indicator of not having swapped em

anywho.. the budget is spent for now so i will be putting in new pots and pups.. but for now i'm calling it finnished.. once i fix the truss rod cover.. i keep forgetting that one :P

other than that it needs a decent setup but for now it's playable

[fender3x]

I understand about being tapped out. I found that with a simple mod I could get Danos in the humbucker rout. I had to make pickup covers though, and that was a ton of work.

Another thing you might consider is to use something like a DiMarzio X2N or X2N7. They are not, strictly speaking, a bass pickup, but they've been uses in basses. The "7" is a bit wider for 7 string guitars and might work well with a bass if it will fit in the rout...

Lots of cheaper bar humbuckers that should work fine for bass as long as they are wide enough.

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[PeterSik]

I finally put the truss rod cover on... and decided i really don't like it.. hadn't even looked at the thing before but it's just a piece of plastic with chromed screws.. gonna be really easy to make a new one out of a scrap bit of wood though.. just need to find me a nice piece.

[Dedman]

This is looking dammed fine. I DO have a thing for hollowbodies. :P

[andrewdosborne]

Agree Deddy, a very nice hollow bass build. Now how do I go about justifying another kit....