I Mean, Look

[oquintan]

Why couldn't you instead of having a traditional linear tone knob on a straight P Bass, have a 3 position selector switch with 3 different capacitors in parallel with the volume knob?
The tome is probably mostly created in pedals and amp settings, is the tone knob really the center of the universe, having a selector switch eliminates the tone knob getting accidentally turned during playing?
I'm just thinking out loud I guess.

Oscar

[jeremy]

welcome to the forum!

you could absolutely make a tone switch with varying degrees of frequency roll off. im much more of a guitar player, but im used to using my tone knobs, and like being able to subtly dial in how much high end i want. i dont typically bump my tone knob while playing bass, but im a blues/rock guy so im not thrashing around too much when playing bass.

[Mincer]

Yes, this sort of thing can be done, and has been done in guitars, too. I love all the different shades across a variable tone knob so it wouldn't work for me, but there are a lot of people it would be perfect for.

[Chistopher]

On an active bass, it's definitely better to have knobs for boosting frequencies, but I've seen a few passive basses that had a treble switch.

[Seashore]

Set-and-forget options work well for me on guitar, but being able to fine tune is more important on bass. I don't use a tone knob on my setups but I have dual volume controls, and I make use of the various degrees of blending a lot. It's especially helpful when I'm recording. A little bit of a nudge can make the difference between supporting a mix or disappearing.

[beaubrummels]

You don't want to just have a set of capacitors, that's like having the tone rolled all the way off all the time. The cap sets the corner frequency, not the amount of roll off. You would need to experiment with resistors in series with the cap to figure out what combination makes a worthwhile pre-set.

[Aceman]

Sounds like a Bass Varitone to me...

[eclecticsynergy]

You don't want to just have a set of capacitors, that's like having the tone rolled all the way off all the time. The cap sets the corner frequency, not the amount of roll off. You would need to experiment with resistors in series with the cap to figure out what combination makes a worthwhile pre-set.

Yah, if I were doing it I'd have a trimpot for each capacitor, dial in the amount of rolloff for each position and then close it up.
Myself, I need an adjustable tone control. So I'd have three knobs. Volume, tone, plus a rotary for a couple of different caps.

If accidental nudges were a real problem, the rotary could be located between the volume & tone knobs.
On most basses, though, there's enough space that I don't think I've ever turned the tone knob by mistake.

If I were doing it, I'd use a PJ bass pickguard - it has holes for three knobs - and put the output jack on the side like a PJ, too.
Like a PJ without the bridge pickup. Of course if it were me, I'd rather have the bridge pickup than a cap selector.

~

One of my HSS superStrats came with two knobs and three mini switches in place of the center knob.
I replaced the tone control with a dual-concentric: one for the bridge and another for the middle & neck.
Wired one of the mini switches (DPDT center-off) to select two different pairs of tone caps or tone bypass.

Seemed like a cool idea at the time, but turned out to be a needless complication - I hardly ever use the other pair of caps.
I do bypass the tone circuit occasionally, for a little extra sparkle. But IMO it wasn't really worth the complication.
Also, dual concentrics aren't at all ergonomic on the fly. I knew that but chose to ignore the fact.
I rationalize the project as a sort of test bed - experimenting, a learning experience.

Looking back over the decades, virtually every time I've wired more complex capabilities it wound up not being worth the time & trouble.
Pull-to-split is handy on humbucker axes, and autosplit is handy on Strat types. For me, nothing much beyond that has really been worth it.
I could see maybe trying spin-a-split someday though, if I ever have a guitar with an extra unused knob.

[eclecticsynergy]

Sounds like a Bass Varitone to me...

I remember Gibson's old EB-3 basses that had a rotary for the pickup selector.
Kinda like a bass varitone, only more useful.
Interesting basses, short scale with that huge mudbucker as a main pickup.

As an older guy, they're more appealing now than they were back in the 70s.
Even an EB-0, or an EB-1 like Felix Pappalardi played...
These days I can appreciate many things that my younger self dismissed without thinking.

[Chistopher]

Looking back over the decades, virtually every time I've wired more complex capabilities it wound up not being worth the time & trouble.
Pull-to-split is handy on humbucker axes, and autosplit is handy on Strat types. For me, nothing much beyond that has really been worth it.
I could see maybe trying spin-a-split someday though, if I ever have a guitar with an extra unused knob.

I feel it can be a sign of confidence in your music quality to not pay as much attention to tone.

All my guitars right now except my Strat are a 3-way switch with minimal other controls. Even the Strat is going to a 3-way soon.

[ehdwuld]

removing the tone knob and having several EQ pedals in the loop would achieve the same results

sometimes I like the bass to have a middy thump
and sometimes I just want to FEEL it on my pants leg

[beaubrummels]

Sounds like a Bass Varitone to me...

FWIW a Varitone adds an inductor into the circuit to set the Q-factor of the EQ. Instead of a shelf roll-off, it becomes a particular frequency peak control.

[ErikH]

My Jazz bass has the stock setup. I like having a traditional tone control. Now, there is a 5-way switch on the Yamaha TRBX 304/305 basses that gives different EQ settings. Very cool switch that changes the tone. There's a 2-band active EQ too. A very versatile setup.