THIS MONTH - BASS ELECTRONICS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to on-board electronics

- Dan Veall

Welcome! Ever been confused by all the electronic stuff under the hood of your bass? As I see it, buying your first bass is tough enough, even before you figure out what its electronics actually do.

This is about passive versus active basses, right?

Yes! The former require no batteries and perform no amplification when controls are adjusted. On Precision- and Jazz-type basses, you’ll find a single tone control, based on just two components. The first is the knob itself, also referred to as a pot in abbreviation of its full name, potentiometer. The second is a capacitor in a network that progressively rolls offtreble frequencies as the knob is turned anti-clockwise. This creates a sound that is perceived as more bass-heavy.

You make passive basses sound pretty simple.