Jaguar Bass-Cut Function Confusion

mountain2012

Firstly, I'm looking to get the natural sound from my bridge pickup without any tone alteration.

The fellow who made the post below states that the bass-cut switch doesn't actually cut bass at all when switched towards the pickups, but rather adds a capacitor to the circuit that adds bass to the sound when switched away from the pickups. Thus the bass-cut switch shouldn't be called so, but rather called a fat switch.

Can anyone confirm what this guy posted in my thread? Again, I'm trying to get the pure sound of bridge pickup without any tone alteration.

http://www.jag-stang.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19647#p352436

Postby Richie on Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:34 pm

"Having re-wired everything in my own Jaguar I can tell you something quite interesting: the "bass cut" function is indeed activated when the switch is in the "up" position, i.e. toward the pickups. However, this is in fact the natural sound of the Jaguar's pickups. In the "down" position, i.e. away from the pickups, the signal is run through a capacitor that actually adds bass. So technically, "bass cut" isn't an accurate description of that switch's function, it's just assumed that that is the intended function because the sound of the pickups with that extra capacitor in the "down" position is a bit more usable and pleasant."

jacksonjackass

Richie's knows what he's talking about 😉

Basically, the 'bass on' function is like a tone control.

Richie

mcconnachiea said: Richie's knows what he's talking about 😉
Basically, the 'bass on' function is like a tone control.

Cheers!

Like I say, if you take the control plate out and flip it over, you'll see that the capacitor is wired to the lower lug on the switch, meaning it's active when the switch is in the down position. You see the capacitor is actually compensating for the 1meg pots the Jaguar uses, which make for a much brighter tone than say in a Strat. For that reason I would have suggested you keep that capacitor in the circuit, even if you do want the tone of the pickups to be as "pure" as possible, but that's just a personal preference thing, I never touch my bass cut switch 'cause I love the sound with the capacitor kept in the loop.

Mad-Mike

Weird you say that, I wired a similar switch into my KRamer Focus 3000 identical to that found in the Jaguar, and it does exactly the opposite of what everyone speaks of here - It cuts the lows out, and makes the guitar sound very thin and tinny. I have 2 lugs, and a capacitor placed between them, when the contact between the lugs inside the switch is cut, the tone turns thin and tinny. Also, my Jaguar sounds thicker with the switch down, which is when the capacitor's legs are shorted by the switch, bypassing the capacitor.

Richie

Mad-Mike said: Weird you say that, I wired a similar switch into my KRamer Focus 3000 identical to that found in the Jaguar, and it does exactly the opposite of what everyone speaks of here - It cuts the lows out, and makes the guitar sound very thin and tinny. I have 2 lugs, and a capacitor placed between them, when the contact between the lugs inside the switch is cut, the tone turns thin and tinny. Also, my Jaguar sounds thicker with the switch down, which is when the capacitor's legs are shorted by the switch, bypassing the capacitor.

Are you sure? 'Cause I'd trust your word over mine.

You know what, I'm going to have to open mine up again...

Richie

Just opened it up to double check, the capacitor is DEFINITELY in the circuit when the switch is down.

Seems our Jaguars work differently somehow Mike. 😕

mountain2012

Richie said: Just opened it up to double check, the capacitor is DEFINITELY in the circuit when the switch is down.
Seems our Jaguars work differently somehow Mike. 😕

What year and model is your Jaguar, Richie?

How about you Mike?

Richie

I'm not sure about the year of mine, it's a "Crafted", not "Made", but has a early 90s serial number, so slightly confused there. I don't think that it particularly matters though.

Thinking about it, there's a chance I'm misunderstanding exactly how the switch works internally and that Mike is in fact right. Reviewing much of the wiring again, what he's said makes sense, so I may owe you an apology for giving erroneous and misleading information. 😕

Mad-Mike

My Jaguar

1998 Crafted in Japan model

My switches on my Jaguar are off when the switch is going towards the high E string (or Up), which is pretty much normal for every Jaguar I've ever played (Special HH, CP HH, CP Vintage, and a 1963). Many people reverse the switches on their Jaguar to prevent from being cut-off in a live situation.

Here's the underside of my control plate. My Jaguar is around the same age as his is so it should be similar if not the same, if not, then his switch might be wired backwards to prevent it from being knocked into the off position.

In this photo, the two pickups are on and the strangle is off. If I switch the third switch upward (strangle on), it stops shorting out the two leads to the capacitor, and then the current is run through the capacitor instead of bypassing it through the contacts on the switch.

Richie

right, yep, I misunderstood how the innards of the switch works. My bad, guys!

mountain2012

Thanks guys, glad we cleared it up.