Matthieu Brucher's blog

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I’ve recently burnt the tone circuit of my Cort GB-74, so I’ve changed it for a Seymour Duncan STC-2A. The basic wiring diagram does not include all the options I had on the original diagram, here are the (small, really small) modifications and some impressions on the STC.

Changes

First, I had to widen two pot holes in the bass body. Indeed, the GB-74 balance and master volume pots are smaller than the EQ one, contrary to the STC where they all have the same size.

Then, I’ve copied the GB-74 bypass switch. When off, the output of the balance pot is the input of the master pot, without any amplification. On the on position, the usual path is kept, from the balance to the tone circuit and from the tone circuit to the volume pot.

Modified wiring diagram

I’ve also kept the Cort humbucker switch, which can either use one of the two micro lines or both in parallel.

On the original Cort wiring diagram, the bypass switch is located on the main volume pot, and the EQ switch is alone. With the STC, the EQ switch is located ont he volume pot. It is possible to change this, but it means unsoldering the switch and as the wires are thinner than the Cort ones, I didn’t do it.

Comments

I have some comments on my new tone circuit:

The wires are thinner than the original tone circuit. Compared to the price of the STC-2, using correct, stronger wires would be expected.
The STC is based on a similar design than the GB74 tone circuit but it is made with “real” components, not SOC. The sound color should be better.
The EQ switch is awkward: to activate it, the main volume pot must be pulled, so the default position is without tone control.
I think the global volume is lower than before. I will change the pickups in the future for stronger ones

I’m satisfied with my new bass electronics. It wasn’t complicated to install it, so even someone who did not have much experience with soldering may be able to install it inside one’s bass.