Okiedokie_newbie Posted September 6, 2014 Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 Hi!! Found the site when looking for reference material when doing some work. Now I've found it, I supposed I should contribute, thank you, and try to get involved! First thing's first - I have been playing bass for 16 months, but I am a tuba and trombone player\teacher. I bought a Warwick Alienbass acoustic to learn on, and started my journey. Along the way, a friend found a solidbody at a garage sale for $40. My logic - any money spent doing it up would be equal to or less than buying one, and there might be an advantage to having one. New problem - didn't have an amp, so I didn't get much of a chance to test it for a while, and work out how good or bad my investment was! Fixed that - someone bought me a small Fender Rumble. So here we go.... SQUEAL!!!! So, here I am with something (A black Hondo 83H with a white scratch plate) that has faulty electrics, one knob missing, the other is a little stiff, and an annoying buzz coming from the head of the guitar.... and so my project began. This week, my wife (a mechanical engineer, and the owner of all our tools) has rewired the guitar, and I've ordered new knobs, a bridge, and managed to work out that the buzz in the head is the G tuner is loose in the shaft, vibrating with the string. The bridge is a "Zinc Alloy Modern Jazz Bass Guitar Bridge" - identical to the one I am replacing (because I didn't want to oder something "pretty" and find it wasn't designed for my guitar) in all aspects except, I am replacing a silver one with a black one. The main reason for the new bridge is one of the intonation adjusting hex screws has totally seized on the D string. After the rewire, the static from the jack is improved, but not perfect. Was looking at a prewired scratchplate from China - black again - as a quick and easy way of just "starting again" with the electrics, and guaranteeing it's not faulty soldering. Next thing I'll look at doing is replacing all the tuning heads - a quick and easy way to eliminate that buzz. I am thinking I won't go too cheap on these, but still don't wanna spend a fortune.... exploring this at a later date. The parts I've bought of late are cheap - just to see if I can get something going (this is all COMPLETELY NEW to me!!!), and may one day upgrade them.... maybe... As for strings.... I have 4..... they work.... what more do I need? Feel free to have a giggle at my naivete.... then (slowly) re-educate this newbie, please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted September 6, 2014 Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 First of all: Welcome to the forum! I don't think that you are doing anything wrong here, starting with cheep instruments and learning on them before moving on to more expensive things. Just a thought on the static you are hearing: When changing the bridge, did you connect the ground wire? How is the static if you touch the sleeve of the plug when connected to the instrument? Better or worse? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted September 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 Grounding the wire was one of the things we had to research (which we found an answer to on this site!!!). The issue is something along the lines of a problem with the jack - if it isn't just so, it transmits crap as opposed to the tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted September 6, 2014 Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 Welcome aboard! If wiggling the lead in the jack makes the signal come and go then the jack likely wants replacing. The jack relies on the "springiness" of the internal contacts to ensure a good connection with the guitar lead. Over time, or if it was cheaply made, and after repeated insertions/removals the jack contacts will lose their shape and won't be able to conform to the shape of the plug properly. Add years of dirt, grime and corrosion and eventually the jack won't be any good. New jacks are only a buck or two for a cheapie from any electronics hobby store that will get you going again, or multiple dollars for some high-end super-duper gold plated thing from an over-priced music store. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted September 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 Replace the jack, then find a problem with the tone or volume...... Or just gut the thing and replace the lot with a pre-loaded scratchplate!!! The second one bring me closer to my immediate goal faster - and hopefully more simply!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted September 7, 2014 Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 Do you know you have a problem with the volume or tone pots as well? Be a shame to assume nothing works, replace it outright and miss an opportunity to learn about how the nuts and bolts of the instrument work together. Might be quicker, but not nearly as fun. New fully loaded scratchplate from China is $20 or so. May or may not drop right in (screw holes may not match your existing bass), parts quality probably pretty dubious, but will likely get you going in no time flat. New pots would be $3 - $4 each, jack socket $2 - $3, get to learn/practice your soldering techniques, mechanical skills, assembly skills, fault-finding skills, warm-and-fuzzy feeling of "modded it myself"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted September 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 That is a good idea, and you are probably right.... but that might be a "next time" thing. I know the tone pot is stiff, and volume was a little temperamental.... The missus and I agree that the wiring diagram we found here explained the potentiometers really well, including the grounding and operational concepts. We could easily come back at another point, and do exactly what you're suggesting. I even put it to the lass that maybe one day, perhaps, making our own body (Bek recently did an amazing job restoring an old dining room table). Regarding the scratchplate from China - a friend already mentioned about screw numbers and sizes (I never had thought of it), so out of curiosity I began checking. Mine has 11 screws, and most people were selling 12 screws.... but we did find one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted September 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 This site was also extremely helpful - The engineer appreciated its breakdownhttp://www.guitarnucleus.com/wiring.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted September 7, 2014 Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 Im gonna have to agree with curtis new pots plus new jack is cheaper and on the end you willl probably. Have a better quality setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted September 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 Still waiting on my parts to arrive, but I am already thinking towards the next step. Yes, I will definitely want to switch to better quality parts - Is there something I should be looking out for? Brand\dealer? Pickups - What's the story with modifying their placement? Does it make a difference? Why have multiple pickups? Will changing pickups result in changing the number of tone controllers? I only have one currently... Is this bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted September 16, 2014 Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 There are somewhere around 484826841 parts supplyers and brands out there. I have found for low buck decent stuff i like guitar fetish Different placements does make a differnece, that why some have multiple pickups so they can have the best of both worlds. Typically you wont have to change the controls with just a pickup swap but you can if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Have you checked the amp with a different instrument? Have you tried a different cable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted October 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Yeah, amp is new and works sweet. No problems with lead either. Finished reassembly last night. Cheap guitar and cheap parts means the pit wasn't perfect, but we made it work with a file, a drill and some ingenuity. Testing this later today. Already suspect I strung A string badly... But if that's all there is.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted October 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 OK, plugged it in and found two glaring issues, that I think will be easy fixed. 1) Extremely resonant A string. I am thinking lower the pickup??? 2) A bit of buzz that disappears when you touch the jack or lead - earthing issue? Loving some feedback!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiedokie_newbie Posted October 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2014 GOOD NEWS!!! The buzz is gone, the strings speak equally, and the guitar is playable. I still would like to tweak a few things - the nut (some of my strings aren't straight along the neck, and the nut itself hangs 5mm out from the neck); and the tuning pegs (I think I mentioned earlier how one peg is slightly vibrant?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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