Jump to content

Onboard preamp replacement help


Jude

Recommended Posts

I am considering replacing the guts of my Vantage Devil.

http://vantage-guitars.com/models/va-900.htm

It's a 2H configuration with 1 volume, 1 tone, coil split, phase switch, and a switched active preamp with it's own level control.

I want to replace the tone and preamp level controls with a 2 band switched active/passive EQ. Preamp gain will be a trim pot inside.

Any suggestions for available components or DIY circuits?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Jude,

I have one of those guitars myself and have been trying to get it back to original spec since I got it - the electronics were gutted before I picked it up. Basically I'm missing the two PCBs that were part of the original electronics and have been having a challenging time finding replacements or getting good detailed pics of them, so I can have someone re-create the circuit.

Would you be able to post some pictures? Or, do you have plans for the original parts once you make the switch?

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is yours playable? I've never been super impressed with the electronics, but physically it's an absolute dream. It'll be months if not years before I get the courage to start cutting into it. I still have to decide exactly what I'm going to put in it and test, plus I have another project on my test bed right now. I'm going to keep the guts so I can restore it if needed, but I'm happy to open it up and take some pictures. I might be able to reverse engineer the circuit, but no promises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Structurally mine is great, superb construction, nice neck, what you'd expect from a Matsumoku guitar of the era. Just to looks at it, you'd have no idea anything was wrong with it...however, electronics-wise, it's a mess. As I mentioned, the PCBs are gone, the little red LED low-battery indicator is gone, the pickup selector switch seems to be pooched (and its cavity cover is missing) and there may have been a battery leak at some point. The good news is that the pots and switches that are present seem to be original and in fairly good shape and I do have the MMK53 pickups.

It's a beautiful guitar and ideally, I'd like to restore it, but the electronics are a mystery...I've got some photos of the circuit and there's someone not too far away who makes active circuits/preamps, but he can't determine the values of the components from the images I've been able to find.

Any help you can offer would be most appreciated.

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...