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Post subject: 60th Anniversary American P bass troubles
Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:50 pm
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Hey all,
I've got a American P bass with the pickup coil tapping switch built into the volume control. Recently the 3rd and 4th strings went out on the pickup (?)
When the button is depressed I get sound from the 1st and 2nd strings but nothing from the E/A strings, when the button is in the "out" position - Nothing at all.
I've opened her up and found no cold solder joints and no noise when I wiggle wires so everything seems to be connected correctly, could my pickups be bad or should I replace the switch. Since Electronics aren't warranteed very long, I'd rather replace a $20 switch over $100+ pickups.

Any Ideas?

Cheers

Jimmie Ray......


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:31 pm
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If it's under warranty. Take it back to the dealer.

The main thing that would take out a pickup would be hitting it while playing.
I don't know if that is part of your playing style but I would have it checked out by the dealer if its covered, otherwise, take it to a good guitar repairman.

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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 6:10 am
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I'm almost certain your problem is the SWITCH. I've heard of this issue before as it has popped up here previously. I'd get some spray electrical contact cleaner and try that but EXERCISING the switch by cycling it say 20 or 30 times may help even without spray cleaner. It certainly won't make it worse. If it is the pickups I'd be stunned.


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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:46 am
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brotherdave wrote:
I'm almost certain your problem is the SWITCH. I've heard of this issue before as it has popped up here previously. I'd get some spray electrical contact cleaner and try that but EXERCISING the switch by cycling it say 20 or 30 times may help even without spray cleaner. It certainly won't make it worse. If it is the pickups I'd be stunned.


Agreed. This is about the third case of this I've seen in the last few months: literally the exact same problem. With the other people we pretty much narrowed it down to being the fault of the switch.

If you can't manage to get the darn switch to work, you can easily buy a push/pull pot and have the exact same series/parallel control. It also has the added bonus of looking like classic controls~


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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:40 pm
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Again as BC stated, if it is under warranty take it back to the dealer who will fix it under warranty at no charge to you.

If not under warranty I'd still take it to a dealer or a very qualified tech who will know for sure how to install the more reliable push/pull pot. If you go the push/pull pot route then you'll also need a new knob to match your existing one. They are usually sold in pairs.

If you have excellent soldering skills and want to fix it yourself I'd buy another of the S-1 pots which is Fender Part Number 0061260000 and carefully note all the existing connections before desoldering them. I would make a diagram and closeup digital photos of not just the connections but also the pot orientation and duplicate it. Should be very straightforward to replace but figure on it taking 1 to 2 hours. Be sure to protect all of the surface of the instrument with old thick towels wherever possible because solder can splatter and you can drop a bead in the wrong place.

Your wiring diagram I believe is here: http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/basses/0193260_62A/SD0193260_62APg2.pdf

However there is no substitute for drawing your own and taking a few photos.


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Post subject: Good suggestions, but....
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:31 am
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Thanks all - great advise.
I hesitate to shoot contact cleaner on the switch since it is just plastic and probably won't survive a shot of Tri-Chlor. But hey, it's probably shot anyway. A more permanent and thorough repair would be to replace the pot/switch assembly all together. Herein lies the rub. Fender only warrantees electronic components for 90 days, and it's been a terribly time consuming effort to find an S-TM1 anywhere on the net (I did find one in the U.K. for 25 lbs!) And as best as I can see, Fender won't sell me one. This is what I would call a load of BS, as I could have bought 3 Asian Precisions for what I paid for this bad boy, and now it is going to sit in it's case until I have the time to figure out how to rewire the pot and lose the pickup switching function altogether. C'mon Fender, we pay a lot for these guitars, stand behind the parts that you have a history of failure on.

brotherdave wrote:
Again as BC stated, if it is under warranty take it back to the dealer who will fix it under warranty at no charge to you.

If not under warranty I'd still take it to a dealer or a very qualified tech who will know for sure how to install the more reliable push/pull pot. If you go the push/pull pot route then you'll also need a new knob to match your existing one. They are usually sold in pairs.

If you have excellent soldering skills and want to fix it yourself I'd buy another of the S-1 pots which is Fender Part Number 0061260000 and carefully note all the existing connections before desoldering them. I would make a diagram and closeup digital photos of not just the connections but also the pot orientation and duplicate it. Should be very straightforward to replace but figure on it taking 1 to 2 hours. Be sure to protect all of the surface of the instrument with old thick towels wherever possible because solder can splatter and you can drop a bead in the wrong place.

Your wiring diagram I believe is here: http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/pdf_temp1/basses/0193260_62A/SD0193260_62APg2.pdf

However there is no substitute for drawing your own and taking a few photos.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:03 am
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Hey Gang,
Has anyone found the change in tone that the swich makes really usefull? I have had mine out to few shows now and I can't find the sweet spot after I press in the The Switch. I'm running it thru a vintage DBX 160 Compressor straight into channel one on my "69" SVT. Thanks Lenny

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Post subject: not really
Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:42 am
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lennyround wrote:
Hey Gang,
Has anyone found the change in tone that the swich makes really usefull? I have had mine out to few shows now and I can't find the sweet spot after I press in the The Switch. I'm running it thru a vintage DBX 160 Compressor straight into channel one on my "69" SVT. Thanks Lenny
I found that with the switch in, the ouput was a little weaker, and the tone a little brighter - the bummer is, the switches are crap, mine failed and I am trying to figure out how to just wire it straight out and put a single knob on the thing, what a pain ....


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:45 pm
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Hey Man,

It does sound thin doesn't it? I thought so. My plan is to take the pick guard, tone, and volume posts off the bass. Iam replacing those parts with a Tortus Shell pick guard and pots that match the 1962 parts. I like the sound of the 1962 P-Bass. Plus my reissue parts will be put away.
Lenny

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 1:08 pm
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lennyround wrote:
Hey Man,

It does sound thin doesn't it? I thought so. My plan is to take the pick guard, tone, and volume posts off the bass. Iam replacing those parts with a Tortus Shell pick guard and pots that match the 1962 parts. I like the sound of the 1962 P-Bass. Plus my reissue parts will be put away.
Lenny
This is exactly the word I should have used, I suppose if you were going to record and use plug-ins to fatten it up, the cleaner input from the bass into your DAW should sound OK, but what's the point, maybe Fender just wanted to provide a clean, more "J" bass sound. BTW, after pulling my hair out, I did determine it was a bad (cold) solder joint from the pickup to the switch that caused the grief, it is fixed and my universe is slightly more aligned tonight....
jv


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