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Post subject: My Standard P-Bass Just DIED!
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:44 pm
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Hi all. I'm new to the forum and have an unusual problem.
My P-Bass electronics just stopped working - no output! This didn't happen while playing. I played it a few months ago, packed it up, left town and when I returned it's dead.
I get a click from the PUPs if I touch them to the strings. I get hum when I touch various connections on the control pots. And the output jack is making a solid connection.
Yes my cable is fine, as I plug my Jazz bass in and all is normal.

Anyone have this happen? I've playing for 40 years and have used many cheapo and expensive guitars and never experienced this kind of failure.
So before I replace every pot, jack, and pickup, I thought someone might have a suggestion on where to start.

Thanks, Glen


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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:53 pm
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hmmm. no idea what your problem might be, but i know that any electronic item that's left unused for prolonged periods tends to spoil or stop working. so that's probably what caused the problem.

wish i could help you though.

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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:12 pm
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Thanks for the reply. I have 6 other guitars and 2 basses which all sit for a few months at a time without use. They all work and have worked for years.
This is really the first time I've had to deal with this. Weird!


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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:02 pm
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Hey, kinda gives you a reason to buy a new bass. :wink:
Sorry, that's not really helpful for your problem. I don't have an answer for you, but I'm sure somebody will come along soon with some advice.


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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:41 pm
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This happened to my Urge bass. I thought it was just out of juice, so I put a new 9v battery in. Nada. So I took it to my local music shop, it was the jack, the wiring came off the soldering. They charged me $10 to fix it.

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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:47 am
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The electronics are passive so I know it's not a battery. All soldered connections appear to be solid, so I'm at a loss as to what component failed.
I guess I'm gonna start be replacing them all starting with the input jack.
Thanks for the replies.


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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:28 am
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Don't start randomly replacing stuff (It's probably not the jack). Assuming that all the solder joints are good.....

Remove the pickup and test it for continuity. (Yes, pickups fail just sitting there... the original pickup in my American Precision Deluxe croaked right round it's 10th birthday.) You can't test it in place because the rest of the circuit will provide the continuity even if the pickup is toast.

The pickup is the most likely thing to die with no warning (the input jack is the least likely to fail, and when it does it's usually preceded by a whole lot of crackling and popping... pots usually fail slowly, too).

If you test the pickup and don't get continuity from one lead to the other, then it's dead. Replace it with a Fender brand "Original '62" P-Bass pickup and be crazy happy with the tone.

If it's not the pickup, it's probably a dead volume pot (which is now shunting ALL of your signal to ground all the time).


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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:49 am
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Thanks Gravity Jim. What you say makes sense. After all these years of owning and playing litterally dozens of guitars and basses this is the first of this kind of failure I've ever had. I've just been lucky I guess.

Anyway, I was thinking of upgrading the pups on my Std Jazz, so I may as well upgrade the P-bass at the same time. I think I'll get a couple of pots too, just to have around.
Thanks for all the advice!!
Glen


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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:58 am
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Dude, I've been playing for over 40 years, and I didn't even know it was possible for a pickup to just croak like that until it happened to my bass.

Good luck, and no kidding... if you decide to replace the pickup, go for the Fender Original '62. Awesomeness in a box.


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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:04 am
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Probably a dead pickup... if all other wiring is intact.

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