Hi all. This is my first post. I've been lurking here for the past week or so trying to learn more about G&L basses (and ASATs in particular)

Anyway, here is my new baby

http://www.musicandengineering.com/instruments/ASAT_bass_800.jpg

Got it from the local GC during the Memorial day sale. I had seen it in the store prior to the sale (it was used), but didn't really NEED it. But when they halved the price for the sale, then I just had to have it.

It needs a new set of strings badly. Current ones feel really grungy. The current plan is the

Take off the current strings
Take off the neck (3 bolt) to see when the production date is
Change the battery
Polish the dulled hardware (needs to match the De-tuner in the next bullet)
install a Hipshot Detuner (which I got on clearance a few years ago thinking it would fit a Fender only to find it fits G&Ls - glad I kept it).
Change the battery
String it back up with D'Addario 45-105s roundwounds
Plug it in and begin sorting out the tone controls.


Up until now my primary bases are MIM P and J basses. I love them both, but I'm kinda hoping this one becomes number one.

I'm also interested in seeing how it compares to the Peavey T40 I picked up recently as far as tonal variety.

Congratulations. You have to love a black ASAT.

In my strongly biased opinion...

Purty ASAT. Time to jam!!!!:bassist:

dude nice bass; i've wanted an ASAT for years but haven't pulled the trigger

Right on!!

Once the parts come in I'm going to change some of my wiring around this week. The current control layout is:

volume
treble
bass
pickup selector switch
parallel/series switch
passive/active/active with treble boost switch


I will have:
vol/vol stack (new)
treble
bass
neck pickup paralle/single coil/series switch (new)
bridge pickup paralle/single coil/series switch (new)
passive/active/active with treble boost switch


I'll post my wiring adventure, complete with pictures.

Right on!!

Once the parts come in I'm going to change some of my wiring around this week. The current control layout is:

volume
treble
bass
pickup selector switch
parallel/series switch
passive/active/active with treble boost switch


I will have:
vol/vol stack (new)
treble
bass
neck pickup paralle/single coil/series switch (new)
bridge pickup paralle/single coil/series switch (new)
passive/active/active with treble boost switch


I'll post my wiring adventure, complete with pictures.



Hmmm, I like that wiring setup. I've been worry about missing the blending ability that the normal J-bass has.

I think I'll try to get used to the standard one first, but I'll keep that setup in mind for the future. Is this a common mod?

Hmmm, I like that wiring setup. I've been worry about missing the blending ability that the normal J-bass has.

I think I'll try to get used to the standard one first, but I'll keep that setup in mind for the future. Is this a common mod?

Actually few people mod their G&L's. It is quite a wiring nightmare to do so.

You change pickups, there would be a lynching. ;)

Jim

Hmmm, I like that wiring setup. I've been worry about missing the blending ability that the normal J-bass has.

I think I'll try to get used to the standard one first, but I'll keep that setup in mind for the future. Is this a common mod?

All of this isn't a common mod, but I think replacing the parallel/series switch with a parallel/single coil/series switch is. I just wanted the blendability and in the process of asking about that I ran into someone who said they had installed the vol/vol stack and individual parallel/single coil/series switches - sounds great to me!!

I'll post a detailed description of the process including pictures and I'll pm you the link.

It is quite a wiring nightmare to do so.
I've found a few ways to make the wiring process easier. I like doing the wiring, though, and some people don't.

This is the description of a bass that Guitarman in NYC has in stock. Is this bass an example of what "fourstringbliss" is going to do?

We managed to get another unique piece out of G&L. This is an L2000 finished in redburst with a slim maple neck. But this one is wired differently from standard - instead of a parallel/series switch, it’s wired with a parallel/single coil/series switch for a huge variety of tones. You want versatility, this is it!!! Case Included. List:$1800. Please call or e-mail for our price.

All of this isn't a common mod, but I think replacing the parallel/series switch with a parallel/single coil/series switch is. I just wanted the blendability and in the process of asking about that I ran into someone who said they had installed the vol/vol stack and individual parallel/single coil/series switches - sounds great to me!!

I'll post a detailed description of the process including pictures and I'll pm you the link.

Where does get one get the 4PDT on-on-on for doing a series/split/parallel? I've done it on guitars witha DPDT for one bucker, but I've never seen a 4PDT on-on-on.

I'm not sure if I would remove the neck/both/bridge switch if I could find a switch to do series/split/parallel. then again, I'm not huge on the single, so I might want to just leave everything as is except for the blend pot mod. (still want to try as is first though - I've got enough other rewiring projects)

nice looking bass, enjoy it.
Brian

Where does get one get the 4PDT on-on-on for doing a series/split/parallel? I've done it on guitars witha DPDT for one bucker, but I've never seen a 4PDT on-on-on.

I'm not sure if I would remove the neck/both/bridge switch if I could find a switch to do series/split/parallel. then again, I'm not huge on the single, so I might want to just leave everything as is except for the blend pot mod. (still want to try as is first though - I've got enough other rewiring projects)
Allparts.com Switches (http://www.allparts.com/categories.php?cat_name=SWITCHES)
EP_4363-010
On-On-On, 4-Pole, 4PDT, Mini Switch (12 Terminals)
Retail Price: $22.00

I'm actually going to use two DPDT on-on-on switches, effectively cutting the 4PDT switch in half.

I can email you the wiring diagrams if you're interested.

I would be interested in thouse schematics...

Congrats & welcome to the club. I LOVE my ASAT.

No mods necessary IMHO.

Enjoy!

Allparts.com Switches (http://www.allparts.com/categories.php?cat_name=SWITCHES)
EP_4363-010
On-On-On, 4-Pole, 4PDT, Mini Switch (12 Terminals)
Retail Price: $22.00

I'm actually going to use two DPDT on-on-on switches, effectively cutting the 4PDT switch in half.

I can email you the wiring diagrams if you're interested.

Awesome! I will definitely keep that in mind.

Yes, please send me the diagrams. You should be able to send it via my profile. Thanx.

Ping "sunbeast"....he's good at these sorts of wiring mods.

I would be interested in thouse schematics...

No problem! I'm going to take it slow and take lots of pictures. I'll give a complete description of the process. I'm also going to draw and scan in a schematic of the finished product. I've got some wiring techniques I use that makes some of the tricky parts easier.

Ping "sunbeast"....he's good at these sorts of wiring mods.

He's the guy I got the ideas from!

Congrats & welcome to the club. I LOVE my ASAT.

No mods necessary IMHO.

Enjoy!
Don't get me wrong - my L2500 Tribute doesn't require any mods. I'm just a nut for different tones and Iike to leave my mark on all of my basses - I'm a tinkerer.

Okay, so...

The parts came in on Wednesday. I thought, "I've got a wiring diagram and I've asked some good questions, right? I'm ready to do this, I think.

Four or five hours later I close her up and that's when the problems began. The individual switching is great and I like all the sounds - that's the good thing. One bad thing, though, is that I've got a light grounding buzz so something is definitely not grounded correctly. In addition to this, I'm getting a staticky sound and I'm sure it's the vol/vol stack which also acts more like a pickup selecting switch because when I turn either knob down less than 1/4 the pickup is off. Now I'm wanting to put it all back the way it was.

I got an authorization to return the vol/vol stack and the knobs so I ordered a 4PDT switch to go with the original parallel/single coil/series switch. I pull out the new parts I put in, put in the old parts wired the way they are on the wiring diagram, plug it in and...nothing. In re-grounding things to the back of the volume pot I had put too much heat in and fried it. Right now the volume control I'm using is a push/pull pot that has a narrower shaft - but at least it works.

I've got a new volume pot coming from G&L and that 4PDT switch from Allparts. I'm going to replace the volume pot and install that parallel/single coil/series switch and then I'm done rewiring my basses for a long, long time!

Lessons learned:

1) Use a good quality soldering iron with a new tip when engaging in a big wiring job

2) Unless you really understand how all of the wiring works together stay out of the main guts. I should have never removed the volume pot - with all of the grounding that needed to happen it was too complicated for my skills.

3) If a simple change will give you almost what a complicated change will give you, go with the simple. Yes, having a vol/vol stack would allow me to blend the pickups and individual P/SC/S switches would allow for more tonal variety, but are any of these changes diffferent enough from the simple to make it worth it? Not in this case!

Sorry to hear about your troubles fourstringbliss. Soldering on these things can be a pain. Hopefully you'll get it back up and running soon.

I'm surprised you could fry the pot with too much heat from the soldering iron. Were you using a gun? They can develop alot of heat.

You're right about a good soldering iron. We have a Metcal at work that has forever ruined me on all other irons. I've always used a Weller, and they have a good rep, but the Metcal blows it away. There's a good temp controlled iron that alot of guys on another forum I know recomend. It's dirt cheap too (like $35 for digital temp control). I can look it up if you are interested.

As for my bass, the mods will wait. I just got in my ship ment of strings so I can do the Hipshot install and string change (plus the usual intonation adjust, etc)

Sorry to hear about your troubles fourstringbliss. Soldering on these things can be a pain. Hopefully you'll get it back up and running soon.

I'm surprised you could fry the pot with too much heat from the soldering iron. Were you using a gun? They can develop alot of heat.

You're right about a good soldering iron. We have a Metcal at work that has forever ruined me on all other irons. I've always used a Weller, and they have a good rep, but the Metcal blows it away. There's a good temp controlled iron that alot of guys on another forum I know recomend. It's dirt cheap too (like $35 for digital temp control). I can look it up if you are interested.

As for my bass, the mods will wait. I just got in my ship ment of strings so I can do the Hipshot install and string change (plus the usual intonation adjust, etc)
Believe me - you can fry a pot if too much heat is applied for too long!

I've got it back up and running, but the series setting isn't the same. That's okay because I don't really like it anyway - not clear enough for me. The parallel setting is enough of a humbucker sound so I'm thinking about installing a singles outside/parallel/singles inside switch. I'm going to look into those Metcal soldering irons as well.

I'm going to look into those Metcal soldering irons as well.

Metcal makes fabulous soldering gear, especially for surface mount stuff, but you have to pay for it. $$$$$$

For

Metcal makes fabulous soldering gear, especially for surface mount stuff, but you have to pay for it. $$$$$$

For
I think with a good tinning of a new tip my 30w Radio Shack soldering iron will do the trick. Believe it or not, I'm seriously considering going all passive in my L2500 Tribute. I don't ever use the active settings because I don't like how they sound. It sounds a bit harsh to my ears - too aggressive for my taste. I might just take the preamp out and have a seperate parallel/single coil/series switch for each pickup. That was the best part of last week's wiring debacle - the seperate p/sc/s switches made for some nice combinations. Plus, I wired the series without a capicitor and it gave a slightly louder and fatter single coil like sound. Me likey!

I think with a good tinning of a new tip my 30w Radio Shack soldering iron will do the trick. Believe it or not, I'm seriously considering going all passive in my L2500 Tribute. I don't ever use the active settings because I don't like how they sound. It sounds a bit harsh to my ears - too aggressive for my taste. I might just take the preamp out and have a seperate parallel/single coil/series switch for each pickup. That was the best part of last week's wiring debacle - the seperate p/sc/s switches made for some nice combinations. Plus, I wired the series without a capicitor and it gave a slightly louder and fatter single coil like sound. Me likey!

You should at least step up to the temp controlled iron. The cheap RS ones are just a fixed wattage, but they won't apply extra power to keep the temp constant.

This one:
Has recieved good reviews from guys on other forums.

TENMA also used to make a similar one that all the pinball repair guys would swear by. Pinball games often have very fragile boards.

You should at least step up to the temp controlled iron. The cheap RS ones are just a fixed wattage, but they won't apply extra power to keep the temp constant.

This one:
Has recieved good reviews from guys on other forums.

TENMA also used to make a similar one that all the pinball repair guys would swear by. Pinball games often have very fragile boards.
I think you meant to put a link to a particular soldering iron, but it didn't come through.

I think you meant to put a link to a particular soldering iron, but it didn't come through.

Yep I did. Does this should up?

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7508

Yep I did. Does this should up?

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7508

That does look nice! If I'm going to start in on some major solder sugery I'll probably go for something like that - thanks!

I wired up my bass with a 4pdt switch for the parallel/single coil/series mod, but the switch I bought doesn't work the same way as the one in the diagram. I should have bought the same Digikey 4pdt switch that was mentioned.

If you're interested in doing this mod (which is pretty easy with good results), it's the Digikey CKN1139-ND and you can find it by searching here:

Digikey Search (http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?KeywordSearch)

Another thing about soldering irons. Check to see if the solder that was used to assemble the bass is lead free or not. I noticed some of the Fender's have a lead free sticker on them so you would need to get lead free tips and solder to do any rewiring. Also, if you are going to invest in a good iron, get one that ESD certified.