1991 Ibanez SR800

[pbonepickens]

I bought a lefty 1991 Ibanez SR800 off of ebay and it's great except for one thing: the treble pot doesn't work. And unfortunately this means, apparently, the treble is full on. I could send it back but it was a really good deal and I like it for my wear for 5 hours/back up bass (it's really light). Having talked to the local repair guy in San Rafael who works at a store that is an authorized Ibanez dealer, he found out that Ibanez no long has replacement pots (it's not just a pot, it has a small circuit board on it as my attached photo will show). Their only suggestion is to replace the whole 4 pot electronics with a newer one that has the stacked bass/treble mid/sweep that you find on newer Ibanez basses. Only drawback, the part package for the whole thing is $200 plus minimum $50 to install. That's $50 more than I paid for the whole bass! So I pulled the treble pot out, hooked up the bass to my Pandora effects box and listened at high volume as I moved the pot all the way up and down. I can hear a 'slight' change in the hiss as I do this. This leads me to believe the pot itself is working. As you can see from the photo, there are only two pieces: a resistor and a capacitor. Not a electronic genius here, but my thought is the capacitor might have failed and so no trimming of the highs is occurring. If this is the case, I would think I could just try and find a replacement capacitor and that might do the trick? Can anyone with electronics knowledge tell me I'm on target or not? I am assuming getting the capacitor on the Internet would be easy but I might be wrong as well. Thanks for any suggestions.

[BoomBoomOGTL]

There are only 2 componets on the PCB plus the pot and the values of each are cleary marked on them seen in your pic. Change the cap and resisitor. If that doesn't work, it can only be the $5 potentiometer. you're out less than $6 to replace all 3 if you can do it yourself.

You might also want to check all the PCB traces and solder joints.

[grendle]

Ohm the pot to make sure its good, then replace the cap for a few cents. I bet you can get the electronics for $20 on the bay. The old 800's were awesome and feel / sound better than the new ones imo. Worth putting the $ into a keeper.

[pbonepickens]

OK I'll order the parts and ohn the pot.

[pbonepickens]

Thanks for replies I will reply results!

[pbonepickens]

Well I checked the pot and the resistor with a meter, they are working. I replaced the cap and it still acting the same: moving the pot makes not difference. No highs are filtered at all. Anyone else have any other suggestions on what might be happening?

[Im a sock]

Well, you could try some contact cleaner - you can get it at Radio Shack - bur for the price you may as well just replace the pot itself

[grendle]

Gotta be something on the main board then.

[pbonepickens]

OK well I took a look at the main pc that is on the volume knob. Nothing looked weird but poked a bit and did my best to find any obvious problems. Nothing looked obvious. Given my inability to focus on these tiny objects (eyesight ain't what it used to be) on the pc board and time spent without any progress I put it back together with a sigh, figuring I might as well spring for an updated Ibanez electronic kit. Checked it one last time...and eureka! The Treble is working now!. Apparently this bass just wanted some attention. Makes me a little uneasy but hey I got me a left handed 1991 SR800 and I'm gonna rock out with it now!
Thanks for everyone's help, specially Mr. Grendle, your picture of your Ibanez didn't escape me!

[hemmerlinj]

Being that it came back after poking around. It might be a loose connection on a solder joint. This might be a problem again in yhe future. You. May want to ahave another look and and just reheat some solder.

Cheers.