What did I do wrong?

[uly_]

Hello TalkBass'ers!

I just got myself a new body for my jazz bass. I've put it all together and took the electronics from my old jazz to put it exactly the same way into the new body.

There's just two things wrong now:

1) There's no hole drilled to attach the ground to the bridge. Therefore it makes a lot of hiss (high pitched hiss actually) which goes away if I touch the pot-plate.

2) There's no sound from the neck pickup? Remember: I haven't re-soldered other things but the cables from the pickups to the potmeters.

Now, can anyone tell me what to do? I've been searching for an hour now, browsing through a lot of "hum/hiss/wiring" threads, but i'm still confused!

Also, i'm not the brightest with a soldering iron

Thanks in advance!

[fcappi]

I would suggest fixing the ground first and then go on to the 2nd issue.
Fenders usually run a ground from pot to pot and then to the input jack. Maybe check some wirting diagrams that are available online for fender basses.

[fcappi]

This may help...
http://www.guitarnucleus.com/wiring.html
I would also try switching the wiring on the two volume pots to see if it's the pickup or the pot

[uly_]

Hey fcappi, and thanks for you answers!

yes I was going to try and fix the grounding problem first. I've checked up on wiring diagrams and it looks just the way it should! Only think that I can't do with the new body, is to route the ground to the bridge

I've tried to just put the grounding-wire to the bridge (on top of the bass) and there's no hiss when I touch the strings. But when I don't it's really loud!

[Rodent]

if you don't already have a tunnel from the bridge to the control cavity, you'll need to drill one. I utilize a long 3/16" drill bit to do this



when you drill, make sure that you have the angle set so that you end up coming out in the control cavity and not the back of the bass

you want this wire to attach to the same common ground that everything else is connected to ... but be warned - if you have an incorrectly grounded amp, you could very well get soaked with 110/220v if your lips touch a microphone mesh ... and under the right conditions, this could be lethal.

this risk of shock is why some builders choose not to ground the bridge/strings. and in all reality, so long as you have you hands on the strings there is no noise ... if you're playing live this is no problem ... in a studio, simply keep your hands on the strings when recording

all the best,

R

[uly_]

Hi Rodent,

Thanks for your help I've attached the ground-wire to the bridge now, but there's still a lot of hiss I've double-checked all the other ground-wires and they're attached just like the wiring-diagram says they should!

I've also discovered that the neck pickup has a very low output compared to the neck output

I'm .. lost!

[MuddBass]

You can't get the pots too hot! They will stop working or cause a power loss if your not moving fast enough with your soldering. You can use a heat sink to help. You can buy the pots anywhere, but make sure that you have the correct one. Some are 500k, and 250k probably for your bass. Muddbass