• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Overhaulin' my BassBalls

fenderx55

fenderx55

Jan 15, 2005
2,109
9
NYC/Queens
www.chriscona.com
#1
Hey gents,

Just picked up a bassballs from the classifieds to find out the sensitivity knob doesn't work. Frankly, didn't even realize it until my guitarist looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "You do realize that that's doing absolutely nothing...right?"

So when I got home I popped it open to find the lugs of the sensitivity pot moving around freely, which my limited electronics know-how tells me is no bueno. However, I couldn't really figure out what kind of pot it is to switch it out, can anyone help me out? Figure I'd just order everything I need off smallbear or something.

While I'm at it, I also thought I'd switch it over to truebypass and add an LED (it was one of the old ones). Does anyone have a resister value recommendation?

Thanks guys
 
#8
shooter_mi said:
If you take some well lighted, close-up pictures of the inside of the chassis and both sides of the board we can probably help you out with the footswitch replacement and LED addition, too.
Click to expand...

That would be great. For the switch switch ( :hiding: ) and the light I was working off a guide I found after some intense googling that are all on my home computer. I'll take some pics once I get home from work. For right now.

Am I going to need anything more than this?

-Alpha Single-Gang 16mm Rt-Angle PC Mt Long-Pin Linear & Audio
(10K Linear)

-LED T-1 3mm Water-clear High-brightness
(White)

-Switch - Taiwan Blue 3PDT

-2.2k resistor

-Bezel, LED 3mm, Chrome

I figure I'll make this as detailed as possible so a search for "LED mod" will come up fruitful.
 
#11
shooter_mi said:
If you take some well lighted, close-up pictures of the inside of the chassis and both sides of the board we can probably help you out with the footswitch replacement and LED addition, too.
Click to expand...


3235815588_77a4d7c835.jpg

3235815834_f1e531530e.jpg

3234967357_50850ac2ca.jpg


Parts were ordered this afternoon, so I guess I'll be able to get quackin next week.
 
#17
K guys, parts came today, I changed out the broken knob which was easy enough, but I'm not quite sure how to proceed in connecting everything to the true bypass switch since it's not just a wire off the board and a wire to the board. Here are some clearer gut shots (realized my camera has a macro setting).

3258673869_97893b77b6.jpg

3258673721_4181e2eb5a.jpg

3258673517_30eb5d112f.jpg

3258673287_8576733cc6.jpg


here's the switch I'm using, a taiwan blue 3pdt:
Link Removed

which is from Link Removed which I was using as a loose guide.

Anyone know of an explicit how-to or have some pearls of wisdom?

Thanks for any help,
chris
 
#19
Follow the wires from the input and output. Where do they go and what color are they? It looks like your switch has three lugs, what do those wires connect to?

The Gaussmarkov diagrams you linked are exactly what you'll be using for this project. He's a good resource.

You said i the first post that the pot lugs moved freely, in the photos it looks like they are soldered into the board. Is there something I'm not seeing?
 
#20
shooter_mi said:
You said i the first post that the pot lugs moved freely, in the photos it looks like they are soldered into the board. Is there something I'm not seeing?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's actually something a picture wouldn't be able to represent; the mount point of the lugs to the knob post actually move in an "I'm broken" manner.

shooter_mi said:
Follow the wires from the input and output. Where do they go and what color are they? It looks like your switch has three lugs, what do those wires connect to?
Click to expand...

This is the part I wasn't totally positive about. In the third picture the blue wire coming off the right-hand lug of the switch goes straight to the output jack. I've already soldered that to the 3dpt switch (along with the jump) as denoted in the Gaussmarkov diagrams. The white wire goes to the back of the PCB and jumps from a solder joint there to another white wire going to the distortion switch. I'm guessing that's an overall output and would go to the top right lug of the 3dpt?

Black wire goes to the board, not sure where it jumps to, I suspect the input? Hm, I guess I just needed to break it down, thanks for the Socratic walk through. Something really confused me though, I'll go home and see if I get re-confused.

Thanks MI.

PS, and I guess the LED set up would work exactly like the Gaussmarkov website, correct?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back