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doubts about potentiometers

FrozenBeast

FrozenBeast

Jun 23, 2011
5
0
#1
I've been trying to find information about this, but have failed, and so I'll just ask here.

I own a Samick Artist Series 5, and ever since I bought it, the tone knob did not work (the bass plays just fine, but turning the tone knob does nothing to the sound). According to a friend, I need to change the potentiometer, but that knob is also a passive/active push-pull. Is it even possible to change the potentiometer?

And also, what's the difference between a 250k potentiometer and a 500k one? (I'll be doing the replacement myself)
 
#5
It can be hidden as well - for example, a "cold soldered" joint where the iron wasn't on the lug long enough to burn the flux off, and the resulting connection doesn't conduct electrically. Yes. If you are not up to it yourself, have a tech re-solder the tone circuit. It is rare that a capacitor would open up, but that can happen as well.
 
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#6
I'll do it myself. I've disassembled my other bass about 4 times, and if I somehow manage to break the potentiometer while checking it, then I'll just buy a new one and install it.

thanks for the help, people!
 
#7
iiipopes said:
It can be hidden as well - for example, a "cold soldered" joint where the iron wasn't on the lug long enough to burn the flux off, and the resulting connection doesn't conduct electrically. Yes. If you are not up to it yourself, have a tech re-solder the tone circuit. It is rare that a capacitor would open up, but that can happen as well.
Click to expand...

^^ That's the best place to start.
Gently pulling on the tone pot connections may show it up right away,
but usually a 'cold solder' joint looks rounder, and not as 'flowed in' as a good connection.
Depending on age, cond, etc, a good connection looks shinier than a 'cold' or not good connection.
The Ohmeter may not show it either, better to look for a bulby mass, tho.
It's not likely you'll break the pots checking, tho a solder joint may come loose and have to be re-soldered.
 
#9
Awesome Sauce said:
Does the tone do nothing in both active and passive? Have you specifically tried both modes? Are you sure it's not a passive only tone? You weren't particularly clear on this point; you just said it does nothing.
Click to expand...

I tried with a fresh 9v battery when I first bought it (it was used) and it didn't work even then, in both active and passive... And also, I'm pretty damn sure that the pull/push doesn't work either, didn't notice a change in the sound when switching between modes.
 
#10
update: I just opened my bass to check if it was well soldered, and well, i found that one cable was not fully soldered to the pull/push knob. I'd solder it myself, but the problem is that i have no idea where it should go... I took pictures of the full electric system, in hopes that someone knows what the hell is going on.

a9120c49-9e75-40cb-8959-4cb92c6da0bd_zpsba6e3d83.jpg

1.- jack
2.- vol knob
3.- vol knob
4.- pickup switch
5.- Tone knob; Pull/push active/passive. it's a 500k pot, and the source of all my problems, it seems.
6.- Active circuit
7.- 9v battery chamber.

7b6cf1ac-bd15-4997-b7ea-9f4e8f9a1424_zpseda97500.jpg

One thing I noticed was that the red cable coming from the jack into the push/pull pot has this little white thing hanging, but the same cable at the pot has the white thing soldered in, and the grey cables hanging, as you can see in the next picture

WP_20141005_002_zpsf81fc4b1.jpg

I have no idea what to do with that cable, to be honest.

WP_20141005_004_zpsfcda52da.jpg

I took a picture of the active circuit, I'm not sure if that would be of help at all or not. I could not remove the plastic bag (and didn't know if it was even a good idea to do so)

The only cable that seems out of place is the red one going from the jack into the 500k pot, and I have sincerely no idea what to do with any of this.
 
#11
Hard to see from the px, but it looks like the shield in the red wire is soldered to the jack, poss as a ground.
If so, the other end (shield in the red wire) should be connected to the ground on the tone pot to make it work.
Why it looks like the white (center) wire is connected while the shield is not, on one end,
and the shield is connected on the other end (jack end) with the white wire off????
try to find where the ground is on the PC board on the pot, and jumper the loose shield wire to it-
maybe that's all it needs.
 

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