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Fender Aerodyne Club!

#1,581
On another note, I just ordered a DiMarzio pickup set for my aerodyne. Hopefully it'll arrive before end of the workweek.
The Gotoh pickups it came with are somewhat microphonic and the plastic covers break like crazy.

When it happened the first time, I got a replacement cover from the seller (they're a company that buys vintage guitars and renews them). The second time, I used some super glue and it worked great.

b46ac084-27b1-4479-9131-6620e6bdd1f6.jpg


Naturally, the third time the cover broke was just before a gig yesterday. I noticed a crack late at night the day before. In the morning, I ran to the shop to get super glue (because, as it turned out, I had glued the cap shut on the one I had) and tried to close the crack. If I had a few hours to spare, it would probably hold perfectly. But because I was in a hurry, best I could do is give it a few minutes next to a fan. That wasn't enough, and the cover broke all the way when I was putting it back on.

The gig was saved because I have a backup bass (though not as comfortable and flashy as the aerodyne). I play another gig next week, and I hope I can play my baby there :)

So that's my story. Sorry if it's 90% rambling, I have a bad cold and I went to bed straight after the show, then woke up in the middle of the night, so I'm in a jet lag of sorts.
 
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#1,583
Congrats @Fredrik E. Nilsen! Don't worry about the pickguard, it makes the bass look like a tank! If I were you, I'd keep the frets on that one, and remove frets from the bottom one. That would be a cool pairing.

What's that thing in the input jack? It looks wireless-ish and makes me excited about it
 
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#1,584
BTW I installed the new pickups today. Mad respect to DiMarzio for supplying a stiff foam with the set! It was fun tearing the electronics apart and soldering them back together. I'm surprised how bright they sound! And unlike most PJ sets, they seem to sound the best when both are at 100% volume (or at least not soloed).

Edit: excuse the hairs in the photo. I groomed my cats yesterday and the fur is everywhere.

WhatsApp Image 2018-05-10 at 12.48.43.jpeg
 
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#1,585
Flippy said:
Congrats @Fredrik E. Nilsen! Don't worry about the pickguard, it makes the bass look like a tank! If I were you, I'd keep the frets on that one, and remove frets from the bottom one. That would be a cool pairing.

What's that thing in the input jack? It looks wireless-ish and makes me excited about it
Click to expand...
Thanks! I agree with you, the fretted dark neck with dots looks better (and the feel is the same on both). And, yes, it's a Line6 Relay G10 wireless. Simple, and not expensive. The receiver has a couple of (known) issues with the micro USB power, but it works. The transmitter lasts for several hours, and you can charge it easily by plugging it into the receiver. I use it all the time, practice, rehearsal, gigs.

Line 6 Relay G10
 
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#1,586
Flippy said:
BTW I installed the new pickups today. Mad respect to DiMarzio for supplying a stiff foam with the set! It was fun tearing the electronics apart and soldering them back together. I'm surprised how bright they sound! And unlike most PJ sets, they seem to sound the best when both are at 100% volume (or at least not soloed).
Click to expand...

I *just* put in a set of Dimarzio DP126 into my Aerodyne today. I didn’t notice an increase in brightness (Thank goodness, I feel my bass is already pretty bright) but I was pleased by a significant drop in hiss.

Out of curiosity, did you find that the colors indicated on the wiring diagram that came in the box were a bit different than the colors of the actual wires?
 

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#1,587
hookgrip said:
I *just* put in a set of Dimarzio DP126 into my Aerodyne today. I didn’t notice an increase in brightness (Thank goodness, I feel my bass is already pretty bright) but I was pleased by a significant drop in hiss.

Out of curiosity, did you find that the colors indicated on the wiring diagram that came in the box were a bit different than the colors of the actual wires?
Click to expand...

I lowered my P pickup significantly which helped with the brightness.

About the colors, not really. White, green, red, black. They were surprisingly thin though.
 
#1,588
Flippy said:
I lowered my P pickup significantly which helped with the brightness.

About the colors, not really. White, green, red, black. They were surprisingly thin though.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

Maybe I’m hallucinating, but the 4 colors on the bridge pickup were not where the diagram says they should have been, and no amount of rotating the piece fixed that. So I just wired them up based on the way I *thought* it should go, and miraculously it worked.

Agree on the thinness of the wires.

I’m going to play around with these for a month or so and then swap them out for a set of Quarter Pounders I have and see which I like better.
 
#1,589
hookgrip said:
Interesting.

Maybe I’m hallucinating, but the 4 colors on the bridge pickup were not where the diagram says they should have been, and no amount of rotating the piece fixed that. So I just wired them up based on the way I *thought* it should go, and miraculously it worked.

Agree on the thinness of the wires.

I’m going to play around with these for a month or so and then swap them out for a set of Quarter Pounders I have and see which I like better.
Click to expand...
Cool, I also have a PJ with those pickups. Let us know your findings!
 
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#1,591
Woofer said:
Has anyone replaced a neck on an Aerodyne for something else? I like the stock look, but the idea of a Aerodyne body with a maple neck (white bound, pearl blocks) has been running through my brain of late.
Click to expand...
I'm in the process of putting on a fretless Warmoth neck. The fit is perfect (only problems are that the trussrod adjustment is at the heel, and the peghole dimensions are different).
 
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#1,592
Jeff Elkins said:
... The next time you see the precision, it will have been cleaned up and will have new hardware.
Click to expand...

And finally, the updated and upgraded (IMO) Aerodyne Classic Precision Bass Special. Apologies for the photo quality; couldn't figure out the lighting angle yesterday, plus my photog skills suck.

IMG_2967.JPG


IMG_2972.jpg IMG_2968.JPG

Swapped out the tuners with 3 Hipshot HB10s and the BT10 bass extender, which are a drop-in replacement. Installed EMG PJHZ passive pickups, and used a dremel to make a little room in the electronics cavity for the replacement (black) barrel jack--it's pretty snug, and you can still feel that when plugging in the 1/4 cable.

Black pearloid tort guard (you'll notice the plastic is still on it--not sure why I didn't just take it off!) and black screws, black replacement knobs, and a black bridge from Allparts. I strung it with a used set of LaBella tapes, which I LOVE on my fretless (also--they're BLACK :D), but they're a little clacky on here--will need to see how they sound in a live setting vs. my living room volumes.

I'm not a big fan of all black like some folks are, but I'm super happy with the way the hardware looks on the blue flame, even with the cream binding.

Hope to have a live sound update soon!
 
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#1,598
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