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HELP! IT'S NOT A REAL BASS!

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A

Austza

Nov 5, 2010
2
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#1
hello everyone, i'm new and bass is my passion. i have the most experience with electric basses, i love bringin the funk. I have a fender aerodyne, crafted in japan =)(i put new strings on and i've been having troubles with feed back and the strings are hot, i guess lol, cause they keep zapping me. the input wires came unattachted i sodered them back to the **** myself because i didnt want to lose an arm n leg on **** i've seen fixed with duct tape. did i **** up by using normal electrical equipment soder? or what can i do about the feedback and hot strings?) I've been playing for about 4 years. i got my hands on one of those fake acoustic basses. i love almost all types of music, besides country, why? because country is wimpy bluegrass, and lately i've had a hankering for bluegrass. classic country is cool. there is nothing more that i would love then to be able to afford a double bass, but alas i cant.I have an "acoustic bass" though. so i was wondering if any of you have experience in creating distinct and beautiful with these half instruments.
i have acoustic guitar experience too so, i can strum and all that fun stuff. i guess what i'm more looking for is tablatures of **** that sounds dope on an "acoustic bass" since i cant read sheet music =). or advice on applicable techniques. Tramped by Turtles? all hail flea. oh i like hip hop too if you couldnt tell by my name, wu tang clan aint nothing to **** with.
 
#2
1) Complete, gramatically correct sentences are your friends.
2) Paragraphs are also your friends.
3) The easier you make it for us to understand your description of the problems, the more helpful we can be.

If you're getting shocked by the strings, there's a wiring problem with the bass and if your repair attempt didn't correct it, I suggest you take it to a repair technician. As you know, this can be really dangerous if you happen to be holding the bass and touch a mike or other piece of electrical gear that's not grounded properly. Sounds to me like despite your work there is at least one wire connected incorrectly. You may be able to find a wiring diagram for the Aerodyne (beautiful bass!) online at the Fender website, but of course you need to take time to interpret it correctly and check all the wiring against it. That would be a good way to go if you want to do it yourself.

You went the right way by soldering - and standard rosin core solder is appropriate. Acid core solder should never be used on musical instruments or for most electrical work. Do not ever try to fix anything electrical by twisting wires together and taping them, as such joints are likely to have poor contact and eventually come loose.

My general suggestion is to solder all connections and protect solder joints in wires with heat-shrink tubing if available, or electrical tape if not. Duct tape could be used in an emergency to prevent short circuits, but it leaves a nasty adhesive mess and should be removed ASAP.

I hope this is some help....and incidentally, the Aerodyne is very much a "real bass", and I hope you enjoy it.
 
#3
My aerodyne is not fake, sorry for not specifying. i'm talking about one of those michael kelly dragonfly esque basses, and it's kinda hard to believe i ****ed up on the sodering on account of the aerodyne's closed bass design, the only wires i can figure out how to get to are the red and black ones going into the input, no removable pickguard.
 
#11
What you've just said... :D j/k

Ok, let me take a stab at this:

It sounds like possibly the ground wire underneath the bridge or in the control cavity is loose or disconnected. Without pictures it is hard to tell what is going on with you. Soldering is fairly straight forward. You need to make sure you aren't making cold solder joints among a plethora of other things. Find a schematic online and follow it.

As far as acoustic bass: Blister in The Sun
But seriously you can play anything on them. Even MAIDEN!
 
#12
Another thing, and this really bugs the crap out of me: there is no "input" on ay bass. That 1/4" jack? It's the output...
The folks on this thread are not by any means the first to make that mistake, but someone needs to call 'em on it.
Better get that thing to an experienced tech so you can indulge in your passion harmlessly.
 
#13
billoetjen said:
Another thing, and this really bugs the crap out of me: there is no "input" on ay bass. That 1/4" jack? It's the output...
The folks on this thread are not by any means the first to make that mistake, but someone needs to call 'em on it.
Better get that thing to an experienced tech so you can indulge in your passion harmlessly.
Click to expand...

:bassist: I called them on it in a thread a few years ago and was flamed by about 10 people, including oddly enough an electrical engineer who should have known better. Their claim was that since the plug on the cord goes into the jack that makes it an input. I tried to explain to them that what is important is signal flow, the direction the electrical signal goes, but it fell of deaf ears.


For the record guys, as he pointed out, the jack on a bass is an output. This is standard electronics terminology. It is not an input. The signal comes from the bass and goes OUT the jack to the amp, making it an output.

Thank you for listening. For the record, I was an electronics technician for 20 years.
 
#14
The first two posts of this thread are priceless set together! The first one makes me despair about the future of the human race and the second one, with its clarity, calm under extreme pressure and helpfulness in the face of astonishing muddle suggests it hasn't all been a waste of time.
 
#17
Showdown said:
:bassist: I called them on it in a thread a few years ago and was flamed by about 10 people, including oddly enough an electrical engineer who should have known better. Their claim was that since the plug on the cord goes into the jack that makes it an input. I tried to explain to them that what is important is signal flow, the direction the electrical signal goes, but it fell of deaf ears.


For the record guys, as he pointed out, the jack on a bass is an output. This is standard electronics terminology. It is not an input. The signal comes from the bass and goes OUT the jack to the amp, making it an output.

Thank you for listening. For the record, I was an electronics technician for 20 years.
Click to expand...

The input jack on my bass is the space between the strings.
 
#20
yeah that was tough to read bro - lots of different thoughts all strung together. you need to gather your thoughts better and organize them into paragraphs and write complete sentences. not trying to beat on you or be the grammar police in any way. truly trying to help you have a positive experience on this and other forums. hope it helps...
 
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