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Double Bass I did it! (Repaired my fishman full circle)

ok2007

ok2007

Jan 28, 2008
18
8
#1
Had two of those fail on the gig before. The first one died the "crapping out & distorting" way, which – as I understand – is final. The 2nd one just stopped working. I send it to a service in Germany - didn't work. Had it lying around for years. Now a third one failed (again on the gig...:mad:) and I didn't want to buy another one. Got my soldering iron out and took the chance to give it an (visual) update. Success! Works fine. I encourage everyone who knows a little about soldering to do this. The cable is flimsy so be careful when cutting the insulation.
 

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#5
ok2007 said:
The first one died the "crapping out & distorting" way, which – as I understand – is final.
Click to expand...

It may be totally different in Europe, but in North America you can send your pickup back to Fishman. It's a $50 bench charge for them to assess whether to replace or repair it. I had an old one go bad (just like you've described) and they replaced it, including shipping (I believe), for the cost of the bench test.
 
#6
In the first one a piezo ceramic piece broke. A new one is needed for repair, maybe a complete set of four on a PCB.
But these are not available as a replacement part because the cable needs to be soldered onto it after going through the adjuster wheel hole.

On the second one the cable broke somewhere. Often that happens at the RCA plug but could be inside the adjuster too.

The white cable itself is very robust, but the fixing at the ends might not.
A cable where the isolation can be stretched can lead to breaking the copper inside. That won’t happen with the white one. But then the ends are more stressed.
 
#7
If I had metal adjusters ( I do not) and I liked the sound of the Fishman Full Circle ( not my cup of tea either, but I'm probably in the minority here) after spending a considerable amount of money on three Full Circle pickups @ $660.00 by my estimate
I'd seriously consider a single element Yamahiko, if and when your 3d Full Circle has more issues. The design from all accounts here on Talkbass is more robust and less prone to damage as the pickup element is in the shaft not the wheel. Just my take of course
Congratulations on being able to repair one, that's a great skill to have under your hat.

Screen Shot 2022-02-01 at 6.23.07 PM.png
 
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#8
Ric Vice said:
If I had metal adjusters ( I do not) and I liked the sound of the Fishman Full Circle ( not my cup of tea either, but I'm probably in the minority here) after spending a considerable amount of money on three Full Circle pickups @ $660.00 by my estimate
I'd seriously consider a single element Yamahiko, if and when your 3d Full Circle has more issues. The design from all accounts here on Talkbass is more robust and less prone to damage as the pickup element is in the shaft not the wheel. Just my take of course
Congratulations on being able to repair one, that's a great skill to have under your hat.
Click to expand...
That’s why I changed from the Full Circle to a single Yamahiko when I got the opportunity to get a used one relatively cheap (but with slightly damaged threads).
But they hardly hit the used market in Germany. And I’m my case the bridge needed to get changed for the thicker metrical threads.
 
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#10
DoubleMIDI said:
That’s why I changed from the Full Circle to a single Yamahiko when I got the opportunity to get a used one relatively cheap (but with slightly damaged threads).
But they hardly hit the used market in Germany. And I’m my case the bridge needed to get changed for the thicker metrical threads.
Click to expand...
How do the Fishman and the Yamahiko compare sound wise?
 
#11
bassmanbrent said:
It may be totally different in Europe, but in North America you can send your pickup back to Fishman. It's a $50 bench charge for them to assess whether to replace or repair it. I had an old one go bad (just like you've described) and they replaced it, including shipping (I believe), for the cost of the bench test.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I read about that. That is a great service. But there's nothing like that here in the EU. So I would have to send it to the U.S. and need to pay the shipping costs on top of the repair fee. In fact I get some satisfaction out of being able to repair things.:cool:
 
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#12
bassmanbrent said:
It may be totally different in Europe, but in North America you can send your pickup back to Fishman. It's a $50 bench charge for them to assess whether to replace or repair it. I had an old one go bad (just like you've described) and they replaced it, including shipping (I believe), for the cost of the bench test.
Click to expand...

Do you remember how you contacted them and what the process was? I have a student with one that stopped working recently and he said he couldn’t afford to fix it, so he ended up going with a less good sounding pickup. If I could get him the contact information I might just be able to convince him to fix it.
 
#14
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Do you remember how you contacted them and what the process was? I have a student with one that stopped working recently and he said he couldn’t afford to fix it, so he ended up going with a less good sounding pickup. If I could get him the contact information I might just be able to convince him to fix it.
Click to expand...

I’m pretty sure the info is on their website, but don’t recall much more than that, unfortunately. I remember for sure that you have to contact them first though. They put you in the system, issue a number of some kind and then you send them the pickup. They let you know if it can be repaired or has to be replaced and then give you the shipping info. Pretty simple from what I remember. I was very impressed with the service. It was an older pickup that had seen a lot of use and had been on multiple basses. They replaced it with a brand new one for $50.

Edit. Here’s the link from their website.

Warranty Information | Fishman
 
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#15
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Do you remember how you contacted them and what the process was? I have a student with one that stopped working recently and he said he couldn’t afford to fix it, so he ended up going with a less good sounding pickup. If I could get him the contact information I might just be able to convince him to fix it.
Click to expand...
I recently sent in my FC, turned out it was OK and didn't need repair. They said the standard repair charge is 50 bucks, and sent me a link to the page for filling out a RMA:

Fishman Return Authorization Form

It was completely painless. The only thing was of course getting it on and off the bass. Fortunately I had a matching non-pickup adjuster, so I could keep playing while the pickup was being repaired.
 
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#17
james condino said:
So you guys are paying almost $250 for $9 worth of fragile parts that break and then pay another $50 for the privilege of "repairing" those $9 parts?????

Maybe I need to start one of these pickup ponzi schemes.....
Click to expand...

I dunno… My FC lasted around 15 years of daily use before it died and then I got a brand new replacement for $50 from Fishman By comparison, my Realist only lasted a couple years and Gage only offered to give me a small discount on a new one… I don’t think I’ve every owned anything else that I used daily until it was completely worn out that the manufacturer was willing to replace with new for the cost of a bench test. Works for me.
 
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