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My old bass don't work.
- Thread starter Nia Koehn
- Start date
barrel jack nut is fully corroded. it's expected that all the wiring/electronics is gone.
you could disconnect pickups from pots and test them one by one. strip 1" of insulation and just wrap naked wire around cable plug. orientation makes no difference. sound coming out of the pickup [if any] should be clean, without any hiss or other noise.
anything different than full and clean signal is sign pickups are corroded.
On the Aliexpress circuit is a jack that's to be mounted on plate, not a barrel jack. You won't be able to fit in in the hole in your bass. But probably you can find the barrel jack circuit there. I have good experience with Aliexpress, the few things I ordered there arrived in perfect condition and the posting is free here in Czech Rep.
But before you order, check the pickups like gricko said:
About removing the unremovable knob - try to unscrew the screw (if there's any) and use brute force. If you need to wrench it with a flat screwdriver, put some metal sheet below or you're damage the body of the bass. There are also anti corrosion sprays on the market, should help.
I also keep my first bass, though I don't play it anymore, it's important to me.
But before you order, check the pickups like gricko said:
If the pickups don't work alright: From the pictures it seems the pickups would be corroded as well. Some pickups are fully 'flooded' in some kind plastic - these would probably be okay. But other - like original Fenders - are open - you can take out the cap and you see the magnet and the coil. It it's your case, magnet would be okay, coil will probably be stained. Try to clean it, there's good chance it will help. Don't worry about damaging the pickup, as it's current state is unusable anyway. If you buy new, don't be afraid to buy cheap ones - in my experience, the pickup doesn't matter that much on low end basses.
About removing the unremovable knob - try to unscrew the screw (if there's any) and use brute force. If you need to wrench it with a flat screwdriver, put some metal sheet below or you're damage the body of the bass. There are also anti corrosion sprays on the market, should help.
I also keep my first bass, though I don't play it anymore, it's important to me.
First, clean everything and make sure the truss rod, tuners, and bridge are functioning.
Get a cheap P & J pickup and cheap pre-wired Jazz bass harness on Amazon. Just measure the J pickup and make sure it's the correct width. Clean it up and setup the action and you may be OK.
Get a cheap P & J pickup and cheap pre-wired Jazz bass harness on Amazon. Just measure the J pickup and make sure it's the correct width. Clean it up and setup the action and you may be OK.
It always amazes me when someone says an instrument means a lot to them because it was a gift from someone important to them, but they let i t get this dirty, rusty, and corroded. I guess I'm missing something...
Yes, but you're just being practical, and the OP said that this is a special bass, one that his girlfriend bought for him a while ago so there's sentimental value attached to it.
Haven't you got a heart???
!
Did you ever wonder if maybe it is the pc amp? I would have checked it on another amp. Ime, not all amps will play a bass. I still have one of those amps. I gave the other away along with a minisquier .
It's obvious from your other posts here that you want the bass to be in working order, but also that budget is a concern. So the question really is how well do you want it all to work, and how much money are you willing to spend to do it?
Others have recommended EMG Geezer pickups, and I second (third? fifth?) those recommendations. They are good pickups, and they eliminate the headache involved with replacing the pots. The jack definitely needs to be replaced. I recommend replacing the bridge and the tuners, too. If it was my bass, I'd upgrade them in the process of replacing them, but you can get direct same-quality replacements for cheap, on ebay and elsewhere. New strings, obviously. By that point, you will have pretty much replaced everything on the bass. As long as the neck is relatively straight, you'll have a playable bass that will sound good.
Ha, I think we were all thinking it, but one man had the cojones to say what needed to be said.
