How about you trace the circuit from blend pot back to pickups and make sure nothing simple is wrong before you do an electronics replacement.
Repair before replacement.
I've looked in the back of the bass but I couldn't head nor tail of it, other than to say the wiring all looks intact, nothing hanging loose and no suspect connections. Beyond that, it looks as though everything is in housed in separate modules. Beyond my ability to diagnose. As I say, it can be a tremendous sounding bass so long as I only use the bridge pickup or bridge with a tiny blend of neck. You may think I've embarked on a fool's errand for trying to fix this issue, but I do want a little more 'life' and growl from the bridge pickup, so maybe a change is in order.
Had a bass like yours: three-knob Pentabuzz, P/J pup config. Knobs controlled volume, blend, and tone, with a Bartolini TC3 preamp acting as a boost for a stronger output signal. Many prefer the simplicity and tone of this configuration.
Like you, I was never happy with bridge volume or tone...
Hope something here helps. Cheers!
This is a real gem of a post and I must commend you for it. Truly the sort of good advice that makes Talkbass such a rewarding place to visit. From reading your comments, I think we're in the very same boat. The three knob Pedulla setup is great - the inherent tone is very balanced and with just a little push to either side of the middle point on the tone control, you get a warmer, passive-esque sound or go the other way for a brighter, more prominent sound. It really gets the to heart of the tonal tweaks many bassists look for at a moment's notice so I can see why it's regarded as a simple and effective solution.
I used to have a Fender Jaco Pastorius fretless jazz and that was bridge pickup heaven for my fretless tastes. I just want something a little more honky and aggressive from the Pedulla, something that could really do the Jaco 'burp' sound. Part of this may be the setup, so I will look to raise the action slightly (the strings on my Pentabuzz are pretty low, testament to the general construction of the thing to allow for it to go so low and yet stay clean). But a pickup that brings loads of upper mids to the fore would be great.
Have you contacted Bartolini yet?
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They might be able to help and offer something non-standrad (i..e Pedulla-like) - wouldn't hurt to ask....
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This news regarding Bartolini now offering their Pedulla sets to owners is quite something for the Pedulla community. The aforementioned suggestion of moving to their 'Classic' jazz singlecoil bridge pickup may be a winner - Bart's 'Classic' pickups are actually more aggressive sounding than their 'Original' range, as they're model on the old Hi-A brand sound, which were pretty bright and aggressive at the time.
J
John East’s stuff is great.
But reading your post more it sounds more like something is wrong with the pickup or the wiring than the preamp?
Overwater are great - but which direction are Overwater in to you? ACG are based north and may be closer, Alpher are based south east within an hour of Overwater...
The more I think about it, the more I feel like the problem is with the pickup and nothing else. The preamp functions as it should, albeit the pots are a tiny bit scratchy when moving (I'll get them cleaned with a service). There is no issue with the battery circuit and the jack works perfectly. Through the balanced input of my PJB, the whole thing sounds more composed and even than it does through my amp, though the bridge pickup is still noticeably quieter in comparison.
As for my location, I'm in Northumberland, with my nearest towns being Newcastle and Hexham. Carlisle is a straight shot down the A69 so works well for me. Alpher would not be out of reach either, though they'd be further away than Overwater. ACG are also not a million miles away in Moffat, though getting there would be more of a hassle. I did previously own a delightful ACG, so a trip up there would probably see me ordering a custom bass (this is also a danger at Overwater).
All in all, I am determined that I'll get this Pedulla to sound the way I want it to. I am quite attached to it, as buying one was the realisation of a dream I've held for over a decade. However, if I cannot get it to reproduce the sound in my head, I will sell it without hesistation. Sentimentality has no place in my collection.
