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Newbie Wiring Help!

#22
I saw that one, it looks like a great deal. I'm just trying not to spend that much, since I only paid $150 for the guitar. If I get to the point where I have to drop the same cash to get operational again, I'll probably just buy a second bass to play for a while while I upgrade the Dean.
 
#23
The 2nd cheapest & 3rd fastest way to get up & running again is look at the volume & balance pots.

If they're 100K Ohm, get another 100K Ohm pot for treble cut (audio taper),
a 200K Ohm (anti-log taper) for bass cut,
a 2.2 nanoFarad capacitor for the bass cut, &
a 22 or 47 nF cap for treble cut, depending on how low you want to go (a higher value cuts more treble)

2nd fastest way is to buy one of those preassembled preamps

Almost forgot, the cheapest & fastest way to get up & running again is to simply wire the pickups back up to the balance pot & then straight to the jack from the volume pot. no other controls
 
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#24
The desire to practice should be nourished! You can get it up and running like KBD said. You don't need to have an optimal sound to practice!

Also, for home practice and testing wiring schemes at the same time, alligator clip leads work well imo. Then you don't waste time soldering, and can do reasonably quick wiring changes while you practice. You can incorporate the volume and balance knobs if you want. As long as the sight of dangling wires isn't too upsetting :laugh:...
 
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#25
You might need a diagram, but here's one anyway:

tone-bypass.JPG

Ignore the pots values.
This is for a complete bypass of the other controls, just balance & volume.
 
#26
Minor point: Your bass doesn't have active pickups. It uses Dean's DMT design P and J pickups. Those are both passive pickups which can be used either in a number of passive bass wiring schemes, or a bass with an active preamp like yours.

So the question you want to ask yourself is do you want to replace the defective preamp or change horses and rewire it for passive instead.

Once you decide that, the next question is what sort of control stack you want. You have 4 holes already drilled and a side jack.

That opens up a lot of different wiring options.
 
#30
So I think the plan right now is to bypass the treble/bass pots and just wire it directly so I can get back to playing. I'm not to the point right now where I even really use them, so it won't be a big loss. Then I'll just plan to upgrade all of the guts in one shot further down the road.
 
#31
With the balance you can blend your sound similar to how you can with the "tone" controls, but with limits.
All neck pickup will give you more bass, all bridge pickup will give you more treble, & then there are all the blends in between.

If I want it kind of mid-rangey I'll blend back 25% neck / 75% bridge.

G&L has a bass, the SB-2, with no treble cut control. You vary the timbre of it by blending the pickups.

drb35yi2zb9sxpr5mvwe.jpg
 
#34
I'm still anxiously awaiting my replacement preamp from Dean, so no real update as of yet. I did take a look at the pots and jack though and decided that even though Dean's sending me a complete assembly, I'm going to cut and solder in just the preamp (with a little liquid electrical tape on the connections to prevent anything from getting crossed in the future). The knobs on my guitar appear to be black anodized aluminum and perfect, but they're not held on with set screws, so I'm guessing they're glued on. I'd rather spend an hour soldering than have to worry about getting the knobs off and back on again without ruining anything. Then I'll just take the spare pots and jack and toss them in a box for future use.

Now as far as the preamp goes, the original was just stuffed into the wiring cavity and not secured to anything, which might have been part of the problem. It looks like it has an adhesive backing that was never peeled, like it could have been secured to the inside of the cover. What should I do with the new one? Should I leave it loose, or secure it to the cover to keep it from moving?
 
#35
Neodeuccio said:
I'm still anxiously awaiting my replacement preamp from Dean, so no real update as of yet. I did take a look at the pots and jack though and decided that even though Dean's sending me a complete assembly, I'm going to cut and solder in just the preamp (with a little liquid electrical tape on the connections to prevent anything from getting crossed in the future). The knobs on my guitar appear to be black anodized aluminum and perfect, but they're not held on with set screws, so I'm guessing they're glued on. I'd rather spend an hour soldering than have to worry about getting the knobs off and back on again without ruining anything. Then I'll just take the spare pots and jack and toss them in a box for future use.

Now as far as the preamp goes, the original was just stuffed into the wiring cavity and not secured to anything, which might have been part of the problem. It looks like it has an adhesive backing that was never peeled, like it could have been secured to the inside of the cover. What should I do with the new one? Should I leave it loose, or secure it to the cover to keep it from moving?
Click to expand...
If you have room, I would definitely attach it to the cover. Me? I didn't have room.
63310CA1-4351-4B99-BC3F-A6AF566AE350.jpeg
 
#36
On my G&L the preamp was double-sided taped to the back of the pots.
The knobs are on split-shaft pots, meaning they're just pressed on.

To get them off just pull up on them as straight as possible. If that doesn't work get a string & wrap it around the post under the knob & pull up on both ends of the string. (at opposing sides of the knob, so it comes up straight)

el00001.jpg
 
#37
So, just a fun little update for all those anxious viewers out there, since I know you just can't wait to hear from me again...

My new Dean preamp assembly came on Tuesday. I was very excited. I opened the package as soon as I got home and checked it out. It looked a little different from the original, but it was really close. So I'm thinking "Awesome! A little wiring work and I'm back strumming again!". But first things first. My mother in law is in the process of moving, so I left the house 20 minutes later and spent the rest of the night helping her. When I got home, things were not as I left them. Along with generally wrecking the place, while I was gone, my 5 month old puppy grabbed the new preamp off the table and utterly destroyed it. The preamp box only took minor damage, but most of the wires are broken or ripped out, and I still haven't found 2 of the pots. I was not happy. She's just a puppy though, and we know she has a problem with separation anxiety, so I can't really be upset with her.

But this is where things get kinda cool. I sent an email back to my contact at Dean first thing on Wednesday morning (it was late by the time I got the house cleaned up on Tuesday night). I told him what happened and said something like "I'm a little short on cash right now, so can you please process a second order next week once my paycheck clears and send me out another preamp?". The response I got back made my day: "I'll just send you the last one I got, don't let the pup eat it!". The boys down at Dean are sending me a free replacement!

I don't know how everybody else out there likes Dean, but they've made a lifetime customer out of me! Their customer service has been fast, helpful, and all-around just top notch!

So now I'm waiting again. More updates to follow once the second preamp arrives.
 

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