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Pbass lyte club?
- Thread starter FenderBender82
- Start date
WHAT THE HELL!!! 300 DOLLARS?!! i live in the wrong country, decade, century, solar system... DAYUM!!!
Hey Jimmy, fellow Jim here. I gotta question. Okay, I don't own a P-Lyte, but I DO own a Fender Zone (MIM), which is pretty darn close (pardon my off-colour language!).
My Question: How come my P-bass +1 don't sound like a REAL P-bass when I solo the split pickup? I know it's close - great (eyeroll) - but so's soloing the neck pup in a Jazz. I want it/expect/DEMAND IT sound EXACTLY like a P, but it doesn't. Would you agree, that it's just a SMIDGEY OFF the true P-bass sound? Or, is it me, and my old "horseshoeing accident" is flaring up again? (kicked in the head) I appreciate your time and your bass wisdom. Thank you, Sir!
Hey Jim, I don’t think it’s the horseshoe to the noggin. I think it’s more about the pickups and preamp. I replaced them almost immediately after I got my P Lyte. Ended up with EMG PJ’s and BQC. I no longer have it, but I could never get it to duplicate the sound of a regular P no matter what pickups. It was cool because it did its own thing.
I'm in.
"C" s/n dates it to 1985/1986. It's been played plenty.
Loveley balance, very light, neck is one of the nicest I've had in my hands. Super low, super fast and pocket is as tight as. Lots of tarnish on bridge, has orig F knobs, tuners are orig and silky smooth, some of the best I've used.
Electronics in these things are junk. Neck P/U replaced with 63PV which was all I had in the parts bin at the time, some shaping of the covers to make them fit was done. Didn't have a J on hand so bridge is stock.
Preamp replaced with a decent enough sounding 2 band w/blend from Ali's, sounds good, quiet, came with correct metric splined CTS pots.
Heads up for anybody contemplating working on the original preamps.
I destroyed mine attempting to replace a few electrolytics after testing them with the ESR meter.
The pads will lift, the tracks and the land will follow. I have good re-work kit and the skllls to use it, but the 3 pcb's are not standard Japanese quality, and will not stand up to any re-work technique.
No schematic exists so take pics and document all component values, location and orientation.
The ribbon cables become brittle over time and can fracture the undersized conducters it shields so check this if your fault is intermittent.
"C" s/n dates it to 1985/1986. It's been played plenty.
Loveley balance, very light, neck is one of the nicest I've had in my hands. Super low, super fast and pocket is as tight as. Lots of tarnish on bridge, has orig F knobs, tuners are orig and silky smooth, some of the best I've used.
Electronics in these things are junk. Neck P/U replaced with 63PV which was all I had in the parts bin at the time, some shaping of the covers to make them fit was done. Didn't have a J on hand so bridge is stock.
Preamp replaced with a decent enough sounding 2 band w/blend from Ali's, sounds good, quiet, came with correct metric splined CTS pots.
Heads up for anybody contemplating working on the original preamps.
I destroyed mine attempting to replace a few electrolytics after testing them with the ESR meter.
The pads will lift, the tracks and the land will follow. I have good re-work kit and the skllls to use it, but the 3 pcb's are not standard Japanese quality, and will not stand up to any re-work technique.
No schematic exists so take pics and document all component values, location and orientation.
The ribbon cables become brittle over time and can fracture the undersized conducters it shields so check this if your fault is intermittent.
Attachments
For mine, the only ribbon cable is for the mid frequency pot. The others use standard super thin wire that breaks at the pots if you blow on it lol. I almost wonder if I statically fried something, like the IC, when I put the board in. The stock foam the board was wrapped in was shot. I used a piece of plastic wrap around the board to not short it on the pots. I bet it had static. If the board is as delicate as you say, I’m not going to dive into it. I’m an electrical engineer but work with power distribution equipment. I haven’t soldered on a durable board since college. I’m positive I’d destroy an old delicate one. I’ll live with the Aguilar for now. I’m liking it with the mids at 500 Hz and at 18 volts. If money starts growing on the trees in my front yard, I’ll experiment with other preamps.
While the boards (pictured) are certainly delicate, the IC, a 4558D OpAmp, has standard ESD protection structures by using diodes between both inputs and the output to both supply rails. Rated protection is 500V. 95% of all OpAmp's have ESD protection structures so your IC is likely fine.
Attachments
Are those from the P Lyte? The P Lyte Deluxe has a completely different setup. It’s a single board.
Well, Sweetwater had a sale on Darkglass stuff a couple weeks ago. I grabbed a Tone Capsule for the P Lyte Deluxe. I pulled out the OBP-3 and threw the Tone Capsule in. It’s the first bass “mod” I’ve ever done that was mostly solderless. It was a nice and easy install. Now, tonally, this is the preamp I should have went with from the beginning. Bass EQ is at 70 Hz (which is awesome for a 4 string), low mid is at 500 Hz (right where I like it), and high mid is at 2.8 kHz (which actually works better than a treble control). I was skeptical about two mid range controls and no treble, but you won’t miss the treble. I’m running it at 18 V since I added the second battery for the OBP-3 and figured it was more work to remove it than to keep it.
Hello there, has anyone ever converted their Plyte to a fretless? It doesn't get enough playing time, and I'm looking for a place for it in the lineup.
Thanks!
Thanks!
I was given a Fender Lyte Montego Black not working. The preamp had been ripped out and the neck needed adjusting. I made it passive and put a hipshot drop D in. It's a lightweight bass and suits the Tom Petty cover band I'm in. Not keen on the colour but the paint job looks pretty nasty to get off. The Hiptshots would be worth more than the bass!
Hi i'm fixing up a P-Bass Lyte Standard for a friend.
It was gutted many years ago and the laminate is peeling in a few spots.
I'm currently cleaning it up, trying to piece the electronics back together,
but after reading this thread I might go with a whole new plan.
Anyone just turn it into a passive bass? I have a SD quarter pounder P to put in that could be fun.
The bass otherwise plays and sounds great (acoustically).
It was gutted many years ago and the laminate is peeling in a few spots.
I'm currently cleaning it up, trying to piece the electronics back together,
but after reading this thread I might go with a whole new plan.
Anyone just turn it into a passive bass? I have a SD quarter pounder P to put in that could be fun.
The bass otherwise plays and sounds great (acoustically).
Yes I turned mine passive. Do whatever you like to the electronics and setup if it's already been stripped. Get it playing again.
Thanks. I'll probably put a Les Paul type kit, 2 vol 2 tone in there.
It hasn't yet been stripped, but the original laminate is a really nice "quilted" red top.
These are similar to those "Foto flame" finishes right? Too bad.
Anyway, it's separating and peeling in a few spots, and yeah I believe it's enough to scrape the lot of it off.
I tried a heat gun to soften it and make it adhere again, but nope.
Maybe the heat gun is the right tool to do the opposite and lift off all of the laminate, but then what? Anyone had a similar issue?
90s Fender really crapped out on these laminated tops.
Yes mine is very noisy when used near a computer or cell phone. I think the original pre-amp wasn't designed with those noise sources in mind. Not ususally an issue out playing live.
I'm continuing to limp mine along - just put new Gotho GB707-GG tuning machines on it. However the pickup height adjustment scres are about shot - I had to put two of them in a vise adn peen the heads to get them where the phillips bit would turn them. Foam "suspension" on the back of the pickups is collapes and I had to cram extra packing foam under them to get the pickup height close to rigth, hence the stripped pickup screw heads. AM going to need to put an O ring or a felt washer under teh volume knob as it spins too easy now. Joys of being on a low budget.
