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Strange tone problem...

MoeTown1986

MoeTown1986

Sep 14, 2010
4,755
5,873
SoMD (Mechanicsville)
www.ngjbband.com
#1
So, I pulled my CIJ Fender 51 Re-Issue down off the wall today (don't play it much) and plugged it in. Something wasn't right with it. Maybe one of you can shine a little light one my situation. With volume and tone knobs both rolled all the way up, I get a very bright, thin, tinny sound. The volume knob works like usual if i roll it back. When I roll back the tone knob, I almost lose ALL of my volume as well. It also has a BAD buzz unless I am touching the strings, or one of the knobs/control plate. I pulled the control plate off and visually everything looks okay. I checked the jack just to be sure it was grounding good on the instrument cable, and it was. I then pulled the bridge up to check the ground there, seemed fine. I'm guessing I either have a bad tone pot or the cap between the tone and volume pot is bad.

Any ideas???? Thanks!
 
#2
Bass in question... because who doesn't like pics?!
E1DAA0FE-9001-4D17-9A65-9F94B1DE8A6E.jpg
 
#4
DigitalMan said:
I would start with a multimeter looking for a bad solder joint.

But after that I'm kinda into overkill. I would be rewiring with two new pots, a new cap, and all new wire just to remove any doubt. But that's just me....
Click to expand...
I have a multimeter but I really don't know what to even check for! Haha. I did find fully wired harnesses and with pots, caps, and jacks on eBay made by Kelling Sound. Kind of neat looking. Decent prices, too.
 
#7
MoeTown1986 said:
I have a multimeter but I really don't know what to even check for! Haha. I did find fully wired harnesses and with pots, caps, and jacks on eBay made by Kelling Sound. Kind of neat looking. Decent prices, too.
Click to expand...

Try the first few paragraphs here

How To Use A Multimeter - iFixit

Testing for continuity and resistance between two points on the circuit, both with tone and volume open and closed. I would print out a diagram of the wiring and just check as many spots as you can. When set to audible for continuity you can spot-check the whole apparatus in less than a minute.

This might be a good time to learn how to wire a bass. The circuit layout for this one is about as easy as it gets. Also, the parts altogether cost less than a beer at a sporting event, so the risk is miniscule. You would get more value from the exercise if you forego the pre wired harness and use individual components.

This is one of those learning things like adusting a neck and setting intonation that pays for itself many times over compared to the effort it takes to do it the first time.

Of course, if it's just one bad solder joint then go ahead and resolder it and call it a day instead.
 
#9
SCPB Wiring.png


Assuming your wiring looks like THIS... with the capacitor running between the two pots.... just check all the joints, check to be sure nothing's touching (shorting) anything it isn't supposed to. If all the wiring seems okay, bypass that capacitor and see if everything works, but the tome stays wide open. Then, if you still have something odd happening, you might have a faulty other component. But that's much less likely than just a stray wire problem.
 
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#10
DigitalMan said:
Try the first few paragraphs here

How To Use A Multimeter - iFixit

Testing for continuity and resistance between two points on the circuit, both with tone and volume open and closed. I would print out a diagram of the wiring and just check as many spots as you can. When set to audible for continuity you can spot-check the whole apparatus in less than a minute.

This might be a good time to learn how to wire a bass. The circuit layout for this one is about as easy as it gets. Also, the parts altogether cost less than a beer at a sporting event, so the risk is miniscule. You would get more value from the exercise if you forego the pre wired harness and use individual components.

This is one of those learning things like adusting a neck and setting intonation that pays for itself many times over compared to the effort it takes to do it the first time.

Of course, if it's just one bad solder joint then go ahead and resolder it and call it a day instead.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link. I know how to wire a bass, solder, set necks and intonation. I just wasn't sure what I'm actually looking for as far as multimeter readings.
 
#11
M.R. Ogle said:
View attachment 1017534

Assuming your wiring looks like THIS... with the capacitor running between the two pots.... just check all the joints, check to be sure nothing's touching (shorting) anything it isn't supposed to. If all the wiring seems okay, bypass that capacitor and see if everything works, but the tome stays wide open. Then, if you still have something odd happening, you might have a faulty other component. But that's much less likely than just a stray wire problem.
Click to expand...
So what exactly does the capacitor do?
 
#17
MoeTown1986 said:
I have a multimeter but I really don't know what to even check for! Haha. I did find fully wired harnesses and with pots, caps, and jacks on eBay made by Kelling Sound. Kind of neat looking. Decent prices, too.
Click to expand...

While your issue is probably the aforementioned solder joint, I would like to say that i got two harnesses from kellingsound and they are tremendous! If you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary I highly recommend it. However, if it's typically a wall bass, it might not be what you're searching for. Good luck!
 
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#20
yes , yes .. continuity ... check / touch from one metal part to another ... your meter should read very close to what it does when you touch the meter tips together ... i set my meter on a very low ohms setting ..

sounds like something is Not making good contact , or touching something it shouldn't ..

your cap , with help from the tone knob , bleeds off treble freqs to ground ... at whatever the cap value is .

or ... your bass could be afraid of heights .. !??!
 

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