• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

TBC club

#82
I too am having an "issue" with my newly acquired AP-500M. When I plug it in it seems to have no output. with all the settings cranked, it sounds "wimpy". I've got two other active basses and at the settings I am using for the TBC they would be blowing the speakers. I checked the electronics for and bad solder joints and they all look pretty decent. The ground wire is just sitting in a hole in the body not attached to anything. When I tap wires coming from the pickup it makes quite alot of noise. Changed the battery, no better. Is it worth trying to fix this setup or should I just rip out the preamp and go passive. Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement preamp or have wiring diagrams for a passive setup for this bass?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I would rather fix this one myself then have to send it back to Jack. That would be my last resort.

Thanks.
 
#83
WilsonCat said:
I too am having an "issue" with my newly acquired AP-500M. When I plug it in it seems to have no output. with all the settings cranked, it sounds "wimpy". I've got two other active basses and at the settings I am using for the TBC they would be blowing the speakers. I checked the electronics for and bad solder joints and they all look pretty decent. The ground wire is just sitting in a hole in the body not attached to anything. When I tap wires coming from the pickup it makes quite alot of noise. Changed the battery, no better. Is it worth trying to fix this setup or should I just rip out the preamp and go passive. Does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement preamp or have wiring diagrams for a passive setup for this bass?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I would rather fix this one myself then have to send it back to Jack. That would be my last resort.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

That's strange, but I'm sure that ground wire has something to do with it.

I went Passive just for preference and it sounds super! I moved the jack to the top, and wired it Volume/Tone. The Jack took a bit of countersinking/routing/etc, but that was due to the fact I had a Stereo Switchcraft Jack. If you have a standard Mono Switchcraft you'll just have to file out the hole a bit and it should be sweet (The Mono jacks barrel is longer).

I don't have a schematic, but here's a pic if you're interested. It's basically a Standard P-Bass wiring diagram (since the Pickup is wired internally in Series) with all the grounds going to a star ground. Not very complicated.

DCP_3046.jpg
 
#85
One complaint I have is that the battery compartment requires taking off the back panel. Now it's not that you have to remove the entire panel, but that the screws that hold it on are "self tapping" screws. I'm always concerned about stripping the threads off the hole, by not aligning the screw 100% with the existing threads. I would have liked to see some metal screw receivers glued into the bass so that metal screws would not need to be self tapping.

Just my $.02.
 
#86
I'm gonna bump this, i dunno if it has already been mentioned but the new options that TBC are offering are pretty nice:

You can now order fretless fingerboards on all models with or without lines at no additional charge.

You can order left-handed basses on any model at no additional charge

You can now get any TBC model with or without inlaid pickguards.


Apprently he is aiming to make one of each model a month :eek:
 
#89
Do you have a set of allen wrenches, surely one will fit. Tho i seem to recall that the hole infront of the trussrod nut is pretty small, so the allen wrench that came with the TBC isn't very long.
 
#95
I'm not part of the TBC club yet, but I am looking at the
AP-500M. This thread and others have me just about convinced. I do have a couple of questions, though.

A little background on me may help. I'm basically a beginner. I primarily play worship music with some classic rock and prog rock for good measure. I'm looking for a bass at a decent price point that will serve me from my beginning stage through more advanced playing over the next several years. I don't want a beginner bass that I'll feel like have have to replace in a year or two as I get more picky with the tones I want to create. From what I've read so far, a TBC bass would do the trick. Would you all agree with that?

If any of you play contemporay worship music, can I get the tones I need on the AP-500M with that one pickup? For example, Chris Tomlin, Third Day, Casting Crowns, etc.

I also want to learn some classic rock like Queen, Rush, Boston, along with more mellow stuff like Jackson Browne, etc.
I'm not really looking to duplicate everyone else's tones, but I would like to find ones that wil fit the music. Can the one pickup of the AP-500M do that?

There are a lot of other popular in the same price range from Peavey, Ibanez, Fender, Traben, Yamaha, and others. Other than going out and playing all of them, would you recommend the TBC over all of these in the same price category?

There are plenty of basses in the lower price ranges, too, that have a lot of owners and good reviews, but I don't really want to go through the trade-up process in a year or two.

Thanks for indulging a noob. I'm really ready to pull the trigger on the TBC, but it'll really hinge on the feedback I get here.

Glenn
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back