I'm thinking I should take my bass to a Pro, please tell me I'm a dumb teenager who doesn't know everything!
I have an Ibby GSR 200 with lame stock pick ups, when ever I would play plugged in I don't really bother with the bass' knobs and just do use the settings on my combo amp. The other day I decided to finally figure out what each knob on the bass does.
I turned the volume all the way up and the sound totally died while the knob kept turning very loosely. I took off the knobs/(knob caps?) and found the nuts (I want to call it something else because it seems like a half nut or something) was coming loose when I turned the knob too far. I tried tightening them up by hand but I couldn't get the sound back.
I put in a new battery hoping that was the issue, but alas that did nothing. I took off the back and pulled up a wiring diagram but I apparently have a model with an odd number of pots.
Anyone have insight? Could this be the problem? How much am I out?
Since you ask me to, yes, you are a dumb teenage girl who certainly does not know it all. In fact knows very little! But your enthusiasm to dig into things is a good sign! No shame. Everybody starts out dumb! The shame is in making an effort to stay that way.
1. I have an Ibby GSR 206 and that is one kick butt bass! Those pickups are NOT "lame". Mine are more lame than yours because on a 6 string they don't quite cover the strings evenly but I can live with it with a bit of EQ. I like those pickups better than the ones on my SR506. OK?
(Teens! <sigh> never know when they have something great)
2. You want to play bass but don't bother to figure out what the knobs do?
True Story: Old black guitar player at music shop: "There was this kid! Man could he play! He could play anything! But he didn't know how to tune his guitar! He had to have someone else tune it for him, And then man could he play! <old man shakes head>. Store owner: "Why you here today". Old guitar dude: "Well I bought this amp from you a couple weeks ago and I bumped the knobs and I was wondering if you could put them back where they were when I bought it!
Get the picture? If you are going to play the instrument rather than it play you, you had better learn what EVEYTHING does on it! Especially the knobs! Even if you just have to learn how to set them so they do nothing!
3. "knob" episode. The knobs on your bass work controls on the other side of the wood. Turning the knob varies the electrical properties (resistance) of them to control things like volume and tone. They have a threaded part that goes through the hole in the wood with a nut on the outer side under the knob to tighten the whole thing down.
The whole business coming loose is a common guitar fail. When this happens if you twist the knob too far the whole thing twists and may short the terminals (those projecting metal pieces where the wires attach) to the shielding (black conductive paint) in the cavity. Also may make bunch of noise ("static") or bass may quit. (others have pointed this out to you in your photos)
The answer is to rotate the control (part in the cavity) so terminals are touching nothing and tighten the nut that holds it in place. No, you can't use your fingers to do this except to get it all started. You'll actually have to use a <shudder> tool! Why women hate tools I don't know. But your choice here is to either find a wrench (spanner) of the proper size or a thing that looks like a screw driver called a "hex nut driver" also of the proper size. The nut driver is THE proper tool for this. A wrench may slip and scratch the bass. We guys would typically just grab pliars to tighten it up and that is guaranteed to slip and make a big scratch!
Or you could continue owning no tools and pay someone with tools to do it for you.
True Musician story: Jamming with Guitard. His guitar jack is loose and making all kinds of noise. I mention it. He: "Well the nut came loose so I put some duct tape on it but it still makes "static", but I found that if I stand like this (strikes pose) and stand real still it sort of works!"
4. Battery issue. I just had to replace mine. I was playing my GSR206 and it was starting to hiss like mad. And very unusual was the hiss level seemed controled by the bass knob not the treble knob (you will know what I'm talking about once you learn what your knobs do) I thought I don't remember this thing hissing like this. It used to sound absolutely Killer! So eventually I get around to checking the battery. And it's one I put in a couple of months ago as I recognize the brand. And then I see the "use by" date on the side. 2010! Oops. Popped in a new (really new this time) battery and bingo that bass is rocking the house again!
As for pots these come in two models. Mine (older) with just bass and treble controls and newer ones with bass, treble and mid controls (you really need to learn what the knobs do!) Both work well.
Good luck and remember that in music one never stops learning and even more important it's the always the bass player who has to know how to fix things to save the band!
