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Thunderbird Club

#235,342
Does anyone in this most knowledgeable club have any experience with Gamma Custom Bass Guitars out of Monmouth county NJ?

There is a Thunderbird opportunity in my neighborhood.

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#235,348
GBassNorth said:
No problem. Playing a bass isn’t much fun when it doesn’t work like it’s supposed to.

On the outside chance that the pup checks out ok with the multi meter and the pot checks out ok with the multi meter and the neck pup is sending a clear signal to the output jack and the tone knob is functioning you will have narrowed the issue down to wiring. The wiring diagram you posted is correct. So follow each wire in the bass and make sure it matches the diagram and you should be good.

If still no luck it could possibly be one if a couple of oddball situations - maybe a broken wire hidden inside the insulation. I had that happen with an instrument wire not too long ago. It took a bit of head scratching to figure out because sometimes it read perfect continuity and other times not, depending on which direction the wire was bent. About the only other oddball situation would be from over heating the mesh ground wire when soldering, to the point it degraded the insulation between it and the hot wire thus shorting out the signal from the pup, but maybe only when the wire is bent or wiggled in a certain direction. The odds of either of those things happening in your case is slim to none.
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I made the diagram by tracing the wires in my VP. So, that is the exact routing. More testing today.
 
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#235,350
Instagator said:
The reviews on TB and elsewhere are not too kind to the Gamma line.
I think I'll pass on this one at $700
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I have never played one but have not heard much positive about them. I wouldn't write them off without at least playing one, but I wouldn't be willing to pay the list price for one.
 
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#235,354
Instagator said:
The reviews on TB and elsewhere are not too kind to the Gamma line.
I think I'll pass on this one at $700
Click to expand...
I was just going to say that from what I recall over the years, players have posted mixed reviews. I’d really wonder about those pickups. You would definitely want an extensive audition with an amp you’re familiar with.
 
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#235,355
Stealth57 said:
It was completely dead before because the wire wasn’t attached to the pot at all. After reconnecting, I get a faint signal with the pot at 10.

View attachment 4943976
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Stealth57 said:
I’ll try to diagram things out in the morning. I can see everything except what’s going on with the cap. It’s wedges between what I would call the first and second posts.

Maybe someone with a VP can compare when I post the diagram.
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Not sure if it'll help at this point, but here's a couple of pics of my 2019 VP.....

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:)
 
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#235,359
Stealth57 said:
Identical, just a lot neater or less crammed. Thanks
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No problem :thumbsup:

From what I was able to keep up with on the conversation, it sounds like a grounding problem - either something that should be, isn't (well enough, at least), or something that shouldn't be, is. Especially since it seems all the components & wiring check out?
 
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