Trusty first bass needs some new pots?

[CaribooBass]

I have a Yamaha Rbx360 bass and being my first Bass I ever owned it is sort of a special instrument to me.

I know the bass is over 20 years old but it still plays well and sounds great, it just needs a little TLC.

The Volume and the pickup balance knobs turn with very little resistance and as far I can tell, do not do very much towards what they are intended for.
I am thinking the pots are warm out.
The master tone knob seems ok.

Please know that I am not an electronics guy at all and claim no expertise.

What I am looking for is a schematic diagram for this set up. For my brother is an electronic engineer and I will be seeing him shortly and he said he can help me on this.

I have tried the net for this diagram and the 360 seems to not be available or it is the same as another model that I am not aware of.

Thanks for the help
Clayton

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Those Yamahas are sturdy, simple basses. Not flashy, just a good design, well made. A great beginner bass, and worth keeping. Even after you move on to fancier basses.

The electronics are passive and very simple. Not much can go wrong. I'm almost certain that the problem is that the pots are dirty and need to be cleaned. They don't need to be replaced, just cleaned.

Get a little spray can of DeOxit F5. It's a special cleaner and lubricant made just for carbon-track potentiometers. It cleans the contacts and track, and leaves a light coat of lubricant on there. Spray a little squirt in the opening on the can on the back of the pot. Don't flood it, just a little squirt. Then turn the knob back and forth a dozen times. That's it. The pot is cleaned and lubed and should function again. If you don't play the bass much, you may need to do this again every 5-10 years.

Do not use Contact Cleaner, WD-40 or anything else like that. They may wash away the dirt, but they will leave the track unlubricated. Then the pot will quickly wear out and need to be replaced.

Here's the stuff. You want the DeOxit Fader F5 or FN5, not the D5 Contact Cleaner. The F5 is made specifically for carbon track pots/faders.

https://www.amazon.com/DeoxIT-Fader...eoxit+f5+spray+contact+cleaner,aps,188&sr=8-9

 

[CaribooBass]

Bruce, thanks for your reply.

My thinking about replacing the pots comes from there is very little resistance when I turn them.
Is this wrong ?

I am going to try your lube idea before I do anything for it is an older instrument.

The Amazon link you provided says it is not available right now so I am going to have to search it out to find it.

Thanks
Clayton

 

[LoveThatBass]

It will be same as a Fender Jazz bass. Two volumes and a tone, but as said previously spray some Deoxt5 into the small slot for the wire lugs and then rotate the pot back and forth several times. If that doesn’t fix it (which probably will) then change pot etc. Not a P/J but circuit is the same. It will have the P neck pickup connected to the same point as the Jazz Neck pickup