What to do with this &**%^& Jazz Bass?...

[jrsmiles]

My bass player currently plays a 5 string MIM Deluxe Fender Jazz Bass. It's a nice bass all in all, but we've been having some crazy issues with it. One day we picked it up and the neck was bowed like crazy. Some truss rod work seemed to clear that up, and we haven't noticed a problem since.

The more annoying thing is the constant gremlins we're finding in the electronics. Sometimes the bass will cutout all together, a few taps and punches and it comes back on. We pulled everything and inspected the connections and it all looked good.

Another thing is that we get a weird line hum that can be heard through FOH. Having a good DI helps with that, but it happens more often than not, when everyone else in the band isn't being affected with hum/poweretc...

And the most annoying thing, we'll get a loud buzz sometimes, like a bad input jack. We've pulled the jack and resoldered it but we still get those issues.

We're wondering if we should dump this thing and upgrade to a MIA Deluxe, but we can't quite afford that right now. What are some other options to salvage this nice bass and turn it into a road warrior. We play out a lot and need it reliable.

Should we yank the pickups and preamp and install something MIA or aftermarket? Is there a standard game plan when it comes to these MIM Deluxes?

Thanks for looking!

 

[LanOsb133]

This may sound stupid but have you tried cleaning the jack? My MIA was having similar issues and we tried everything to fix it, except cleaning it, and when I took it in to get the new pots and jack, the luither cleaned it really well and called me up saying he fixed it and asked if he still wanted me to put the new pots and pre-amp in. So try cleaning it up really well (if you haven't yet) before yanking everything.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Take it to a tech. Contrary to what you saw, it does not sound like everything looks good on the internals, especially since banging on it seems to fix it.

 

[pfox14]

Sounds like loose connections somewhere. Have you tried checking the circuit with a meter?

 

[Nephilymbass]

If it was mine and acted up that much Id probably just replace every electrical component and be done with it. Everything from pickups and wires to pots and the jack.

 

[JimmyM]

Not me. I'd get whatever's loose re-soldered or replaced and I'd keep all the parts I could because I'm cheap. Doesn't sound like an expensive fix.

 

[Hevy T]

I have an Ibanez 5 string that was acting like that, turned out to be a bad pot!

Just because it looks right means nothing. It could be an internal flaw in a pot, jack etc...

Take it to a tech, I promise it will be a lot cheaper to fix than buying another bass

 

[mbelue]

If your troubleshooting steps are whack it and punch it maybe it's time to think about taking better care of the tools of your trade.