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Wiring help!

P

Pyroxene311

Apr 5, 2022
4
0
#1
Hi all, my wife teaches music and one of her students has a bass that isn't working so she bought it home for me to look at. You turn it on and no sound comes out. I'm a bass player, and I can solder, but I don't know much about bass/guitar electronics...

The bass is a cheapie "Artist" brand with no wiring info online. It is an active bass (I don't know much about these, I play a plain Fender J) with 2 pups, 3 x knobs (vol, vol and tone?) and one knob has 2 knobs in 1 (again, too complex for a plain J player like me haha).

I've done a wiring diagram and there's an unconnected yellow wire coming from a junction box (the "big black box" in the diagram). The knob in the far left of the diagram has a missing place it might go, but I'm not 100% sure and don't want to wreck this kids bass. Can anyone help me figure it out? Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • bass wiring.jpg
    bass wiring.jpg
    136 KB · Views: 50
#2
First step check battery voltage . Controls are likely vol/vol and stacked tone (treble/bass) . If battery checks out then check jack as if dirty or broken then no power to preamp . To help any more will need photos or ideally name or model of preamp . I am sure someone here will be able to help
 
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#4
johnh89 said:
First step check battery voltage . Controls are likely vol/vol and stacked tone (treble/bass) . If battery checks out then check jack as if dirty or broken then no power to preamp . To help any more will need photos or ideally name or model of preamp . I am sure someone here will be able to help
Click to expand...
Nothing has a name or model number on it. Jack seems fine.

I put a brand new battery in. Getting more than before but can hardly hear it. The LHS pot is VERY noisy, even touching it makes my amp crackle. Turning it full clockwise stops all noise, turning it back the other way makes my amp crackle, hiss, pop, everything.
 
#7
artist bass.jpg

pickup.jpg

I'm guessing that this may be the beast in question .
If you can get a photo of the guts I may be able to help . Or I am guessing that the pickups are probably passive with a preamp , in which case it may be possible to wire it up as per a passive jazz bass .
 
#8
johnh89 said:
View attachment 4647796
View attachment 4647798
I'm guessing that this may be the beast in question .
If you can get a photo of the guts I may be able to help . Or I am guessing that the pickups are probably passive with a preamp , in which case it may be possible to wire it up as per a passive jazz bass .
Click to expand...

Photo of guts should be above? Let me know if you can't see it. Contacted Artist and they sent wgat should be the wiring and its totally different....
 

Attachments

  • q7Lmmn2qztcFn6MzwJ_rnJTvIY0OLEDuVA.png
    q7Lmmn2qztcFn6MzwJ_rnJTvIY0OLEDuVA.png
    67 KB · Views: 51
#9
Your attachment in post 4 is broken so we can't see it.

If the wiring is totally different, you may have a different preamp installed in yours. A photo might help confirm or deny that. The wiring diagram you posted here looks pretty typical for a two band preamp - pickup blend, master volume with a push/pull passive/active function, bass pot, and treble pot.
 
#12
Is your illustration in the first post above an accurate drawing of 100% of the wires in the bass as it sits right now? If so, there's no signal connection from the preamp to the jack. The little circle shown attached to the jack is presumably a volume pot, is there a spot on that pot where the yellow wire may have been connected?

Also - it looks like the yellow wire has red tape on it. Did you put that there, or was it there to begin with?
 

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