Kev Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 I'm completely confused. Happily sitting and playing along on my completely passive Fender Jazz when suddenly all sound just stops. No interference/crackling/faint sound, just stopped dead. Unplugged the cable, tried another, no sound. Used same cables and tried on two other basses, no problems at all. Issue certainly isolated to the Fender. Took the control plate out, all cables soldered nicely, nothing loose. Plugged back in, prodded around, pressing solder connections etc, again no sound and no interference. Its a stacked knob passive so tried each pickup independently by rolling the other's volume off, nothing. I'm completely lost as to why this instrument has fallen completely silent. Please will someone give me a clue as to what might of happened here? From my lehmans points of view, it can't be an issue with a pickup wire as isolating one of them should have worked, it can't be a loose solder connection as the prodding had no effect and there is zero interference or cracking. The jack socket looks completely sound and I can't imagine how a socket would just fail like that with no signs leading up to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PawelG Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Very interesting. I also want to hear the reason why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 Worth adding as well that, although this bass is second hand, its about 6 months old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 You need to whip off the pick guard and have a look. It may be obvious or you may need to get the old multimeter on it. If a wire is under tension and the solder joint is poor then it could have just pinged off but without having a look it's impossible to do anything other than educated guesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 (edited) [quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1493404362' post='3288165'] You need to whip off the pick guard and have a look. It may be obvious or you may need to get the old multimeter on it. If a wire is under tension and the solder joint is poor then it could have just pinged off but without having a look it's impossible to do anything other than educated guesses. [/quote] Whipping the pickguard off wont help, do you mean removing the pickups? But, if a wire had failed going to one of the pickups, surely that wouldn't cause both to fall silent individually, would it? And, again, without any cracking/interference/hum or anything?? I have zero equipment so any testing will need to be done by a tech, I am just wondering if there is something really obvious I can be checking here. Edited April 28, 2017 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Could be a pickup, bit also could be one of the pots, hence taking off the pickguard. If there is nothing obvious then it will need a more systematic approach. But wiggling wires can sometimes work wonders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 [quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1493404777' post='3288172'] Could be a pickup, bit also could be one of the pots, hence taking off the pickguard. If there is nothing obvious then it will need a more systematic approach. But wiggling wires can sometimes work wonders! [/quote] Its a jazz bass, there are no pots on the pickguard. There will be no routing under the pickguard either, that's why I said there would be no point in taking it off as it will take me no further forward. Like I mentioned, visually certainly nothing looks wrong with the pots or wires. Its the silence thats really confusing me. I have never had an issue with a bass where there hasn't been [i]some [/i]kind of residual noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PawelG Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1493404904' post='3288173'] Its a jazz bass, there are no pots on the pickguard. There will be no routing under the pickguard either, that's why I said there would be no point in taking it off as it will take me no further forward. Like I mentioned, visually certainly nothing looks wrong with the pots or wires. Its the silence thats really confusing me. I have never had an issue with a bass where there hasn't been [i]some [/i]kind of residual noise. [/quote] Exactly. Total silence in that case seems really odd. I would expect some hum or crackle prior to the sound cut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 My mistake, minds eye was showing a precision. My old EB3 did exactly as you describe and that turned out to be a loose earth wire on one of the pots. But it was only by checking the continuity that I found it, the wire still 'seemed' to be attached. A wiggle of the wires would sometimes restore sound but not always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottastopbuyinggear Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Is there any sound if you plug in and play with the bell plate off the body? Reason I ask is I've seen a jack tip connection grounding on shielding or conductive paint before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1493414742' post='3288253'] Is there any sound if you plug in and play with the bell plate off the body? Reason I ask is I've seen a jack tip connection grounding on shielding or conductive paint before. [/quote] Nope. There is no sound of any description whatsoever once the lead is plugged in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Kev, [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Did you check on the jack socket if the metal part which makes contact with the tip of the cable has bent out of shape? i.e., take the bell plate off and plug a cable in, and see if the cable tip and curved part of the socket 'tab' are contacting correctly? Like this:[/font][/color] [attachment=244294:Capture.JPG] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's the simplest thing I can think to look at....[/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottastopbuyinggear Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Have you got a multimeter or continuity tester of some sort? If so then I'd suggest using that to check if the hot output has somehow become grounded. The only other thing I can suggest is getting some crocodile clip leads to bypass the jack socket and connect directly to the jack plug on your lead, and working through the hot wires to see if you can find a point where you get some signal, though that's possibly not going to work if you have got it grounded somewhere. It's a tricky one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1493450122' post='3288346'] Kev, [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Did you check on the jack socket if the metal part which makes contact with the tip of the cable has bent out of shape? i.e., take the bell plate off and plug a cable in, and see if the cable tip and curved part of the socket 'tab' are contacting correctly? Like this:[/font][/color] [attachment=244294:Capture.JPG] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's the simplest thing I can think to look at....[/font][/color] [/quote] Nah its not that bud unfortunately. Visibly there is nothing touching/grounding where it shouldn't, jack plug visually looks fine etc. Stumped! [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1493453943' post='3288394'] Have you got a multimeter or continuity tester of some sort? If so then I'd suggest using that to check if the hot output has somehow become grounded. The only other thing I can suggest is getting some crocodile clip leads to bypass the jack socket and connect directly to the jack plug on your lead, and working through the hot wires to see if you can find a point where you get some signal, though that's possibly not going to work if you have got it grounded somewhere. It's a tricky one! [/quote] No equipment, looks like its going to a tech But hey, I gigged it in a M2TM Final last Saturday, at least it didn't cut out then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Turn the volume knob off zero? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1493461125' post='3288478'] Turn the volume knob off zero? [/quote] Thanks for your input. But, if a serious suggestion, I advise in the OP that I have experimented with the volume knobs, to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Have you tried plugging it in with the bell plate removed and touching the lead tip where it is plugged into the socket? That should buzz just like when you touch the lead tip when not plugged in the guitar. If it does buzz, then follow the signal wires back up the harness until you stop getting the buzz. That's about the best diagnosis you can do without any kit at all. It seems like there must be a dead short to ground somewhere, as if there is an open circuit it should hum somewhat. From the description, I'd suspect the socket or tone pot, as they are common to both pickups. Let us know what you find, any details might help us to help you. Cheers MBA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 (edited) I have had a development, perhaps this may narrow down what it is. Headphones on and headphone amp turned up as high as I can cope with the white noise, volume on preamp turned up very high, distortion pedal turned on and full gain, I can very faintly hear the bass. And it is coming from the pickups. Turning the volume down on both pickups stops the sound, turning just one off changes the sound to my ears. So, there is in fact output, albeit impossibly quiet and only coaxed out by maxing all gain in my signal chain. Does this mean something??? Edited April 29, 2017 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Possibly a dodgy pot If you have a soldering iron though you may want to go over the solders in case of a dry joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1493477732' post='3288660'] Possibly a dodgy pot If you have a soldering iron though you may want to go over the solders in case of a dry joint. [/quote] Surely it would be dodgy pots though, for it to be the same for each pickup? Which seems highly unlikely, unless an issue with one somehow has a knock on effect on another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1493477804' post='3288661'] Surely it would be dodgy pots though, for it to be the same for each pickup? Which seems highly unlikely, unless an issue with one somehow has a knock on effect on another. [/quote] But they work in a chain, the signal has a flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottastopbuyinggear Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Are there a pair of resistors attached to the pots, with the tip of the jack socket connected to the middle of those resistors? If not then I can see how a dodgy (earthed) pot might kill the sound. It could be that you've got a very fine strand of wire in there somewhere which is shorting out. And apologies for stating the obvious, but be careful with those headphones on and everything turned up full, just in case it starts working again as quickly as it stopped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Did you try the touching thing I suggested earlier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1493477804' post='3288661'] Surely it would be dodgy pots though, for it to be the same for each pickup? Which seems highly unlikely, unless an issue with one somehow has a knock on effect on another. [/quote]or the tone pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1493480232' post='3288687'] Are there a pair of resistors attached to the pots, with the tip of the jack socket connected to the middle of those resistors? If not then I can see how a dodgy (earthed) pot might kill the sound. It could be that you've got a very fine strand of wire in there somewhere which is shorting out. And apologies for stating the obvious, but be careful with those headphones on and everything turned up full, just in case it starts working again as quickly as it stopped! [/quote] I'l have to check that, and yes I was prepared for sudden noise! [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1493495870' post='3288820'] Did you try the touching thing I suggested earlier? [/quote] Sorry, yes I tried this before, there is no noise whatsoever once the cable is plugged in, whether I touch the plug or anything else inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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