Alexthemack

Sweet! Thanks for the tips, guys. I have the will and I have the contact cleaner! Keeping the pots tied off etc sounds like invaluable advice. I'd have probably steamed in without thinking and then had all the bits rattling around in there when I dropped them. I think I can be pretty certain it's the jack output but I'll clean it all. That book looks great, G. Cheers!

Hi bassers, Just wanted to glean some opinions on this. I have an Aria Diamond bass (see pics), which was quite cheap when I got it a while ago. I don't know much about it but I think it's from the 70's. It's a great sounding hollowbody bass, though I knew when I got it it's definitely a fixer-upper. Having said that, it's mostly been sitting in my bedroom doing not much for the past year, and recently after getting cracklier and cracklier, it's given out completely and makes no sound. So, I imagine there's a simple (in principle) fix for the electrics. It's just, being rather new to the world of bass repair and restoration, I wondered if anyone can give me any pointers on how they might do it, and for further restoration, which pickups they might swap onto it, how you get into it (I don't even know if you can!), etc, etc. Or whether it's worth the effort, ultimately! Any thoughts or wisdom would be much appreciated. Thanks! Alex

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm still thinking on it...

I'm in love with my hotrod-red Jag bass - it feels solid and well-made, plays beautifully, and looks the BOMB - but I keep wanting to get more of a P-bass sound from it at the moment. Thought it might be a cool idea to replace the neck pickup with p-bass pickups. Is this wise? Will I get the tones I want? Short of trading in for a P/J Deluxe or something of course... But I don't think I want to get rid of this big ol' red cutie just yet...