Norris

[b]A Bass Barely Alive...[/b] (We can rebuild it!) OK, here are some 'before' shots. Remember - I did warn you! The coffin opens... OK, that's enough of that. As I said, I'm not proud of the state it was in. Luckily Andy is a good mate, a rather good guitar technician/restorer & all round good bloke and he took it away to work his magic...

[b]History[/b] The bass was built in April 1980 (serial number 004097). I bought it second hand from Humbucker Music in Leicester in mid-1985. It was then my only bass for around 10 years, in a busy Leicester-based covers trio band called The Chase. We played several nights a week, pretty much every week for many years. This bass has certainly seen some use - and in some way I'm preparing you for some pretty horrible 'before' shots to come. I was young, and foolish and the bass was not particularly looked after. It has been hit against cymbals, battered by drum sticks and literally thrown into the back of vans for many years. In around about 1995 I bought myself a brand new Fender US Jazz Standard, and the Aria was put in the loft where it remained for several years, unloved, almost forgotten. <Cut to scenes of the passing seasons, the falling of leaves, new growth in spring, with stirring string accompaniment, forward to .., 2010 and my mate Andy asks me how the old Aria is, as he's always had a liking for what are now classic Japanese guitars. Curious, I fetched it out of the loft and was dismayed at the state of the poor old workhorse. The loft is obviously not completely damp-free and the years have taken their toll. Those of a nervous disposition may want to look away now. The scenes you are about to see are not pretty, and I'm not proud of myself. If you decide to proceed and end up traumatised, please bear in mind there are happier pictures to come - this is a rebuild thread after all! ...

I had a great afternoon. Thanks to everyone, especially the cake bakers and organisers

I'm a bit gutted because it looks like the Aria SB-1000 needs a new pickup so won't be playable. I'll still bring it as a bit of eye candy because local chap Andy Holland has done a fantastic job on the refinish, nay resurrection of the bass. And I promise a restore thread soon when I can get the photos sorted

Lol

Well I took the pickup out. It's definitely filled with epoxy and I can't get a DC resistance reading at all. So it looks like a replacement pickup - which one? I'm still confused as to how it could make any sound at all with an open circuit pickup. Oh and if you're interested the serial number is 004087

[quote name='Prostheta' timestamp='1431015858' post='2766952'] I've been GASing to build a ZZB 5-string Black n' Gold for far too long. Certainly won't happen with Veijo's pickups however a 4-string version wouldn't be out of the question. That said, the question could be, "batwing?". [/quote] It's got to be pointy imho. A batwing on a ZZB just wouldn't look right. Make it even pointier

It does seem a bit strange if both coils have died I was looking at the Aria UK site earlier and I'm sure I saw some 5ers in the current crop of SB re-issues

I got a reply from Aaron. If your pickup has a brass plate on the bottom (as some of them have apparently) it might be repairable. If it's epoxy it definitely can't. He also says they wind each pickup to order so it can be authentic or a bit hotter. I read a TB thread from someone who had a hotter wind and said it made the varitone a lot more usable especially at the muddy end of the scale. But then I quite like how it used to sound. Anyway, pickup out tonight to inspect its bottom ,,,

I tried to measure the full coil (red & white leads) and each individually (red to black & white to black) and couldn't get a reading off either. Anyway I've fired an enquiry off to Armstrong so I'll see what they come up with

The black box is unplugged so I should be measuring just the resistance of the pickup coil. I was getting a reading on the maximum scale of my meter but realised I was touching both probes. When I measured without touching them I couldn't get a reading. It still makes a very quiet sound though and not intermittently either

Hmmm... measuring the resistance of the pickup looks like it's open circuit, but if it is how on earth is it making any noise at all? Admittedly my multi-meter could probably do with a new battery, but it's not measuring a resistance on the pickup when it does if I touch the probes (i.e. my resistance)

As I said it's low volume even with the varitone switched (and that switch has just been replaced too as the toggle had snapped off) so I think it's either the pickup or the black box at fault. Last night I had it through my Fender Rumble 500 combo at what would normally be deafening volume. I'll measure the resistance of the pickup when I get home tonight. It wouldn't be difficult to make a new black box either (and a sight cheaper for a diagnostic test)

Thanks. I'll give that a go and let you know Edit: Just in case I need to find the Kent Armstrong page again for a replacement p/up ... http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/miscellaneous-pickups/

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1430895476' post='2765572'] Could be the op-amp on the fritz, but the reference to "damp conditions" makes me think that the contacts in the varitone switch might have become oxidised. If possible, shoot some switch cleaner into it and give it a good going back & forth. Same goes for the toggle switch. P. [/quote] Good call. I've just whipped the black box out of the bass and it looks in good condition. The potting compound is still shiny and looks well sealed. The volume is still well down though even with the rotary control switched out. Still going by the link to the chap that reverse engineered his mk1 circuit, there's not a lot in there. I might follow him and make a replacement. Time for a trip to Maplin I think. Btw to confirm, mine has the 10 pin connector

It's the original circuit, so is 35 years old. The bass spent a couple of years in storage in less than ideal conditions i.e. slightly damp - and hence why it's had a complete refinish. So there is a high probability the circuit has degraded. The rotary tone selector works to a certain extent but the output in all modes is way too low. Possibly an op-amp not working correctly?

Actually I just compared it to another (passive) bass and the volume is way down.

If you don't mind me resurrecting this old thread (as it's relevant)... I have just got my SB-1000 mk1 back from a refinish but have a bit of an issue with the tone selector. The volume seems to drop a lot with each step away from 'bright'. Any idea why? The rest of the controls seem to work fine and I've had the worn out jack socket replaced. It's working lovely apart from the tone selector rotary switch

We auditioned a guitarist once, and to be fair he did actually bring a guitar with him. However he barely played a note and spent most of the audition listening in awe to the rest of us. I think he probably realised he wasn't good enough. Needless to say he didn't get the job. Bizarre audition though

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1430220654' post='2759045'] Try a set of steel strings and see if you get better luck with them. I always recommend D'Addario Prosteels as a high-quality steel string at a reasonable price. [/quote] I've used the EBs for 20 years, but have just ordered a set of Prosteels from you to try. Decent price too

Cover the case in LED strips and have it whatever colour you fancy at the time

I just tried my Stagg EUB through it at home and it sounded great

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1430498995' post='2762128'] My Fender Rumble amp is 2x10. It is very loud and full by itself. Easily fine for gigs (I have gigged it, and it was plenty [/quote] Ditto

My most common one at the moment is one particular song where I have a specific set of patches. One of these does a wah sweep on the expression pedal of my multi-fx pedal, so I have removed the usual volume control from the other patches in that set due to the quick changes needed. Of course the song that follows is back to the regular volume-controlled patches. I remember to change the patch but far too often forget to "step on the gas" again! Then I wonder why nothing comes out during the big intro