sandy_r

Scott's new project (he missed a trick there, not renaming himself Scoot Devine) is very clever I can only ever see it being helpful as a soundtrack to help get me through 2 very specific - and (hopefully) remote - circumstances:- a) i am about to drive through the Champs Elysées at rush hour; OR/ b) a rock has fallen and trapped my leg, whilst i was walking alone in a remote desert, and i am about to cut my leg off with a penknife he's a great guy though, and i loved watching his videos

You need help? LOL I hope you didn't pay any money for this digital switch PCB

thanks ...could do with some better eyes, too btw - which Sinsonido version do you have?: V+T pointing down, V+T pointing up, V+T/B stacked, pointing up cheers

(Psalm 69:2,14,15) God holds the deep places... ?

Status update: Components & perf 'baseboard' have arrived - just waiting on delivery of pcb for off-the-shelf design to hold the op-amp gain section The plan is to replicate the Aria custom interface to the 2 electret mics in the bridge, the tone control, and the split output vol controls (which can feed the 2-mic-mixed-to-mono output either to headphones, using Tip/Ring/Shield jack, or to amp, using standard Tip/Shield jack guitar cable) The aim is to achieve similar op-amp operation and functionality to that originally intended by Aria, but now with correct dual-mic output to amp, approximately halved current draw from the battery, and avoidance of the more-limited-lifespan components I'll build and test a trial version in my own Sinsonido and then report back on results

Electromagnetic Interference (ie. mains hum, signal breakthrough from your phone, taxi radios outside, etc, etc) can get into your audio in 2 ways: transmitted as radio-type waves across distances, and induced across much closer gaps by a kind of 'transformer' action, wire-to-wire There are 2 well-established ways to reduce this interference problem:- a) completely enclose the audio circuit in a conductive box (or 'shield'); b) live in a desert; So - assuming you didn't go for b), take a good long look at your guitar electrics - both when they're out for the video, and when they're back in place, and ask yourself: 'where are the conductive surfaces which effectively make a continuous, albeit 'snakelike', box around every part of wiring?' (from the pickups to the Jack). Then fill the missing areas with something conductive - and electrically interconnected - until you've achieved a complete encasing of your wiring - which itself is connected to your Jack shield lug Dare I say it: Maybe spend a little time on Y*ut*be, watching instructional videos on techniques? hth

thanks for doing the video - unfortunately the wiring is completely unscreened once the pickguard is removed from the bass, so it's not representative of its operational conditions. If the hum level is similar between your video and having the controls and covers all back in place, then it suggests that the cavities and covers all need to be fully lined - and good electrical conductivity provided between each of them, and then one from them to the jack screen lug, too hth

Ok - you've checked the wiring - and no new gizmos ...time to check for sufficient and continuous shielding inside the control/pickup cavities and under their covers, incl. cover shielding making good elect connection with cavity shielding (using a meter/continuity tester, if available) ...you might want to pay particular attention to the area surrounding that section of the split coil which has no direct connection to ground (whereas the other section has one wire grounded)

Improving the shielding of the cavities is always a good idea - completely enclosed volumes (ie. including covers/pickguards, etc) covered with either foil or conductive paint, which is then itself given a good ground connection (preferably all sourced from the jack shield lug) In the meantime, you've noticed a change in hum level - have there been any additions/changes in pedal path or amp/settings which might coincide?

Two non-pick methods which have helped me 'sharpen' the sound are either to use the side of the index finger to get a distinct and firm 'snap' to each note, or by maintaining the fingernails just slightly longer, on the index and second fingers, and plucking the strings with fingertips - again a 'sharper' sound, sort of midway between pick and pad of finger. Could help, if not already tried

hi Tianan, greetings from another newbie (of 2 months) in the South of England

...it's shown as grounded on their (passive) diagram - it's probably isolated shielding inside the pickup casing (ie. not part of the signal path) - the black wires from each pickup complete the signal path to ground

...no, but somebody** did advise Mrs 'squeemer' (apologies for my MCI) to take notes, as "we would certainly be tested on it all, later" 😉 (** No names, no pack drill)

If your controls cavity is fully shielded (and the lower, inside part does appear to be well-coated with conductive paint, so hopefully the cover has been similarly treated) then you shouldn't need to ground-connect the pot cases - just follow the diagram (ground from the jack sleeve connection goes to the OBP-2, the two Vol Pot 'minimum' lugs - it should also be used to provide the ground for the bridge and pickups) As others have said, you should confirm the actual Pot values/types carefully, to make sure they match the OBP-2 wiring diagram - if the Pots came as a bundle it seems rather odd that they supplied 2 Tone Pots which were either not Linear taper (as required in the diagram) OR used a conflicting labelling standard from the other 2 pots they supplied at the same time

no apologies necessary! Thanks for this info, I can look through those manuals and then hopefully ask some more questions ...very nice looking preamps, btw! à plus vite

...a quick question Alain - are you using the EDB-1, or the EDB-2? Thanks

...no (Black&Decker type) workmate available, owned or loaned? A suitable block of wood against the middle area of each face of the grill should hold secure for 1 or 2-handed destruction activities 😉

"Is there a "Show us yer stacked knobs" thread...........?" ...have you tried 'OnlyFans'?

...it was another victim of GAS... https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/475931-the-big-fat-south-west-bass-bash-2023/?do=findComment&comment=5059515

hi Alain apologies, the schema is a bit small - no, the 2 resistors only join at the signal wire going to the amp. Their other ends are joined separately to the stereo jack connections for Tip and Ring the purpose of the 2 resistors is to provide a 'passive mixer' for the 2 outputs from the ICs, so that your amp will receive the signal from both bridge mics instead of only 1 (a problem which we believe is happening in the original design). 47 ohms should be sufficient to stop the output of one IC making too much load on the other, without reducing the signals to the amp very much now, the question of how different people's pcb faults sound - it seems from the tests done in Richard's SoS thread, that the electrolytic capacitors on the PCB are 'drying' because of age and/or heat. They will all probably change over different lengths of time on the different basses: some people hear very 'boomy' bass, some find their Tone control has no effect - on mine, the tone control caused loud oscillation at any position other than 'flat' EQ so - it seems there are 2 different issues with the Sinsonido: 1) loss of 1 bridge mic output, because of strange mono/stereo switching, between headphones and amp; 2) electrical breakdown in the activity of some capacitors (with unpredictable audio symptoms) i think that a complete fix for the Sinsonido PCB must try to correct both issues, 1) and 2) i have been looking at possible ways to replace the original circuit with a combination of a simple 'off the shelf' preamp and a few components to interface the special requirements of the bridge electrets, a mono output to guitar, and, if possible, keep the headphone output available also it would be good if you are able to try this 2x47 ohm schema and see if it improves the balance of signals from each end of the bridge - but it may be that some 'dry' capacitors will still be causing audio problems, and if so that would need either some new caps ...or just a different circuit i have ordered some components to test a different circuit and will report the results here in the meantime, please feel free to ask for more info on your own PCB problem salut

16 (...i wish !)

...don't forget the scrumpy marinade!

hah - what could possibly go Tong?!? 😭 ...that's a very kind (and very brave!) offer re. your PCB, thank you! I'm hoping that i can come up with a drop-in replacement which ideally could be reconnected without soldering - if it works satisfactorily (thats a big 'if'), it might be useful to swap it for your board, to learn more about why they keel over so readily ...and possibly then repair your board before return but first, some experimentation! 🤓

thanks for kind words re. the replacemnt cct sound! there's been some progress over the last week delving more into the odd design of the original PCB - talking with Alain and Richard, two other BC folks with Sinsonido PCB fault experience, has highlighed 2 major issues with the circuit: component aging and quirky design choices limiting the original performance having looked at the original circuit over the weekend, i think it may just be possible to repurpose a starndard module and add a few components to customise the input/output connections. I've ordered a few basic parts to try this out, hopefully next week, eB*y permitting, so i'll report back on the options then, if i may - this could be a quicker, more modular, route and hopefully give improved performance comparable with my own replacement circuit

Massive thanks to Mr and Mrs Scrumpy - and all her crew - for making us all so welcome with care and attention! Great to make some new friends, learn about the huge variety of gear available, and enjoy the wonderful setting on a warm autumn day @neepheid, i hope you had a relaxed trip back to the North East looking forward to more refreshing banter on the forum with everyone again soon