nputtick Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 (edited) Hi - I have a nice 1982 Aria Pro II SB-R60, you know the one - neck through, single pickup, passive, vol & tone - and a microswitch! This is what I'm interested in - mine has three positions for the switch. Towards the neck, bright - centre, off completely - towards the bridge, deep. It looks like an ordinary DPDT microswitch, but I'm wondering why the centre should be off completely. I can't find a wiring diagram for this bass. It has a four-conductor pickup (which I believe is an MBII) and I think the switch is simply switching between coils in parallel and in series. Graeme Fyfe's pages have a wiring diagram for a passive single pickup SB bass but it's for a two-conductor pickup so isn't correct for my bass. Does anyone have a diagram for an SB-R60? I've attached a diagram of how mine is wired, including the switch. Cheers Nigel Edited July 5, 2012 by nputtick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRichards Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Please go to the US bass forum, Talkbass.com, and send a message to RogerBMiller. He is the resident expert on all things Aria Pro II and he probably has a diagram or can tell you how it should be wired. I don't have his direct email otherwise I would give it to you. tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nputtick Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 Thanks Tom - I've posted the same question and diagram on talkbass, but will follow your suggestion and message RogerBMiller. Cheers Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 (edited) Yes, it is an MB-II in your R60. There were three versions of the MB-II over the time it was in production, but a bass dating to '82 probably has a late first version installed, although if it was made late in '82 possibly an early second version. Here, though, is where I'm getting confused. You seem to be suggesting that the schematic on the GF site doesn't relate to your R60, but I think you're reading it wrong. Take the 700, like the R60, this had four wires running from the pickup to the poles on the mini-toggle switch. That was the same for the first, '78, as it was for the final, '86, versions of the 700. I'm also confused by the suggestion that the mini-toggle switch has three operative positions, not two. The standard "dual sound" switch installed, on the likes of the 700 and R60, was what Aria originally called a "sprit" switch (aka coil tap). When Aria refer to "bright" (up) it means single, and when it refers to "deep" (down) in means double. The other "dual sound" switch Aria installed, on the likes of the 900 and R80, was a "phase" switch. For this switch, down was labelled "normal", and was "phase in", whereas up was labelled "reverse", and was "phase out". Edited July 7, 2012 by noelk27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nputtick Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) [quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1341626974' post='1722123'] Yes, it is an MB-II in your R60. There were three versions of the MB-II over the time it was in production, but a bass dating to '82 probably has a late first version installed, although if it was made late in '82 possibly an early second version. Here, though, is where I'm getting confused. You seem to be suggesting that the schematic on the GF site doesn't relate to your R60, but I think you're reading it wrong. Take the 700, like the R60, this had four wires running from the pickup to the poles on the mini-toggle switch. That was the same for the first, '78, as it was for the final, '86, versions of the 700. I'm also confused by the suggestion that the mini-toggle switch has three operative positions, not two. The standard "dual sound" switch installed, on the likes of the 700 and R60, was what Aria originally called a "sprit" switch (aka coil tap). When Aria refer to "bright" (up) it means single, and when it refers to "deep" (down) in means double. The other "dual sound" switch Aria installed, on the likes of the 900 and R80, was a "phase" switch. For this switch, down was labelled "normal", and was "phase in", whereas up was labelled "reverse", and was "phase out". [/quote] Hi - the wiring diagram for the "single pickup" SB on Graeme Fyfe's website shows a two-conductor (R&W) pickup, and only 2 (or does it show 3?) points wired on the switch (one half of the switch is not connected to anything, looks like a coil tap wiring if only 2 are used). It is labelled "coil tap" but normally you need two wires (start and finish) from each coil of a humbucker to be able to switch out a coil. The only way it could be working as a coil tap is if the "R" wire is actually an extension from the two "finish" wires, joined together internally, the "W" wire is the start of one coil, and the ground cable is connected to the start of the other coil. Then the switch would short one coil to ground in the "up" position (= single coil) and do nothing in the down position (= dual coil). I've attached the diagram from GF (left) so you can see the difference from mine (right). Mine has four conductors entering the control cavity, and all four wires (R, O, Br, Bl) are used, suggesting a humucker with two coils (and a shield). That can be clearly seen in my drawing. The wiring of the DPDT switch on mine exactly corresponds to the well known series/parallel switch for a humbucker, and described in many places including for example the Seymour Duncan website. Usually such switches have two positions only - series (deeper, louder) and parallel (brighter, softer) which corresponds with the sounds from mine. I am sure it is not a coil tap due to the wiring configuration and as both positions are hum cancelling. The only remaining issue is the centre position, which is silent. Having looked at this in detail and got my multimeter onto it, I now see this is an on-off-on DPDT switch (3 position, centre off) as opposed to an on-on DPDT (2 position). Whether it was incorrectly installed at the factory or someone has put it in since, I cannot be sure (they look similar, both have 6 pins). I could replace it I suppose. But I am now pretty sure I understand the wiring in [i]my[/i] SB-R60, and it is definitely not as GF's website example, and not a coil tap. It is really more like one half of the Elite-II diagram on that site, which makes some sort of sense doesn't it? I have sent my diagram to Graeme. Nigel Edited July 11, 2012 by nputtick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Would a picture of the cavity help? I have two of these. Both have two position, so are the Elite. I have had basses in the past where someone has used a three position in place of a two, as I quess that's all they had at the time! I can get you a close up shot, if you wish. This is mine. [url="http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/aria-sb-r60.html"]http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/aria-sb-r60.html[/url] Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nputtick Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 [quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1341990484' post='1727377'] Would a picture of the cavity help? I can get you a close up shot, if you wish. [/quote] It certainly would - thanks! And I'll post a photo of mine too. Cheers Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) Attached are shots of the cavity of an SB700, dating to '79. Four wires to the mini-toggle switch, etc, etc. When translated, in the Japanese language catalogue for '78/'79, Aria described the switch as a "sprit" switch and described its function as "coil cut". Stacked controls aside, things didn't change between the time of the 700 and Elite I. Edited to add a shot of the cavity of an SB600, dating to '85. Edited July 12, 2012 by noelk27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodaxe Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Is the toggle on the switch round or flat? If it's round, it's a replacement. From ypur description I suspect that the old DPDT switch toggle broke off (not uncommon) & it's been swapped out for a 3-position one but wired up the same, hence the centre 'off'. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nputtick Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) Bloodaxe - yes, it's round so probably a replacement. However the soldering is perfect, so it was a good job. The switch is definitely wired as a series/parallel, as per my circuit drawing above, not a coil cut. If that is also a change, well it's effective and having two sounds, both humbucking, is a good idea. Noelk - your photos are a bit out of focus so I can't see the way the mini toggle switch is wired. Here's mine - the whole cavity, and the switch a bit closer up. Compare this and the drawing to a standard series/parallel, as on the Seymour Duncan website - it's the same. Also note that the pots are 250k, audio. I'm happy now, as I know the centre off position is not a fault but a replacement switch, and the two sounds are very effective. Whether original or not! Edited July 13, 2012 by nputtick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hi. Been out of the loop for a few days. It [i]looks [/i]like you are sorted - if you still want the pic, let me know. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.