Fender Jazz Deluxe Volume Boom issue

[Grangur]

Hi there,

I've just become the owner of a 1999 MIM Fender Jazz Deluxe bass. When I first plugged it in the result was silence. So I fitted a new battery. There doesn't seem to be a way of playing in passive mode. No matter, I guess.

With the new battery the output still seemed low when the EQ is "flat". If I use any boost it then gets really boomy.

I've set it up using the settings on the Fender Support web site, but it still seems either boomy or quiet. The strings all look really new and the pups are at the right height.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[PlungerModerno]

With all active & passive electronics I like to have a wiggle of each connection to ensure a solid joint - usually when diagnosing issues. Might not find a problem but always worth a test.

I'd also measure the voltage of the "new" battery. A small fraction of unused batteries are defective or partially discharged in my experience (I think I've found one that was dead out of the box).
Oh - check for trim pots on the EQ/preamp.

Sadly without knowledge of the preamp or indeed the pickups in question I'm afraid I can't offer much in the way of assistance. Hopefully more constructive advice will follow soon.

FWIW there may be a simple way to introduce a passive switching option - depends on the control layout. I'd always like it as an option in case of emergencies!

[Grangur]

A little more investigating: The screws for the pups are very tight. This is surprising as I would like to hope Fender would have pre-drilled the holes with the right sized bit.

Checking pictures from the Fender website the pups should have 2 pole pieces per string. These have only 1. This is a matter of style and design of course. But it does mean its not as untouched as I first thought. I'll have to take this apart and check it out.

As PlungerM says, check the contacts and maybe ID the pups.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Grangur

[Grangur]

Well, some further investigation and here is the evidence...

The pups are connected using soldered and shrink-wrapped connections. There was some loose solder stuck to the outside of the shrink-wrap. Also I'm not sure about the soldering of the earth cables from the pups to the case of the Mids pot. This looks out of character for Fender workmanship. It's not bad, but it's not what I'd expect from a factory.

So, does anyone recognise the pups?

Edited June 7, 2015 by Grangur

[ikay]

Fender used pickups with one large pole per string in their active Js in the late 90's so these look like standard issue for the period. Wiring looks rather messy but earthing to the pot case is pretty standard. I found the following pics of wiring for a 1999/2000 USA active J which looks very similar to yours:

[URL=http://s1090.photobucket.com/user/iankay/media/Stuff/Active%20J%20wiring%202.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i370/iankay/Stuff/Active%20J%20wiring%202.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[url="http://s1090.photobucket.com/user/iankay/media/Stuff/Active%20J%20wiring%201.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited June 7, 2015 by ikay

[Grangur]

Many thanks for sharing the pics. Maybe it's me. I always think of using the EQ flat as the default value. Then using boost on the occasions that you want just a bit more. Maybe Fender see boost as the norm, and flat as being something close to cut.

I was honestly trying to like Fender but if flat is almost cut, what's the point of cut?

[Grangur]

This is strange. I keep trying things like changing strings and wiring the pups straight to a jack, and nothing seems to change drastically, but the more I play it the more the treble seems to come into the sound. Really odd... all I can do is keep playing it and see if it gets better.