BC Rich NJ Mockingbird Active Circuit issues.

[W1_Pro]

Hello Everyone,
I'm in the process of restoring a rather lovely old (1983) BC rich NJ Mockingbird.
Refinish now complete, in no small part thanks to much sage advice from AndyJr 1515 from this here bored.
Now I'm on to the wiring, which is a nightmare, frankly.
I have posted a pic of the circuit diagram- from Neal Moser guitars in the US.
I have also posted a pic of the circuit as is.
The sharper amongst you will no doubt note that I seem to have an extra pot in the actual guitar.
My problem is, I have four wires, adrift at one end and no idea where to attach them!
They are the three coming off the rotary switch, bottom left of the pic- blue, red & pink
And the white wire coming off the rotary pot top centre right.
This rotary pot has a centre indent- I think it might be a pan pot? Happy to be corrected here though.
Any ideas or help would be gratefully appreciated - especially pics of a proper mockingbird circuit.
Best
Stuart

[W1_Pro]

I posted the picture upside down, so bottom left is top right, top centre right is bottom centre left...ho hum.....

[W1_Pro]

I would add, this did work, to a greater or lesser degree, when I bought the bass, so it's not a completely lost cause (yet!).

[RhysP]

BC Rich never used pan pots on their guitars & basses, pickup selector would have been a toggle switch on an old model like this.
I didn't think any of the old NJ series came with the full USA tone circuit.

[W1_Pro]

Thanks for that Rhys.
There is no toggle switch on the bass- could it be because this is an NJ?

[dudewheresmybass]

Have you considered contacting Neil moser directly?
He is in Facebook and seems to be keen to help those working on bcrs.
Alternatively, there is also a group on fb named 'bc rich junkies' they are a very friendly bunch and also happy to help

[W1_Pro]

Thanks Dude,
thats good info. I'll try them.

[RhysP]

I don't think Moser is a lot of use with the NJs as they weren't build in the USA.
BC Rich Junkies are OK, but BC Rich world is better IMO, less cliquey.

I have a friend in London who collects vintage Rich's who is very knowledgable - I can ask him about it if you like.

If you google 1983 BC Rich NJ series you'll see that all the guitars just have volume & tone controls & a toggle switch, though I do believe they were made with enough room in the control cavity to allow the owner to upgrade to full USA circuitry if they wanted to.

[RhysP]

Any chance of a full length photo of the bass so I can see the headstock etc?
Is it a neck-through or a bolt-on?

[RhysP]

There is a Basschat member called Lorne who would be able to help you with this, but I haven't seen him on here for ages.
Maybe you could try sending him a PM?

[W1_Pro]

Hello Rhys,
It's a neck thru. I'll attach a pic below.
I sent the electrics to Kiogon to redo, but he backed it, and I've put the knobs back in per the template he made, which I'm not sure is quite right.
To be fair to all concerned, I don't think the wires that are adrift were connected when I sent it to him. The whole thing is a bit of a mess, but a lovely bass to play, and such a great shape!

[W1_Pro]

The pic...

[RhysP]

[quote name='W1_Pro' timestamp='1458835393' post='3011392']
The pic...
[/quote]

Looking at that picture there has definitely been a pan pot substituted for the pickup selector switch.
This is what the layout on a Mock bass with the full US circuitry should look like:

[URL=http://s86.photobucket.com/user/RhysP/media/Mock%20bass%20switches_zpsjwooiqk6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k120/RhysP/Mock%20bass%20switches_zpsjwooiqk6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Lovely bass by the way!

Edited March 24, 2016 by RhysP

[Chienmortbb]

The bass tha Rhys shows seems to correspond to the wiring diagram posted at the start of the thread.

It should be easy to put it back to stock wiring but you may be left with a spare hole.

[W1_Pro]

Thanks Rhys for the info and the pic.
It is a lovely bass. The neck is a thing of beauty.
Neal Moser has kindly responded to my Facebook post on BCRich lovers, he says he can make a loom, I could drop in, or, if the worst comes to the worst, as new circuit.
The pan pot is an interesting one eh? It looks of a similar vintage to the rest of the electrics. I can't find a pic of a BC that has one though. Maybe it was swapped out at some point.

[W1_Pro]

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1458866795' post='3011780']
The bass tha Rhys shows seems to correspond to the wiring diagram posted at the start of the thread.

It should be easy to put it back to stock wiring but you may be left with a spare hole.
[/quote]
I think that the toggle switch has been replaced with a pan pot at some point...So to put it back to stock I'd need to replace one with the other....see post above...I'll keep you informed of developments....;0)

[RhysP]

I'd say the pickups are not stock too.
As far as I can remember the early NJ models came with Dimarzios.
With the blade pole pieces the pickups in your bass look like Bill Lawrence pickups.

[silverfoxnik]

+1 on the p/ups being Bill Lawrence..

Nice bass by the way!

[W1_Pro]

They are Dimarzio Blades as it goes....DP127's I believe.
Nice pickups, but as you say chaps, not stock.

[silverfoxnik]

Interesting.

Should sound pretty good being Dimarzios.