Preamp wiring problems. Anyone in the Chester area recommended?

[vinorange]

I picked up a really nice custom luthier made bass on here a couple of months ago with twin soap bar humbuckers but with passive controls. 

In my wisdom I decided to make it active to open up the possibilities of those humbuckers, so I bought a Bartonlini 2 band preamp (which has loads of support tech help and diagrams on line) yet I still can’t get it right despite many attempts so I’m making a cry for help from anyone in the Chester ish area who is adept in the ways of wiring in a preamp....... I think my issue is not getting how to earth things properly but o think it’s time to hand it over to an expert in these matters.....

Edited December 14, 2019 by vinorange

[Hellzero]

Again... 😉

[vinorange]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

Again... 😉

Yep. I’m useless. I follow the diagram and am sure I’ve followed the instructions correctly and yet I get nothing.......a big fat nothing.

[itu]

You need help here, take few photos for the start.

[vinorange]

1 minute ago, itu said:

You need help here, take few photos for the start.

I’m ashamed of what I’ve done but will drop a photo or two...... It’ll be messy...

[vinorange]

I’ve decided on neck volume with push / pull active / passive, bridge volume, bass and treble.

Should be easy but I’m stupid.

[vinorange]

I added the terminal blocks to group the earths rather than soldering multiple wires to the base of pots but that’s probably where I’ve gone wrong....

[Hellzero]

I can do the same magic trick as the last time, if you want. 😉

[Hellzero]

First of all, your ouput jack looks a bit weird (ring "connection" is odd) and rusty...

The pickups groundings seam to go ... nowhere !?!

And it's a nice mess, Vin, sorry. 

[itu]

Sorry: screw terminals and lots of tin... you need help from someone who is able to solder. Pots may die when they are heated so much.

[Andyjr1515]

On 15/12/2019 at 10:49, Hellzero said:

The pickups groundings seam to go ... nowhere !?!

That's the first thing I noticed too.  There are two connector blocks with a grey wire each going to nowhere.  Where have those grey wires been attached to to when you've tried it?  Certainly, the block attached to the pickup earths has to be grounded otherwise nothing is going to happen.

As you say, these things usually are about a dodgy or missing earth.  Tip: follow the earth connection coming from each and every every component and work out how it eventually gets to the earth tag on the jack.  You are likely to find at least one where, following it round, it never gets to the jack.  Trust me, I've done dozens and dozens of circuits and I still occasionally miss one!

[BassBunny]

Not sure if you need it sorting quickly but I'm in Altrincham area and more than happy to take a look. I'm familiar with that pre-amp, in fact I've got an XCTC hanging around somewhere. Having worked for BT for 42 years I also understand wires and can solder 😁

Trouble is I couldn't look at it until after Xmas. Maybe between Xmas and New Year. If you fancy a trip over, let me know and I'll PM my phone number and we can have a chat.

[vinorange]

43 minutes ago, BassBunny said:

Not sure if you need it sorting quickly but I'm in Altrincham area and more than happy to take a look. I'm familiar with that pre-amp, in fact I've got an XCTC hanging around somewhere. Having worked for BT for 42 years I also understand wires and can solder 😁

Trouble is I couldn't look at it until after Xmas. Maybe between Xmas and New Year. If you fancy a trip over, let me know and I'll PM my phone number and we can have a chat.

Thanks so much for the offer. I’ve took all the bits out now and shipped them off already to a very kind & very handy fellow basschatter who’s taking a look for me. Thanks though.

[BassBunny]

Excellent, glad someone is looking. If you are still stuck, just get in touch.

[vinorange]

I just thought I’d add that the reason for the connector blocks and grey wires is because on my first attempt I got no output so I thought I’d isolate the pickup grounds and try earthing them to a few different places - copper shield, base of pots etc. However it had no effect and I still ended up with nothing! Hence the cry for help.....