vinorange Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Again... 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinorange Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 You need help here, take few photos for the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinorange Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinorange Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 I’ve decided on neck volume with push / pull active / passive, bridge volume, bass and treble. Should be easy but I’m stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinorange Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 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.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 I can do the same magic trick as the last time, if you want. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinorange Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Excellent, glad someone is looking. If you are still stuck, just get in touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinorange Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 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..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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