Obscure Musical Backwaters - The Great SGC Nanyo Thread

[Doctor J]

2 hours ago, SICbass said:

Is it possible that the guy from the shop wired one or other pots to the wrong part of the central board (i.e. the blue thingy attached to a board)? Or would that then cease to function altogether?

 

You can move the pots to where you want them without having to change any wiring. The neck of the pots are the same size, if I recall correctly. Just undo the nuts on the front, the pots will drop into the cavity, and move each control where you would like them to be and thread the nut back on.  Perhaps label them before you do that, though 😉

 

The factory standard, courtesy of Breadbin, is

 

Upper front - volume, no indent, green

Lower front - pan, indented, blue

Upper rear - bass, indented, red

Lower rear - treble, indented, yellow

 

but, personally, I like to keep the EQ on the bottom, volume and blend on top. I'd do it like this

 

Upper front - volume

Upper rear - pan

Lower front - bass

Lower rear - treble

 

But it's up to you to decide. Put them where it makes sense to you.

 

[SICbass]

On 25/04/2024 at 12:07, BreadBin said:

That's exactly what the bass control does 

 

I don't believe in emojis, so "embarrassed face". I know what you mean - I even thought about that while writing my comment. It just "felt" less like a cut/boost in bass frequencies and more like a volume change. Which, as you pointed out, amounts to the same thing on a bass. (Walks away with hands in pockets whistling away my red face).

 

Thanks again for your help... and your patience.

Edited April 30 by SICbass

[meesterbassman]

NBD. Scored this ultra rare (I think) SGC Nanyo with a (kind of) through neck. 
Precursor to the Godlyke Deity. 
Great build quality and lovely (and not expensive )  BUT had clearly been stored somewhere damp I think (someone having a clear out of dad’s gear I believe. London flat was a hoarders paradise when I collected..!) 

So…. Slight issues are some minor (?) fret lift (lovely enjoy board) and the 18v preamp had two 2001 (!) batteries in so some minor corrosion. 

Of more concern (after replacing batteries) is the EQ. 

Volume and blend work, but other 3 controls (I assumed to be treble/mid/bass) don’t work properly. 
Not sure if new pots needed?
2 pots seem to be bass/treble boost and cut (with centre detents) and 3rd (no detent) *may* be some kind of notch filter etc? I think the Godlyke had this?

Grateful for any knowledge (including model number/name if it exists!) and advice

IMG_9450.heic IMG_9451.heic IMG_9454.heic IMG_9456.heic IMG_9458.heic IMG_9453.heic IMG_9375.heic IMG_9377.heic IMG_9363.heic IMG_9365.heic

[Doctor J]

Upload jpegs, I can't see that type of image file.

 

I've had both types of Godlyke preamp and it sounds like you have the Gen 1. 

The mystery knob is a notch filter (cuts up to -20 dB @ 850 Hz) on front plus one internal trimmer for Midrange Boost/Cut. If the trim is at center position, midrange would be flat.

[meesterbassman]

[meesterbassman]

Only a centre detent on bass/treble, not on the 850ohm one (notch filter)?

[Doctor J]

Correct. Volume; Blend; Bass and Treble Boost/Cut; Notch Filter plus the mid Boost/Cut on the board. IIRC it's the one by the batteries there.

[meesterbassman]

Thanks!  
 

I’m guessing there’s no model name/number for these?

 

hoping that a good clean of lots/board may get everything working properly. Or worst case new pots for the bass/treble. 
 

even with issues it’s very quiet for a 90s (?) Japanese bass and seems very powerful. No need to upgrade anything! 

 

[Brosso]

Hello.
I have a basscollection probably sb305. I would like to know if anyone else has this model, because mine has a difference in volume between the bridge pickup and the neck pickup. I would like to know if it is a characteristic of this model or a defect. Thanks.

[Doctor J]

Can you elaborate on the difference?

 

How far away is each pickup from the strings?

[pete.young]

Is that a JJ configuration? My 465 has JJ and @Doctor J is right about the pickup heights. It's easy to have the neck much louder than the bridge, for balance you need to set the bridge as close to the strings as possible and then adjust the neck down .

 

You could also measure the resistance of both pickups, they should be the same. This assumes that the pre-amp is working properly which isn't always the case.

[SICbass]

On 24/04/2024 at 12:46, BreadBin said:

I have one of these at home (and I'm pretty sure I have another complete preamp too) 

I'll see what mine are like and let you know later

Edit - mine is also fretless, you don't see many!

 

Hi Breadbin, I know this is from a good way back (April 24th, this year), but you mentioned also having "one of these". Do you happen to know if this is, indeed, an SB-303? I wasn't sure if my observation was correct. I struggle with telling all the different models of SGC nanyo apart.

 

Many thanks again for all your help,

Paul.

Edited September 8 by SICbass

[BreadBin]

4 hours ago, SICbass said:

 

Hi Breadbin, I know this is from a good way back (April 24th, this year), but you mentioned also having "one of these". Do you happen to know if this is, indeed, an SB-303? I wasn't sure if my observation was correct. I struggle with telling all the different models of SGC nanyo apart.

 

Many thanks again for all your help,

Paul.

Hi fella, I'm sorry but I really am unsure what model mine is. It's a fretless with the remains of some shiny silver paint and black hardware!

By far the lightest bass I own, its sat in my project rail awaiting some love.

[SICbass]

No worries, thanks for responding 👍

[doctord]

OK, so I have a 1988 SB405 black gloss 5-string with active JJ pickups - I bought this in 1992 (yep - I'm that old) and I still have the receipt (hence I know the model precisely). You can imagine that it's a favourite of mine - it was my first "real" bass only 5-string.

 

Sadly, I picked it up yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks and discovered one of the pickups has died 😞 - not bad for a 36 year old, but I'm gutted. And looking for new pickups. (FYI - I know the pick-up is dead rather then the electronics - I've removed both and the working pickup has ~12.5Kohm resistance, whereas there's no reading for the dead pickup).

I've worked-out that (obviously) it's not going to be straight forward to replace - mainly for the following 2 reasons:

1. both pickups are identical at ~94mm in length & 18mm wide with ~40mm hole spacing for the screws (most modern "J-sets" have a shorter neck pickup); and
2. despite it being a 5-string, this is the standard pickup size for the bridge pickup on a 4-string, so I'm looking for pickups with "bar magnets" suitable for 4 or 5 string (not individual pole pieces).

This is (obviously) the righ place for advice - so any would be gratefullty recieved. For example, I could get 2x EMG active bridge pickups (and add an EMG 4-pot active circuit) but EMG "reccommends" maximum string-width (across the 5 strings) of 69.2mm - and my SB405 is ~72mm. Has anyone tried this combination and had good results?

 

Anyone know anywhere/anyone that might have spares?

Any other recommendations for such a JJ configuration?

(Preferably for less than the ~£430 I paid for it in 1992!)

[tauzero]

Bartolini do 5-string pickups as short or long, and it sounds like the long would just fit (maybe with a little judicious filing).

 

https://bartolini.net/application/j45/

[BassBunny]

When I was looking to change the pickups on my Nanyo 5, I'm pretty sure Delano make one that will fit.

I didn't go ahead in the end as I changed the pre-amp first and was happy with the result.

Might be worth seeing if someone like Aaron Armstrong can repair your existing pickup.

[Pea Turgh]

I’ve no personal experience, but I’ve heard it mentioned that a rewind can be cheaper than a new pickup.  Probably quite a few companies that could assist with that.  Radioshop Pickups, Oil City Pickups, there will be more!

[pete.young]

I can confirm that Delano used to do a set that will fit - I have some in my SB465 and both neck and bridge are 94mm long.

Looking at the current specs it seems that there are several types available with 92mm neck and 95mm bridge, the neck one will be OK but you might need to measure the bridge rout.

 

I thinkthat some Sadowsky basses use the same width.

[doctord]

2 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I’ve no personal experience, but I’ve heard it mentioned that a rewind can be cheaper than a new pickup.  Probably quite a few companies that could assist with that.  Radioshop Pickups, Oil City Pickups, there will be more!

Thanks for this thought - I'm investigating this route as I'd like to keep the bass "as origianal as possible" (given it's not had any other modifications in the past 32 years). I'll report back.

[doctord]

2 hours ago, pete.young said:

I can confirm that Delano used to do a set that will fit - I have some in my SB465 and both neck and bridge are 94mm long.

Looking at the current specs it seems that there are several types available with 92mm neck and 95mm bridge, the neck one will be OK but you might need to measure the bridge rout.

 

I thinkthat some Sadowsky basses use the same width.

Thanks for this - I will investigate further if I get no joy with a re-wind as (Pea suggests).

FYI - I have a "spare" 92mm EMG-X neck pickup (I'm sure there's a reason for that... 😉 -  I have tried this in the neck position for "fitting" purposes only, but it doesn't fit due to the spacings around the "lugs" for the screws - so I'm probably going to need a pair of pickups in 94mm covers. 

[doctord]

SB405 - dead pickup update.

I have had no luck with finding anyone that would look to fix the broken pickup - primarily because it’s sealed in epoxy, which also rules-out a rewind. So I got my dremel and carefully removed epoxy, following the cable in. To my joy, i found a couple of solder pads (along with a shield earth) just a couple of mm down 😎

 

I have measured 12.3 KOhm resistance there, which compares well to the 12.5 KOhm of the other pickup! It’s not back together again (I have decided to level & dress the frets whilst I’m at it) but I am optimistic I can reinstall the original pickups.

 

Also, removing the neck has confirmed the model number (although I was pretty certain) as it has “405” written on the body under the neck.

 

Let me know if you want any additional details or photos. 

[doctord]

While I am here, does anyone know what the “little white switch” is for? It’s not active/passive (as there’s no output without a battery in either position. I don’t think it would be parallel/serial (but I could be wrong). Any ideas?