Help with Aria Pro II

[Mholland]

HI,
Need some help please guys.. I did have an SB1000JT which my wife kindy imported from Japan for me as it wasnt offered in the UK a couple of years back... unfortunately about 6 months after having it, suffered an acident and snapped the head off.
So, contacted all the local dealers for another ( and claim on the insurance ) wasnt available so i had either a SB100RI or CB to be honest i cant remember but looks wise identical to the JT.

Anyway, cant find the serial number on it anywhere but if it was on a sticker i would have peeled it off when cleaning.

I need help on :

1. Setting the bridge - the action seems way to high - there is no info on these bridges

2. The switch, on my JT it only lit up when you flicked it to down, on this one its on all the time.. weird - if theres a cable in it,

3. the rotary control on the JT used to change the tone dramaically, not much on this one..


All help greatly received.

THanks.

Mark.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='Mholland' post='729331' date='Jan 29 2010, 11:21 PM']I need help on :

1. Setting the bridge - the action seems way to high - there is no info on these bridges

2. The switch, on my JT it only lit up when you flicked it to down, on this one its on all the time.. weird - if theres a cable in it,

3. the rotary control on the JT used to change the tone dramaically, not much on this one..


All help greatly received.

THanks.

Mark.[/quote]

Greetings.

Can't be specific, as it looks as thought Aria have been a little cavalier with their interpretation of "RI", so this is based on an original...

1. The Bridge - nothing bizarre here, a 1.5mm allen key for the action (two screws per saddle) & a suitable crosshead screwdriver for the intonation. Truss rod is likely to be metric as well, 5mm springs to mind.

2. The switch+LED came in with the Series 2 SBs - I'm pretty sure that it's an on/off switch for the "active" circuit, allowing passive use if the battery dies. On my Series 1 it switches the 6-way tone selector in/out. Sounds as though yours [i]might[/i] be defective - take the batteries out & see if it does anything.

3. Might be that Aria have put different value caps in the JT-RI to give more pronounced changes. I seem to remember reading that JT had a helluva job getting his 80s sound back when Duran Duran reformed & was working with Aria to achieve this.

Pete.

[Mholland]

hi pete,
thanks for the reply,

re the switch/led - works with or without batteries just doesnt light up without.

I tend to agree with you - might be some defective electronics its where to take it.

MArk.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='729817' date='Jan 30 2010, 04:10 PM']Greetings.

Can't be specific, as it looks as thought Aria have been a little cavalier with their interpretation of "RI", so this is based on an original...

1. The Bridge - nothing bizarre here, a 1.5mm allen key for the action (two screws per saddle) & a suitable crosshead screwdriver for the intonation. Truss rod is likely to be metric as well, 5mm springs to mind.

2. The switch+LED came in with the Series 2 SBs - I'm pretty sure that it's an on/off switch for the "active" circuit, allowing passive use if the battery dies. On my Series 1 it switches the 6-way tone selector in/out. Sounds as though yours [i]might[/i] be defective - take the batteries out & see if it does anything.

3. Might be that Aria have put different value caps in the JT-RI to give more pronounced changes. I seem to remember reading that JT had a helluva job getting his 80s sound back when Duran Duran reformed & was working with Aria to achieve this.

Pete.[/quote]

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='Mholland' post='729894' date='Jan 30 2010, 05:24 PM']hi pete,
thanks for the reply,

re the switch/led - works with or without batteries just doesnt light up without.

I tend to agree with you - might be some defective electronics its where to take it.

MArk.[/quote]

In which case I'd personally not worry too much. The original Aria "active" electronics aren't Active as we generally accept the term.

In the oiginal catalogue blurb they're termed a "Noise killer circuit" & the early versions have a reputation of failing irreparably. When my 1980 circuit failed I attempted to find out what was in it (it was an epoxy-sealed black box) & came to the conclusion that it was a "unity gain buffer" - or, in English, an amplifier that doesn't amplify.

This sounds daft, but it isn't entirely.

The idea is that the signal from the pickup remains the same size, but the buffer gives it more current (or "oomph") allowing it to go down a long lead with very little degradation due to the resistance of the lead. To all real-world intents, it's superfluous - [i]might[/i] have an effect if you were using +50-foot leads.

The tone controls were wired in across the signal path after the black box, so were passive anyway. All rather odd. My attempts to reconstruct the original circuit failed, & I just wired it up passive - 6-way selector & all. Works fine.

If your RI has a "black box" circuit you may well be wasting your time & money attempting to get it fixed, as it's impossible to get in there without destroying it!

You might try e-mailing Aria UK for some more info, they've got a pretty good Customer Service reputation, & if your replacement is still under warranty...

Pete.

[Mholland]

Cheers Pete,
its a couple of years old now, I replaced it with a warwick streamer stage II in the short term and played that one alot more - I only bought the warkwick cos i was going to get a SR4 instead - and just tried it for comparison and loved the tone but thats another story.

I have mailed Aria UK - see what happens, im sure ive got the receipt somewhere I know it was the last RI or CB in the country at the time and the dealer had it in on sale or return for me.

i have had the back plate off, just to look for perhaps a loose wire etc, 2 sets of electronics, one set wrapped in like thick fabric black tape - not sure if that means anything to you.

I wonder if the tone can be changed to the JT spec by Aria. and why was it never available in the UK ?

Do you find having to use a limiter between your amp and Aria if using two basses,


Mark.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='729934' date='Jan 30 2010, 06:05 PM']In which case I'd personally not worry too much. The original Aria "active" electronics aren't Active as we generally accept the term.

In the oiginal catalogue blurb they're termed a "Noise killer circuit" & the early versions have a reputation of failing irreparably. When my 1980 circuit failed I attempted to find out what was in it (it was an epoxy-sealed black box) & came to the conclusion that it was a "unity gain buffer" - or, in English, an amplifier that doesn't amplify.

This sounds daft, but it isn't entirely.

The idea is that the signal from the pickup remains the same size, but the buffer gives it more current (or "oomph") allowing it to go down a long lead with very little degradation due to the resistance of the lead. To all real-world intents, it's superfluous - [i]might[/i] have an effect if you were using +50-foot leads.

The tone controls were wired in across the signal path after the black box, so were passive anyway. All rather odd. My attempts to reconstruct the original circuit failed, & I just wired it up passive - 6-way selector & all. Works fine.

If your RI has a "black box" circuit you may well be wasting your time & money attempting to get it fixed, as it's impossible to get in there without destroying it!

You might try e-mailing Aria UK for some more info, they've got a pretty good Customer Service reputation, & if your replacement is still under warranty...

Pete.[/quote]

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='Mholland' post='730038' date='Jan 30 2010, 07:41 PM']Cheers Pete,
its a couple of years old now, I replaced it with a warwick streamer stage II in the short term and played that one alot more - I only bought the warkwick cos i was going to get a SR4 instead - and just tried it for comparison and loved the tone but thats another story.

I have mailed Aria UK - see what happens, im sure ive got the receipt somewhere I know it was the last RI or CB in the country at the time and the dealer had it in on sale or return for me.

i have had the back plate off, just to look for perhaps a loose wire etc, 2 sets of electronics, one set wrapped in like thick fabric black tape - not sure if that means anything to you.

I wonder if the tone can be changed to the JT spec by Aria. and why was it never available in the UK ?

Do you find having to use a limiter between your amp and Aria if using two basses,


Mark.[/quote]

Two sets of electronics?! No idea what's going on there tbh (adds fuel to my comment about these not being a re-issue as we'd expect it - unless the Series 2 SBs had these.)

The 6-way tone shaper could easily be altered with a soldeing iron. a couple of quids worth of capacitors from Maplin & some knowledge... the last part is likely to be the hardest to get hold of, don't be surprised if Aria go all quiet on this score (trade secrets & that). As to why the JT version was never available... You know how they say "specifications are likely to change without notice"? With Arias that's a [i]Promise[/i], not a threat!

I don't use a limiter, as I'm a great believer in the Instrument > Bit Of Wire > Amp approach & also as I've yet to do a gig where I'd need two different basses. If I did, it still wouldn't matter to me as I've got an Ashdown Superfly which means I can program in a setting tailored to each bass & access it with the push of a button! If I'm using someone elses amp I invariably have to turn down as the 4-wire humbuckers wipe the floor with the average P or J.

You could try asking over on the [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/index.php"]Matsumoku Forum[/url], but don't be too surprised if no help is forthcoming as yours isn't an "Uncle Mat" - it's also a very slow-paced board, so don't expect a quick answer.

Pete.