Bloodaxe

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1431323363' post='2769876']
Is this it:
[url="http://www.matsumoku.org/temp_pages/ap2_masterpiece_logos.pdf"]http://www.matsumoku...piece_logos.pdf[/url]
[/quote]

That's it. The pointy finger is the giveaway

The current range is:

The Aria Pro II (Batwing)
Aria Pro II (open book)

'Designed & Approved by H. Noble' paragraph
'Designed & Approved by Aria Research...LAB' paragraph

Aria Pro II The Advanced Electrics (don't think this was ever a headstock decal, but it'd scale up very nicely to a t-shirt)

RSB Special
RSB Deluxe-5

Cardinal Series

In the works is artwork for the ZZB-Deluxe, & I'll get around to the ZZB-Custom at some point.

P.

[quote name='Prostheta' timestamp='1431284513' post='2769639']Good work on the waterslides. Any chance of sharing the image file? I think Pete has the same text also, however I don't know how clean a version we have in the "Aria Pro II" community at large. [/quote]

I've got a selection as vector artwork, a PDF copy of which got posted up on the Mats forum - I dare say it's still there somewhere. The range has expanded a bit since then, so if you need anything let me know.
FWIW I did the artwork for Jason's CB Tribute B'n'G & that turned out rather well.

Pete.

[quote name='SolomonHelsing' timestamp='1431029688' post='2767183']
Ohh nice okay, That being one of the first places i'd seen one of these first time, Feel daft i didn't notice it haha.

Guess we'll never know if it originally had that fitted or someone got it off a Custom model
[/quote]

"Specifications Liable to Change Without Notice"

For most companies that's just a legal get-out, but with Aria it's a mission statement.

I found this: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/213107-aria-zzb-deluxe-custom-mij-1980s-explorer-with-brass-hardware/page__st__-10

Stock ZZB-Custom with exactly the same bridge as yours. There was another one for sale on TB too, so it looks like it **was** a factory variant.

[quote name='Prostheta' timestamp='1431015858' post='2766952']
I've been GASing to build a ZZB 5-string Black n' Gold for far too long. Certainly won't happen with Veijo's pickups however a 4-string version wouldn't be out of the question. That said, the question could be, "batwing?".
[/quote]

Batwing? On a ZZB? You been at the pickled herrings again?

Pointy. Either as per the RSB-5 or maybe the XRB:—

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/Bloodaxe/Bass/RSB-Deluxe-03.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://mla-s2-p.mlstatic.com/bajo-aria-pro-ii-xrb-japon-tfender-ibanez-washburn-yamaha-4658-MLA3808247269_022013-O.jpg[/IMG]

P.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1430635311' post='2763171']
Never recall seeing the micro on any ZZB and then two pop up in a couple of days!!

Comments welcomed from Bloodaxe! [/quote]

Your command is my wish, O great one




As far as I can tell, the micro-adjuster & the weird clampy bridge is unique to the ZZB-Custom, which both my 'Bloody Red' & Darkheart's 'Schenker' are. All the ZZB-Deluxes I've seen have the stock wide-spaced die-cast bridge.

The micro-adjuster in the OP's looks (to me) like an engineered add-on - what do the adsusters actually bear on? The string is surely in the way of anything complex, but If they're bearing on the strings (which would work) I can't see that you'd get much adjustment.

Yrs,
Baffled of Catford.

[quote name='DrDrill' timestamp='1431018423' post='2766994']I've been feeling all nostalgic over my old SB900 lately...[/quote]

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-1980-ARIA-Pro2-SB-900-Bass-Guitar-EXCELLENT-COND-Wenge-wood-7-Ply-Neck-/271858223736?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4c034a78"]Don't click this link then![/url]

Yeah, certainly sounds like a dead/dying pickup. My original MB-1E did exactly the same - low, fuzzy output & then nothing.

If I were in the market now, I'd definitely go to Rautia for a replacement - there's not much difference in price & you'd get as near a replica as is possible. I went down the Armstrong route at the time as they were the only people offering a replacement. They're good, but not quite there - don't seem to have the same degree of mid-hump that gives an SB its signature tone, & I suspect the output is a tad lower as well.

Pete.

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1430897223' post='2765583']The volume is still well down though even with the rotary control switched out.[/quote]

On the basis of that, there's a few things I'd be inclined to try before going down the BB re-creation route...

1: Measure the pickup's DC resistance just to see if it's on the low side - it **should** read 11-12kΩ.
2: Wire the pickup direct to the jack & compare volumes (i.e. bypass everything).
3: Wire the pickup direct to the V & T circuit & compare (bypass BB & Varitone).

That should give an idea if the problem lies somewhere other than the BB.

P.

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1430894382' post='2765564']It's the original circuit, so is 35 years old. The bass spent a couple of years in storage in less than ideal conditions i.e. slightly damp - and hence why it's had a complete refinish. So there is a high probability the circuit has degraded. The rotary tone selector works to a certain extent but the output in all modes is way too low. Possibly an op-amp not working correctly?[/quote]

Could be the op-amp on the fritz, but the reference to "damp conditions" makes me think that the contacts in the varitone switch might have become oxidised. If possible, shoot some switch cleaner into it and give it a good going back & forth. Same goes for the toggle switch.

P.

How does it fare with the varitone switched out?

Is it the original BB circuit or one of Prostheta's re-issues?

Looks like Mr. Noble's take on a Chapman Stick. Seems that the pickup can be slid (slided? slidden?) anywhere you want -



[url="https://www.facebook.com/334082209985909/photos/a.342059922521471.77637.334082209985909/800729333321192/?type=1"]https://www.facebook...3321192/?type=1[/url]

[quote name='Coldflows' timestamp='1430758609' post='2764333']
Brought a heat gun so will try freezing it then heating it up after I cut a flat head into it. If I can't get it out I may have to find a new saddle.
[/quote]

You could also try holding a soldering iron on the siezed screw - if you can get enough heat into it the thermal shock **could** break the rust seal.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430760117' post='2764355']
Post-Matsumoku? The listing has it wrong. (Which is pretty damn common for basses.)

Concerning SB-ELT and SB-R80, they are very similar looking instruments. After some googling, I think the gold truss rod cover indicates an SB-ELT, does it not?
[/quote]

Possibly... The 'post-Mats' giveaway IMO is the lack of a serial number (probably on a black/gold paper sicker that's long since fallen off), and the 'pointy ears' on the headstock.

It's still a good price though.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1430740768' post='2764142']
Is this an SB900? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARIA-Pro-2-Fretless-Bass-Guitar-/221762690399?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item33a2161d5f"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item33a2161d5f[/url]

Looks to be a sensible starting bid to me, and postage is reasonable.
[/quote]

Not a 900, it's an SB-ELT - essentially a post-Matsumoku Elite-II.

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1429363006' post='2750809']
Hmmm this is the back of one of my pups, im going to go the new pup route from Armstrongs but unless i can sell my Squier P its going to get done one pup at a time.[/quote]

Yup, same as mine.

If you run a Stanley blade (or even a flat-bladed screwdriver) around the glue line, the brass plate will pop out revealing the bobbin.

That gives you the option to have them rewound.

[quote name='tomuks79' timestamp='1428691348' post='2743895']i have bank transfer document that i send 1600 pounds to liam carter, my wifes father live in wisbech and hy do payment.[/quote]

Could you ask your father-in-law in Wisbech to call Manchester Police? Maybe that would get them to look at it.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1428852241' post='2745249']
This is what's under the pup cover.
[attachment=189160:IMG_3467.JPG]

Rather a lot of solid resin. Getting that rewound might cost more than the new replacements
[/quote]

The resin can be softened & removed by immersing it in a jar of Dichloromethane (keep the lid on the jar as it's vile stuff). However...

The OP's pickups are unlikely to be potted. Here's one of the MB-IVs out of my ZZB Custom:—




The windings are protected by a silk tape & little else. The brass plate on the left acts as a shielding plate & is glued in with something like Evo-Stik - it'll probably just pop out.

My ZZB is no slouch in the volume department. This pattern has magnetic poles & I wonder if it's those that are the cause - maybe they've become de-magnetised.

If that's the cause, it might be worth trying a bar magnet across the underside - essentially turning it into an MB-III:—



Failing that a rewind should be pretty straightforward.
As for replacements, Armstrongs ought to be able to provide pretty much anything that'll fit in their Aria mould, whereas Rautia tend towards direct clones complete with separate covers.

Personally I'd steer away from the rewind option & get a pair of Armstrongs, then sell the MB-IVs on in their original condition. They won't hang around.

Pete.

If you have 4 wires+screen I'd have thought you ought to be able to configure it as VVT with each coil having its own Volume pot.

What colours are the pickup wires?

[quote name='AntLockyer' timestamp='1428666788' post='2743554']
It does sound nice (shame about the playing)

[url="https://youtu.be/6kOoLfGHh3w"]https://youtu.be/6kOoLfGHh3w[/url]
[/quote]

Don't do yourself down Ant - there isn't a lot of wiggle room in that one. You were providing the structure - the Strat player wasn't paying attention (or didn't know it)

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1428349951' post='2740511']Exactly, now here's my point. Would The Animals gotten as big as they were if The Beatles hadn't opened The door?

Blue[/quote]

Probably not... I think The Beatles (and the Stones shortly afterwards) showed aspiring British musicians that it was quite possible to play Rock, Roll, Rhythm & Blues [u]without[/u] pretending to be American or being slavishly 'authentic'.
That said, it may well have been Lonnie Donegan & the Skiffle movement that opened the door first, but they forgot to take the chain off.

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1428351942' post='2740543']
I was led to understand that Hendrix even played with some of those guys on the Chitlin' Circuit before he "made it" in the UK.
Or am I wrong again? [/quote]

Sounds likely. Somewhere I have a Little Richard album that features one 'Jimmy James' on lead guitar. I bought it in the hope that it would be something like The Experience meets Little Richard.

It wasn't.

The guitar soloing was very much 'of its time' i.e. plinkplonktwangboing. Think I played it twice & left it to gather dust.

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1428260706' post='2739715']Cant stand the Stones or Beatles in my view thay had an opportunity to paint the blank canvas that was rock and roll at the time but they went for magnolia. Hendrix was the first to use colour.[/quote]
I've always taken the view that The Beatles & The Stones opened the door & Hendrix came along and smashed it off its hinges forever.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1428264800' post='2739778']You would have never heard Jimi if it wasn't for the Beatles. IMHO

Blue[/quote]
Not sure I'd agree entirely, but we definitely wouldn't have had Hendrix if it wasn't for The Animals.

Pete.

This chap obviously hasn't got a clue:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdcccPlz_Xo[/media]

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1427288583' post='2728294']
So you missed Bernard Doherty's 'Ladies Night' on PlanetRock last week. He does have a weekly blues-power show. Last week's show was female blues artists.
If anyone caught this show, do you know who sang Can't Find My Way Home, the last but one track? It was playing as I drove home, Doherty Pi**ed off at 7:48 ("See ya") and the last three tracks played unannounced.
[/quote]

Didn't catch it, but one of these?

Skip the first three minutes:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4tJiyU_gjY[/media]

More Nu-Country than Blues:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV3u6kS2mmE[/media]

[quote name='wotsy' timestamp='1426287763' post='2716739']
Aria Pro II SB Elite, phantom blue,
[url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/other-guitar-accessories/aria-pro-ii-sb-elite-i-bass-guitar/1066406241"]http://www.gumtree.c...itar/1066406241[/url][/quote]

£260! Bargain!