nputtick

On this topic, what do people think of the type of clip used on the K&K Bassmax - which fits to the A & D strings between bridge and tailpiece? Is there any concern it dampens vibration of the "afterlength"? Nigel

Acoustic image works well for me, for BG, upright bass and keyboards. I have the 2-channel combo and a ten2 extension which I use with it for anything bigger than rehearsal or small venue. It's also a nice jazz/acoustic guitar amp so ticks lots of boxes despite the initial cost. I've put sax and vocals through it too using a small mixer. What it doesn't do well is rock bass but it will handle a low b with the extension cab. Before I bought the ten2ex I used it with an EA 210 cab which also worked well but is larger.

Hercules. Very stable and cosmetically acceptable in a family room. It's nice just to show off your bass but you can also play it on the stand. Not cheap but then nothing is!

Bloodaxe - yes, it's round so probably a replacement. However the soldering is perfect, so it was a good job. The switch is definitely wired as a series/parallel, as per my circuit drawing above, not a coil cut. If that is also a change, well it's effective and having two sounds, both humbucking, is a good idea. Noelk - your photos are a bit out of focus so I can't see the way the mini toggle switch is wired. Here's mine - the whole cavity, and the switch a bit closer up. Compare this and the drawing to a standard series/parallel, as on the Seymour Duncan website - it's the same. Also note that the pots are 250k, audio. I'm happy now, as I know the centre off position is not a fault but a replacement switch, and the two sounds are very effective. Whether original or not!

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1341990484' post='1727377'] Would a picture of the cavity help? I can get you a close up shot, if you wish. [/quote] It certainly would - thanks! And I'll post a photo of mine too. Cheers Nigel

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1341626974' post='1722123'] Yes, it is an MB-II in your R60. There were three versions of the MB-II over the time it was in production, but a bass dating to '82 probably has a late first version installed, although if it was made late in '82 possibly an early second version. Here, though, is where I'm getting confused. You seem to be suggesting that the schematic on the GF site doesn't relate to your R60, but I think you're reading it wrong. Take the 700, like the R60, this had four wires running from the pickup to the poles on the mini-toggle switch. That was the same for the first, '78, as it was for the final, '86, versions of the 700. I'm also confused by the suggestion that the mini-toggle switch has three operative positions, not two. The standard "dual sound" switch installed, on the likes of the 700 and R60, was what Aria originally called a "sprit" switch (aka coil tap). When Aria refer to "bright" (up) it means single, and when it refers to "deep" (down) in means double. The other "dual sound" switch Aria installed, on the likes of the 900 and R80, was a "phase" switch. For this switch, down was labelled "normal", and was "phase in", whereas up was labelled "reverse", and was "phase out". [/quote] Hi - the wiring diagram for the "single pickup" SB on Graeme Fyfe's website shows a two-conductor (R&W) pickup, and only 2 (or does it show 3?) points wired on the switch (one half of the switch is not connected to anything, looks like a coil tap wiring if only 2 are used). It is labelled "coil tap" but normally you need two wires (start and finish) from each coil of a humbucker to be able to switch out a coil. The only way it could be working as a coil tap is if the "R" wire is actually an extension from the two "finish" wires, joined together internally, the "W" wire is the start of one coil, and the ground cable is connected to the start of the other coil. Then the switch would short one coil to ground in the "up" position (= single coil) and do nothing in the down position (= dual coil). I've attached the diagram from GF (left) so you can see the difference from mine (right). Mine has four conductors entering the control cavity, and all four wires (R, O, Br, Bl) are used, suggesting a humucker with two coils (and a shield). That can be clearly seen in my drawing. The wiring of the DPDT switch on mine exactly corresponds to the well known series/parallel switch for a humbucker, and described in many places including for example the Seymour Duncan website. Usually such switches have two positions only - series (deeper, louder) and parallel (brighter, softer) which corresponds with the sounds from mine. I am sure it is not a coil tap due to the wiring configuration and as both positions are hum cancelling. The only remaining issue is the centre position, which is silent. Having looked at this in detail and got my multimeter onto it, I now see this is an on-off-on DPDT switch (3 position, centre off) as opposed to an on-on DPDT (2 position). Whether it was incorrectly installed at the factory or someone has put it in since, I cannot be sure (they look similar, both have 6 pins). I could replace it I suppose. But I am now pretty sure I understand the wiring in [i]my[/i] SB-R60, and it is definitely not as GF's website example, and not a coil tap. It is really more like one half of the Elite-II diagram on that site, which makes some sort of sense doesn't it? I have sent my diagram to Graeme. Nigel

Thanks Tom - I've posted the same question and diagram on talkbass, but will follow your suggestion and message RogerBMiller. Cheers Nigel

Hi - I have a nice 1982 Aria Pro II SB-R60, you know the one - neck through, single pickup, passive, vol & tone - and a microswitch! This is what I'm interested in - mine has three positions for the switch. Towards the neck, bright - centre, off completely - towards the bridge, deep. It looks like an ordinary DPDT microswitch, but I'm wondering why the centre should be off completely. I can't find a wiring diagram for this bass. It has a four-conductor pickup (which I believe is an MBII) and I think the switch is simply switching between coils in parallel and in series. Graeme Fyfe's pages have a wiring diagram for a passive single pickup SB bass but it's for a two-conductor pickup so isn't correct for my bass. Does anyone have a diagram for an SB-R60? I've attached a diagram of how mine is wired, including the switch. Cheers Nigel

[b]I've recently bought a very nice fully carved bass from Tim Batchelar in Leicester - set up exactly how I wanted it (though as I'm new to DB I can't claim expert knowledge!) - he's reasonably close to you and very informative to chat to.[/b] [b]Nigel[/b]