BassBunny

Agree with @lownote. Here are their charges. £35 to diagnose the problem, which you get back if you go ahead. £69 fixed labour, £18 courier fee to send it back + parts. I am pretty sure they don't repair to component level, so it'll be the cost of the relevant PCB All prices are + VAT and the final cost is likely to be £200+

I did compare the pot locations on the Nanyo with the Artec one and they appear to be the same.

Interesting. One of my Nanyos had the same pre-amp as yours and a similar problem also on the bass pot. It had an audible "click" when it reached the end of its travel and it affected the tone as well. I did try and source a replacement pot but getting one with the correct dimensions proved tricky. Although the pots are PCB mounted there is a brass spacer that slides over the threaded collar of the pots acting as a spacer. Then secured by the nuts on the front of the bass. I gave up in the end and as I'd already swapped out the pre-amps in my other 2 basses, went the whole hog and changed it. Whilst searching for a possible 2nd hand replacement, this pre amp also seems to be fitted to Tune Maniacs, I discovered an Artec one that appears to be exactly the same size and fit. An Artec BE2. http://artecsound.com/pickups/electronics/be2.html

Just use a UK cable and you're good to go. I had a US supplied RH450 they will work all over the world.

"Anyway, on to my issues - any advice greatly appreciated! - I have a long-standing ongoing issue with a low buzz coming through the amp - I've tried other basses and leads, so deduction is it is the bass. Does anyone else have this issue? - the jack socket is a pain being at the angle into the body. I've had this replaced twice, as the angle of the cable keeps tugging at it and damaging the contacts. I always play with a strap, and loop the cable through that to try and reduce the strain which does help. - my big one is a roadblock at the moment. All of the pots are soldered directly onto the PCB, and my bass pot has started clicking/grating when turned either up or down. I'm guessing its a case of a full rewire, as I've been told that pickups used in actives are usually quite thin sounding." I've got 3 SGC Nanyo 5 strings and they have all been quiet. I have, however, now changed all the pre-amps. Mainly because I think this is the weak point in the basses and I wanted the option of Active/Passive switching. They all had different pre-amps initially but they are a 30+ year old design and electronics have come a long way in that time. I've certain not experienced the pickups being "thin" sounding and they are not active pickups. The "active" part is the pre-amp and the pickups are normal high impedance type as fitted to most basses. I agree with @Matt P's comment about the quality of the jack socket. All of mine have had a problem with loose fit and crackling at one time or another, so they have been changed for Neutrik ones and have been rock solid ever since.

Hahaha.

I'm with @ituon this. If doing it yourself photographing what goes where is a must. As far as I know Real do not repair to component level, they just swap PCB's, so if you're not confident unsoldering/soldering, you should be able to source a new board and swap it yourself. At least that saves the 2 way postage, Labour and VAT.

Ashdown Rootmaster?

Here you go. I found an actual Warwick diagram of how they install a passive tone but it uses 2 pats so I have added the circuit you need to make it a single control for both pickups. Hope it makes sense. I believe you can actually buy the East version direct from John. It comes complete with the dual pot, capacitors and the wires so you just need to solder to your blend pot.

Yes, that's exactly what the East etc. pre-amps do. You use a pot similar to a blend pot. You are effectively creating 2 circuits, one for each pickup.

Don't see any reason why you can't wire a passive tone control . The ones I am aware of, East/ACG/Sadowsky, just use the same circuit Fender use for P Bass/ J Bass wired across the input to the pre-amp. If you have a 2 pickup installation, you'll need a dual pot as it needs a circuit for each pickup. I am not familiar with the MEC pre-amp and if it has screw connections. All the ones I am familiar with do, so it's a very simple retro fit. I'll try and sort a simple diagram out.

Ashdown usually quote RMS figures. No doubt someone will be along soon to confirm. That said the Original 300bis bloody loud. @Ashdown Engineering

There's a post on here about changing the original piezo tweeter on a CMD121P for a much better one. Total cost about £10-15 and the result was a massive improvement. Do a quick search.

4 replies and no mention of Sire. Best bang for your buck currently.

Scratch everything I said. I've just had a close look at the pre-amp and that isn't the blend that comes with the kit. If you look at the picture on the gfm website, all the controls are wired to plugs that locate on the pins on the circuit board. I assume the pickups are wired to the small PCB that the blend control is fixed to and then plugged into the pcb. I've tried to find a wiring diagram on line, but nothing. Is this a new pre-amp?

Yep, that's ball the gubbins. Is it installed in the bass and have you done the "finger" test?

Can we backtrack a bit. What pre-amp are you using? Is it installed in the bass? Have you tested it without any pickups/blend/ volume control? It looks like an orangey/red wire that is the input to the pre-amp, touching that with bass plugged in should give you a low buzz.

I've recently used DPD local fora number of deliveries, not all instruments, and they were spot on. Agree with @GreeneKing regarding insurance, in most cases it's more than courier charges. I've started using Secursus to insure courier deliveries. Quite a bit cheaper than couriers insurance but I haven't had to claim, so not sure how good they are if you do need to claim.

There are some wire straps missing off the blend pot. Google "blend pot wiring", I'm on a mobile at the moment and can't find the image I downloaded to add.

Absolutely.

If the manual suggests Speakon, get Speakon. Far more robust, reliable and built to carry more current than jack's. Jack's are a derivative of the kit used on manual telephone exchanges.

Might have to eat humble pie here and you might be lucky Apparently there are 2 versions of the pre-amp. Earlier ones had a circuit board for some of the pots but looks like the Vol and Blend are stand alone. Might be worth having a look.

Hope you are successful, however from picking up the chatter on various social media sites, I wouldn't get your hopes up. Even trying to buy a complete pre-amp proved an impossible task. It could be the situation we are in that is causing supply issues. If you are prepared to buy a complete pre-amp, a post in the Wanted section might get you one as a few have been swapped out for East pre-amps. Failing that a tech that is happy to deal at component level on pcb's might be able to identify the values and size needed. Good luck getting it sorted.

Corrected. It's 2x8 Ohm cabs. 🙂

I think you'll find all the pots on the Sire pre-amp are mounted on the circuit board. That type of pot won't do, they are PCB mount pots and you will need an exact replacement.