Fixing up a Maya Jazz

[GarethFlatlands]

As already posted in the Bass Guitars sub forum, I recently picked up a 70's Maya Jazz. There are things I love about it and a few I don't, mainly the sound which lacks clarity and is a little noisy. The control knobs are a mess too, the bridge p/u volume sits a lot higher than the others for some reason and the tone knob is cracked. I can't prize them off and when I took the control plate off, there was a resistor wired between the bridge p/u and control which isn't standard wiring for Jazz.

Rather than take the whole thing apart, i ordered a new control plate with the intention of wiring up a new one. I already had 3 mini pots of the right taper and value and a .047 orange drop capacitor lying around, as well as 2 chrome knobs which meant apart from the plate and 1 more knob, I was good to go.

I'm pretty bad at soldering so it took me longer that it should and isn't a particularly clean job, but here's the basics in place. I thought I had a metal mono jack somewhere but didn't, so might need to take the existing one and drop it in, or buy another one. I hope I've not made any massive errors but will check a wiring diagram before I put in in the bass.



I snapped up a pair of MIM Jazz pickups from a Facebook musicians page and bought some aluminium tape, so next time I'll be taking the existing pickups out, shielding the pickup and control cavities and then wiring the whole thing up.

Feel free to point out if I've done anything incorrectly or to put suggestions forward about what else I could do on the cheap to improve the bass!

[GarethFlatlands]

Busy week so slow progress on the bass. Finally got round to removing the pickups and control plate and doing a test fit. The new bridge pickup is too big for the hole by a tiny amount so I'm considering my options. Buy a router and widen the cavity, try the same with a file or file the pickup surround down at the corners so it fits in the old cover. Got a replacement bridge but only one of the holes lines up with the ones already there so I can't use that without drilling out 6 new holes. I was also in Maplin looking at SSD drives and forgot to pick up a jack socket so I'm not having a great week. On the plus side, the chrome control knobs look great so that's a plus point!

[GarethFlatlands]

A friend has offered to loan me a router to try and square off the bridge pickup cavity at the corners, a thought that terrifies me as someone whose woodworking skills could charitably be described as "non-existent". Hopefully the worst that will happen is some untidy corners.

Today I took the old output jack from the original control plate, installed it and wired up the neck pickup and the bridge ground. I also added a couple of strips of aluminium tape for shielding purposes but it's so hard to work with (separating the tape from it's backing was taking a long time) and the cavity itself had a very rough, unfinished interior so I only did half of it. Basically, where the wood was thinnest (bottom edge and back) where I thought noise was most likely to have an effect.

Once everything was wired up, I plugged the bass in to my PC, fired up Reaper and.... it worked! It wasn't too noisy, at least no more than I'd expect with a non wax potted single coil so I think I'll leave the shielding for now. The low end was miles better than it was and everything was just clearer. There was a small amount of crackle at the very bottom of the volume taper but not so much that I think it'll cause problems.

[Norris]

If you're going to use a router for the first time I'd get a bit of advice from your mate on how to use it. I'd make a template out of thick MDF first, exactly the size you need for your pickup. Then using a short top-bearing template following bit, practice on some scrap wood first. Make the template big enough that you have room to clamp it without getting in the way of your router. Only take off a little bit of wood on each pass. Work in a clockwise direction to go with the bit rotation. Keep the bit moving to avoid scorching from friction. Hold the router firmly and be careful - flesh cuts much easier than wood!

[GarethFlatlands]

Thanks for the tips! I was considering ordering a template but can only find perspex ones on Stewmac which have bad reviews as they apparently melt pretty easily. I'll keep looking and check for a top bearing bit too as I think the ones my friend has don't have bearings. Fortunately, he lives within 5 minutes of a B&Q and a Screwfix so I should be sorted for one.

Any advice on what size bit I'll need?

[Norris]

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1488399757' post='3248691']
Any advice on what size bit I'll need?
[/quote]

One that will fit into the tightest radius you want to cut i.e. the sharpest corner. Also find out what size collet (the "chuck" size if it was a drill) is on the router - there a couple of different sizes

[GarethFlatlands]

OK, so routers are terrifying! I shaved a little out of one of the corners and the pickup just about fits now. Installed the bridge pickup at the weekend and wired it up today. The height was pretty much spot on, a shade over 2mm from the string with the last fret pressed. The neck pickup is a little low so I'll hack up an old mouse mat for an extra layer of foam to raise it a little, then I can concentrate on putting on a new set of strings and giving the whole thing a good setup. A quick check of neck relief revealed it was pretty much spot on compared to the online guides I checked which was a massive bonus, as that just leaves string height from the bridge and intonation to set up.

I also noticed a fairly strong buzz which disappeared when the control plate was touched. Eventually figured out the bridge ground wire was hooked up to the controls but not to the bridge! Rather than solder it in place, I stuck it to the body with some aluminium tape underneath the bridge which made contact when everything was installed. Still not 100% sure if I'm keeping the current bridge or installing the one I got off Facebook, hence the "it'll do" solution for now.

Anyway, another check running the bass through Reaper and everything seems to be working fine. The low E has been lowered closer to the pickups compared to the other strings so the output wasn't even but it sounded pretty damn good otherwise.

[Norris]

Nice one! Yes, routers are to be respected

[NukeBass]

I had to replace the pickups in an old Columbus Jazz Bass a year or two ago and had a similar problem - the original pickups had radiused corners and the body was routed to match, the replacement pickups had squared corners and wouldn't fit...
I managed to (carefully with a little heat) prise the pickups from their covers and swap them around - the pole spacing was slightly different but I managed to get 'round that with a little judicious filing to open the pole apertures allowing the new pickups to be rehoused in the original covers. It all worked out quite well and maybe this method would work for you too..?

[Happy Jack]

A properly upgraded Maya can be an awesome thing.

http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/library/Basses%20CURRENT/Maya%20Precision%201970s%20CURRENT

[GarethFlatlands]

[quote name='NukeBass' timestamp='1492104542' post='3278033']
I had to replace the pickups in an old Columbus Jazz Bass a year or two ago and had a similar problem - the original pickups had radiused corners and the body was routed to match, the replacement pickups had squared corners and wouldn't fit...
I managed to (carefully with a little heat) prise the pickups from their covers and swap them around - the pole spacing was slightly different but I managed to get 'round that with a little judicious filing to open the pole apertures allowing the new pickups to be rehoused in the original covers. It all worked out quite well and maybe this method would work for you too..?
[/quote]

The new pickup fits in there but it's a bit snug. It's about the right height from the strings (a little over 2mm) so it shouldn't be a problem but I'll consider getting creative with the old pickup cover if it comes to it.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1492118950' post='3278169']
A properly upgraded Maya can be an awesome thing.

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/library/Basses%20CURRENT/Maya%20Precision%201970s%20CURRENT"]http://s1128.photobu...1970s%20CURRENT[/url]
[/quote]

Very nice! Apart from a decent setup I'm ready to go. The neck relief seemed OK but the strings are still a little high for my liking so I'm considering my options including the new bridge and filing the nut slots down as the height to the first fret isn't as low as it could be. Intonation with the 2 saddle bridge wasn't as bad as I feared, everything is pretty much in tune across the neck.