ambient Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 So when I took ownership of my Sei it didn't have a preamp, so I bought a Bartolini and had that fitted. It has a push/pull control on the volume control which acts as a passive/active switch. The problem is the depth of it. The push/pull control is ever-so slightly too deep for the cavity. The bass has a back plate that's made from the cut out wood of the top of the cavity, which must have taken ages to make and obviously looked beautiful. The guy that installed the preamp had to make another backplate from plastic which is slightly thinner, but is still actually slightly too thick, there's a slight bulge. I want to start using the original wooden plate. How easy is it to replace the push/pull control for a standard volume control, doing away with the active passive switch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) Simple solder job once you have sourced the right pot, and you can still have the active/passive switch as a separate toggle if you like. I went the other way and added a push/pull active/passive to a Darklass pre! Edited March 19, 2018 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 28 minutes ago, dannybuoy said: Simple solder job once you have sourced the right pot, and you can still have the active/passive switch as a separate toggle if you like. I went the other way and added a push/pull active/passive to a Darklass pre! Thanks What pot should I get please? I don't actually mind not having a switch to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Whatever value you currently have, minus the push/pull bit! Hard to say without pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 Some photos, there's not a lot of room in the cavity. Maybe swapping the push/pull with gain a little extra room too. It's a very tight squeeze getting the battery in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) Deleted as I posted without looking at the pics properly. Edited March 20, 2018 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Active/passive switching usually means it'll be a 250K/500K pot in there, but if you want to wire it active only you may have the option of wiring the pickups straight to the pre and putting a 25K/50K volume at the end. I know my Darkglass pre came with diagrams for both arrangements anyway! To keep it simple you'll want to swap like for like though. You might also be able to source a lower profile push/pull and wire it up exactly the same as it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Not sure which Bart pre-amp you have but here are all the wiring diagrams and all configurations, so you should be able to easily rewire yours for Vol only. https://www.bartolini.net/electronics-wiring-diagrams/ It looks like Bart use both 25K and 250K pots, so identifying the pre-amp will help. It should be on the label visible in the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 Thanks for all of the replies, much appreciated . The preamp is the HR-5.4AO/918. I know the 918 refers to the fact you can use 9v or 18v. There's not enough room in the cavity for two batteries though. This is one of the diagrams that I got with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Then you need a 25kΩ audio (log) taper pot (with the correct spline for the knobs you are using). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 you could also take measures of that pot and look in banzaimusic.com (i. e.) for a smaller mini-pot with the same specs and mountings. I'm sure it will exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 28 minutes ago, BigRedX said: Then you need a 25kΩ audio (log) taper pot (with the correct spline for the knobs you are using). Yep, that's the very chap and wire it as per page 1 of your diagram. Currently it will probably be wired as per Page 2 top right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 If you remove all the pig soldering on top of the push/pull and solder it properly on the side, I'm sure you can put back the original lid. If the push/pull is still a bit too high, it will take 10 seconds with a router to remove the excess of wood on the lid. Please give us the address of the guy who did that job to be sure nobody goes there. This is no real luthier work as the solutions to fix the problem are easy. Making a thinner lid shows how much he knows about it as the problem is on the inner side and not the outer side. I guess he put some washers on top of the braces !?! Sorry but those self called luthiers should be arrested and exiled forever. And it's still missing one (brass) brace to screw the lid... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) And when I look at the output jack, I'm sure you'll have problems very soon thanks to the way the earth is soldered. If you were living close to me I could name the culprit. Hopefully he stopped his job as he had no more work ... which is easy to understand. Edited March 20, 2018 by Hellzero Culprit is more appropriate than offending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 16 minutes ago, Hellzero said: If you remove all the pig soldering on top of the push/pull and solder it properly on the side, I'm sure you can put back the original lid. If the push/pull is still a bit too high, it will take 10 seconds with a router to remove the excess of wood on the lid. Please give us the address of the guy who did that job to be sure nobody goes there. This is no real luthier work as the solutions to fix the problem are easy. Making a thinner lid shows how much he knows about it as the problem is on the inner side and not the outer side. I guess he put some washers on top of the braces !?! Sorry but those self called luthiers should be arrested and exiled forever. And it's still missing one (brass) brace to screw the lid... It does look a mess doesn't it? Being totally honest I wasn't very happy myself with some aspects of the work. He's done a good job of the re-fret. I was a little unhappy with the fitting of the pre-amp. I'd agreed to pay cash for the work that he did, when I got there to collect it he wanted more money.....£25 for the little micro-switch that operates the LEDs! I didn't have it on me so he let me off. When I took the cover off last night to take these photos it was all full of wood dust, which you can actually see in the one photo. It did have three of the supports for the lid, no idea what happened to the missing one. I guess he took it out to make room for the pre-amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 13 minutes ago, Hellzero said: And when I look at the output jack, I'm sure you'll have problems very soon thanks to the way the earth is soldered. If you were living close to me I could name the culprit. Hopefully he stopped his job as he had no more work ... which is easy to understand. How do you mean? Sorry but I'm hopeless at this kind of thing, so your advice is invaluable, and much appreciated. It did make a loud clunk a couple of times last week when I caught the jack plug against my lap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyerseve Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 36 minutes ago, ambient said: It does look a mess doesn't it? Being totally honest I wasn't very happy myself with some aspects of the work. He's done a good job of the re-fret. I was a little unhappy with the fitting of the pre-amp. I'd agreed to pay cash for the work that he did, when I got there to collect it he wanted more money.....£25 for the little micro-switch that operates the LEDs! I didn't have it on me so he let me off. When I took the cover off last night to take these photos it was all full of wood dust, which you can actually see in the one photo. It did have three of the supports for the lid, no idea what happened to the missing one. I guess he took it out to make room for the pre-amp. Definitely not a job of a professional. To give you an idea, below is the work of an avergae joe(me) with the first bass I ever restored: Its not perfect but it should give you an idea of what a professional should be capable of... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 3 minutes ago, dyerseve said: Definitely not a job of a professional. To give you an idea, below is the work of an avergae joe(me) with the first bass I ever restored: Its not perfect but it should give you an idea of what a professional should be capable of... And you both live near Brum... Any chance of a meet up? On a side-note, it might only be me, but I'm also not a great fan of metal-case batteries rattling around in a box of electronic connections, with no insulation round the battery case. This is where something like an off-cut from an old cycle inner-tube would come in handy, or you could wrap it in a few turns of insulation tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 3 minutes ago, dyerseve said: Definitely not a job of a professional. To give you an idea, below is the work of an avergae joe(me) with the first bass I ever restored: Its not perfect but it should give you an idea of what a professional should be capable of... That looks very neat, and actually what I was expecting to see myself. I was a little shocked when I took the cover off last night. The last time I soldered anything I burned the carpet and my finger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 minute ago, Grangur said: And you both live near Brum... Any chance of a meet up? On a side-note, it might only be me, but I'm also not a great fan of metal-case batteries rattling around in a box of electronic connections, with no insulation round the battery case. This is where something like an off-cut from an old cycle inner-tube would come in handy, or you could wrap it in a few turns of insulation tape. Very true. Though to be honest there really isn't room to put anything around the battery. You can barely squeeze it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 There's space for a couple of turns of insulation tape round the battery. What bothers me is what will happen if the metal battery case shorts out some of the other contacts on a pot. If you don't have insulation tape, Sellotape or masking tape will be better than nowt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Or a piece of cardboard thick enough to block the battery. Or a small tissue bag. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 hour ago, ambient said: How do you mean? Sorry but I'm hopeless at this kind of thing, so your advice is invaluable, and much appreciated. It did make a loud clunk a couple of times last week when I caught the jack plug against my lap. The bare wire is crossing one of the 3 lugs (the ground and switch, in fact) : if there's a shortcut, the battery will drain overnight. If it touches the output, you'll have it muted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 4 minutes ago, Hellzero said: The bare wire is crossing one of the 3 lugs (the ground and switch, in fact) : if there's a shortcut, the battery will drain overnight. If it touches the output, you'll have it muted. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyerseve Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Grangur said: And you both live near Brum... Any chance of a meet up? On a side-note, it might only be me, but I'm also not a great fan of metal-case batteries rattling around in a box of electronic connections, with no insulation round the battery case. This is where something like an off-cut from an old cycle inner-tube would come in handy, or you could wrap it in a few turns of insulation tape. I would like to help but I still have 2 of my own basses in bits awaiting refinish so no time for anyone else's. Gotta be plenty of actual pros nearby though? Edited March 20, 2018 by dyerseve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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