Jamesk86 Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Hey everyone, I have recently had brand new POTs put in my Warwick thumb and it seems as if the active circuit of the bass which is controlled by the POTs (obviously!) is creating a distored output?? I have checked the battery but that seems fine does anyone have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monz Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 It's always been the battery on my old corvette plus it seemed ever so slightly out of tune when the battery was dying lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 [quote name='Jamesk86' post='411075' date='Feb 16 2009, 01:56 PM']Hey everyone, I have recently had brand new POTs put in my Warwick thumb and it seems as if the active circuit of the bass which is controlled by the POTs (obviously!) is creating a distored output?? I have checked the battery but that seems fine does anyone have any ideas?[/quote] Other than fitting a fresh battery, regardless of whether the one in there at the moment is new as you can get duffers and seeing what happens in passive mode (pull pot on the volume still?), I'd suggest taking it back to whoever fitted the pots as it wasn't doing it before the pots were changed I assume! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 My Corvette developed a fault where it would become quiet and distorted. It was the push/pull pot failing, eventually got the part replaced (from the awesome and extremely pleasant staff at Promenade Music in Morecambe). Yours sounds like a pot issue, unless the repair guy had damaged a circuit board whilst tinkering around inside it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) It could be the new pots actually have a slightly different rating even though they are marked up at the same value as the old ones. If the value is slightly more byassed either up or down resistance wise it could be causing the preamp to distort. Have a look for the little trim pot mounted on the pre amp and turn it down slightly,this may solve the problem. Also check that no barrell capacitors have any oily deposits leaking from them,some times they can get knocked causing them to leak and malfunction this will usually result in the signal sounding like it is breaking down or distorted. Good luck. Edited February 16, 2009 by YouMa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesk86 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks for all the advise guys! The POT's are the exact same ones that were in there before, in passive mode there is no distortion, I know its not my amp becasue no clipping takes place when I play and the distortion comes in. I am going to change the battery tonight and see if that makes a difference!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I'm thinking it's a battery issue as my Thumb BO distorts when the batteries start to go. The distortion stops/lessens when I disengage the active pre-amp by pulling the volume knob, that normally buys me a bit more time before the battery dies completely from powering the active pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogie Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Hi! In my experience it might be that your strings is too close to the pickups, so that the preamp get to much signal, creating distortion. The fact that you don`t get any distortion in passive mode supports this! Kroogie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [quote name='kroogie' post='414686' date='Feb 19 2009, 08:11 PM']Hi! In my experience it might be that your strings is too close to the pickups, so that the preamp get to much signal, creating distortion. The fact that you don`t get any distortion in passive mode supports this! Kroogie[/quote] The strings would need to be virtually lying on the pups (actually even then I doubt it would happen ) for that to happen. The EMGs MECs Barts that came fitted to Thumb basses could be so close to the strings that you had more worry of your strings rattling off the pup covers and carving them up than you'd need to worry about distortion. In fact I have my Warwicks set up with approx 4-5mm of clearance, all except for the $$... that 'needs' a bit more clearance as they are big old magnets in there! A sensible suggestion and I appreciate that magnetic pull, wolf-notes and distortion can be a result of string proximity on some basses but rarely an issue on 'most' Warwicks, especially Thumbs. The distortion in passive mode can point to a lot of other causes to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 (edited) I would deffo have a closer look at the components on your preamp and any solder joints,look for blackened components oily deposits there is no distortion in passive mode because the signal is bypassing the onboard preamp which makes me think that this is where your problem stems from.Again try adjusting the trim pot on the circuit board. Edited February 19, 2009 by YouMa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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