Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 (edited) Plugged in my American Original P - nothing, dead as door nail. Tried my American Standard- same. My Jazz is fine though. All three basses are on the same rack stand in my music room which gets really hot, especially with this heat wave. They might have been in direct sunlight for a while too. I’ve opened them up and, although I’m no expert when it comes to electronics and wiring, everything looks intact. Anyone experienced anything similar? Edited August 17, 2022 by Ray 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Got a multimeter? Stick a lead in and measure continuity and/or resistance between tip n sleeve. Does it change when ya turn the vol pot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 18 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: Got a multimeter? Stick a lead in and measure continuity and/or resistance between tip n sleeve. Does it change when ya turn the vol pot... I have a voltage tester but not a multimeter 😕 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 As you say could be the heat has got to 8t, maybe expanded the pot, no longer making contact... and not the pickup windings? Both Passive i presume not the heat got to a battery. Move em away... bit of luck and fingers crossed all will be fine later... mine are in a rack by the patio window, curtain drawn, not a lot else can be done, no more room... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 UPDATE: They are not completely dead. If I crank the volume on my amp to the max I can just about hear some signal coming through. Also, if I touch one of the pole pieces it buzzes loudly. This is the same on both basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 5 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: As you say could be the heat has got to 8t, maybe expanded the pot, no longer making contact... and not the pickup windings? Both Passive i presume not the heat got to a battery. Move em away... bit of luck and fingers crossed all will be fine later... mine are in a rack by the patio window, curtain drawn, not a lot else can be done, no more room... Yeah, both passive. I’ve moved them to the coolest room in the house. Fingers crossed 🤞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 (edited) Wire or link the pup hot direct to the socket ...By pass the controls? Fingers crossed its a pot and not pup... Edited August 13, 2022 by PaulThePlug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Silly question but have you double checked the lead, only I had this a while back and it was a loose Jack plug 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: Silly question but have you double checked the lead, only I had this a while back and it was a loose Jack plug 🙂 Not a silly question. Yes, tried multiple leads through two different amps. 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 9 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: Wire or link the pup hot direct to the socket ...By pass the controls? Fingers crossed its a pot and not pup... You’ve obviously never seen me use a soldering iron… 😝 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Hmm, I wondering if they’re shorting to ground somewhere, on some shielding perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 13, 2022 Author Share Posted August 13, 2022 3 minutes ago, ezbass said: Hmm, I wondering if they’re shorting to ground somewhere, on some shielding perhaps? Would that kill the output too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Ray said: Would that kill the output too? Yep. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmedunc Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 I have a lead that only works on certain basses of mine. Weird as it looks exactly the same as the rest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 16, 2022 Author Share Posted August 16, 2022 On 14/08/2022 at 23:51, itsmedunc said: I have a lead that only works on certain basses of mine. Weird as it looks exactly the same as the rest? That is odd! I've tried all sorts of leads into all sorts of amps and it's definitely the basses that have bust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 16, 2022 Author Share Posted August 16, 2022 I'm taking them to my local tech tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be able to fix them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman666 Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 spray contact cleaner inside jack input hole... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 I'm not sure which group this should worry most - those who never take a backup to gigs because what could possibly go wrong with a P bass, or those who always take a backup to gigs because if one fails you can rely on the other! Never had anything similar myself. Hope you get 'em sorted without too much inconvenience and expense, and it'll be really interesting to hear what it turned out to be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 Update… both basses have been fixed! 😃 The heat had cooked the solder attaching the wires to the pick-ups. BTW, I took them into Strings Direct which is just a stones throw from where I work in Southend-On-Sea. Chris Ward (from The Bass Centre) has a work shop there that he works from one day per week. Highly recommended. Thanks for the input, guys. 😊 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 6 minutes ago, Ray said: Update… both basses have been fixed! 😃 The heat had cooked the solder attaching the wires to the pick-ups. Now that's a proper bass ownership story to tell - the day my music room got hot enough to melt solder! 🙂 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 This should be front page news, under the headline 'the real cost of climate change' - just like when the war in Ukraine meant my mum couldn't get her knitting patterns any more! Glad you got it sorted, that must have been really mind boggling to happen especially to two basses at once. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Glad it was a simple fix 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ray said: Update… both basses have been fixed! 😃 The heat had cooked the solder attaching the wires to the pick-ups. BTW, I took them into Strings Direct which is just a stones throw from where I work in Southend-On-Sea. Chris Ward (from The Bass Centre) has a work shop there that he works from one day per week. Highly recommended. Thanks for the input, guys. 😊 I would have though that as good as impossible, what I would think possible though was the wax potting of the pickups potentially partially melting causing microphonic pickups. In either case it is probably a good precaution not to leave your instruments in direct sunlight, where the temperatures can get pretty crazy, and I'd say especially for the sake of the wood rather than the electronics. Edited August 17, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon F Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 18 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said: I would have though that as good as impossible, what I would think possible though was the wax potting of the pickups potentially partially melting causing microphonic pickups. yep . 90 to 450 °C Soft solder typically has a melting point range of 90 to 450 °C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) The solder didn’t melt. The heat caused ‘dry’ joints. Apparently this is quite common in Fender valve amps - the heat from the valves can make the solder joints dry. Maybe it’s down to poor quality solder and/or solder joints from Fender 🤷♂️ Edited August 18, 2022 by Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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