Lorne Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Ok,I have 2 vintage B.C.Rich Koa and Maple neck thru basses,a 1985 Bich Supreme 8 string and a 1979 Bich 8 string Whilst the 1985 sounds beautiful,the 1979 sounds completely sh*t,very weak in the bass department All the wires are in the correct places on the bass,so I thought perhaps the Varitone circuit had died,so I got another NEW circuit and installed it,the bass seems Deeper sounding in the out of phase position,which it obviousley shouldn't,but it is still a LOT weaker sounding than the '85 Could it be possible that the Original 1979 DiMarzio pick ups have just had it?,and it needs a new set?,I am contemplating buyin a new complete Bich circuit and 2 pairs of DiMarzio Split P's I can;t test the ohmage of the pick ups as I broke my Draper multimeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Magnets will lose their strength over time - of course this means fender cash in with 'vintage' pickups with weak magnets and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 I've read somewhere it's after 30 years things start disintegrating. I'll look for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elros Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 That's right. Magnets will lose their strength after a while (a long while). You could possibly have them re-magnetized somehow. Or you could just stick new pickups into the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Well,that kinda sucks,but it's kinda what I expected Kills the Vintage "Everything must be original" market though eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Just get an American Lak JO. That's got to be the compromise. How heavy are the DJ skylines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 [quote name='paul, the' post='82520' date='Nov 1 2007, 09:46 PM']Just get an American Lak JO. That's got to be the compromise. How heavy are the DJ skylines?[/quote] I have no idea what you just wrote,it looked like English,but none of the words made sense to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Sorry. Lakland Joe Osborn check here: [url="http://www.lakland.com/basses.htm"]http://www.lakland.com/basses.htm[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Funny place to put this in the DHA section? A 79 is not that old compared to some of the guys 60's basses. I guess magnets could be affected by external factors or the copper wire can corrode if exposed to damp. Maybe just a bad batch of DMZ's. The thing is though I dont see a total BC Rich nutter being happy with a Lakky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 [quote name='paul, the' post='82538' date='Nov 1 2007, 10:17 PM'] Sorry. Lakland Joe Osborn check here: [url="http://www.lakland.com/basses.htm"][url="http://www.lakland.com/basses.htm"]http://www.lakland.com/basses.htm[/url][/url][/quote] Yuck,sorry,Expensive Fender and Musicman copies are not for me,No matter what the Quality of the bass-Now had you said Sei,then we might have been talking But I'm sticking with the BCR Biches,and the '79 was one of the first Bich basses made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodaxe Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 [quote name='Lorne' post='82542' date='Nov 1 2007, 10:31 PM']Yuck,sorry,Expensive Fender and Musicman copies are not for me,No matter what the Quality of the bass-Now had you said Sei,then we might have been talking But I'm sticking with the BCR Biches,and the '79 was one of the first Bich basses made [/quote] I'm with you on this one - I'm not even keen on the originals! Back to the problem at hand... Partial short-circuit coil (rare)?, breakdown of the lacquer on the windings? May be from a duff batch of DiMarzios. The pups on early Aria SBs have a habit of self-destructing for no reason, but the later ones are fine. Possibly a call to Andy at Wizard Pickups might be in order, that or a new DM. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 (edited) These are the sealed in resin Dimarzio 4 conductor Split P pick ups,so I doubt any of the above would apply,but I will think about calling this Andy guy once I know I have the cash to pay for anything This is the one giving me the hassle Edited November 1, 2007 by Lorne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 My apologies. That's me stereotyping as usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 People have beaten me to it, I was also going to say contact Andy at Wizard: [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/content.asp?cpage=Repairs"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/content.asp?cpage=Repairs[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Maybe related somehow, but when I took the pickups out of the Mockingbird I have, it appeared to be the same as the one in my Westone thunder. Dunno if the Westone had been upgraded or they just had good pups in, it had a fender j pickup in it as well, so its not unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryPotter Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 I'd be surprised if it's the fault of the magnets unless (as suggested) they were duffers to start with. The magnets disintergrating over time is part of the reason why old guitars sound better, it makes them sound sweeter and more mellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 [quote name='Lorne' post='82562' date='Nov 1 2007, 11:09 PM']These are the sealed in resin Dimarzio 4 conductor Split P pick ups,so I doubt any of the above would apply,but I will think about calling this Andy guy once I know I have the cash to pay for anything This is the one giving me the hassle [/quote] I blame your pup problems on the number of knobs and switches on that BCR In all seriousness couldn't the issue be with the preamp leccy gubbins? It looks pretty complex and the more bits to potentially go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='82582' date='Nov 1 2007, 11:56 PM']Maybe related somehow, but when I took the pickups out of the Mockingbird I have, it appeared to be the same as the one in my Westone thunder. Dunno if the Westone had been upgraded or they just had good pups in, it had a fender j pickup in it as well, so its not unlikely.[/quote] I heard that Westones had Di Marzios in them as standard (or at least Di Marzio copies?) Something to do with hex screw pole pieces that identifies them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 2, 2007 Author Share Posted November 2, 2007 [quote name='warwickhunt' post='82665' date='Nov 2 2007, 09:49 AM']I blame your pup problems on the number of knobs and switches on that BCR In all seriousness couldn't the issue be with the preamp leccy gubbins? It looks pretty complex and the more bits to potentially go wrong.[/quote] I thought about that,that is why I replaced the Varitone/booster circuitboard with a brand new one,it didn't make much difference,so the option left to me is to replace the full circuit at a cost of £160 for the parts and both the pick ups at a cost of £60 from the same place Pain in the ass,but hey,what can ya do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 DiMarzio puckups from the late 70s were pretty much made to get the maximum possible output out of your guitar or bass, that was their USP. Given that, I would think that the weakening of the magnets in them over time could have far more impact on the sound than 'conventional' pickups of the same age. I'd get some who knows to check over the whole circuit to see what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 +1 for getting it checked by someone with a meter that works. Lots of Jap Crap (not an insult) form this era had DMZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 [quote name='Lorne' post='82415' date='Nov 1 2007, 06:00 PM']Ok,I have 2 vintage B.C.Rich Koa and Maple neck thru basses,a 1985 Bich Supreme 8 string and a 1979 Bich 8 string Whilst the 1985 sounds beautiful,the 1979 sounds completely sh*t,very weak in the bass department All the wires are in the correct places on the bass,so I thought perhaps the Varitone circuit had died,so I got another NEW circuit and installed it,the bass seems Deeper sounding in the out of phase position,which it obviousley shouldn't,but it is still a LOT weaker sounding than the '85 Could it be possible that the Original 1979 DiMarzio pick ups have just had it?,and it needs a new set?,I am contemplating buyin a new complete Bich circuit and 2 pairs of DiMarzio Split P's I can;t test the ohmage of the pick ups as I broke my Draper multimeter [/quote] Very hard to say what the problem might be without being there with a meter. But, to answer your question pick ups do change with age but normally in a good way. My guess is that there is another problem other problem other than aging pickups. Also, did they change overnight? If so it's not aging but something gone wrong. Best get it checked by a techie with the right kit. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted November 3, 2007 Author Share Posted November 3, 2007 I sold this bass in 1992 (It's an American Handmade BTW) and recently got it back,in a straight swap for a Yamaha John Myung,so I scored The guy that owned it before me said he didn't use it for a long time,and then took it to the studio and then noticed it sounded "sh*t",I doubt very much that there are too many people that could help with the Pre-amp and varitone circuits,and it would probably be cheaper to just replace the whole lot,as I said,I can get a new circuit and pick ups for it for £220 + shipping Thanks for all the replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.