I have a '77 Fender Jazz Bass that doesn't make a sound. It happend after it lay in a room that was damp for some weeks.
Now I would like to repair it, exchanging defect parts like the cables, potis or the pick-ups. The problem is, I don't know how to find out what part is defect. Does anyone know a good guide to do this, with what values I have to measure and so on. It would be great, if it was written so that also non-professionals can understand it.
thx alot in advance
Metty
Could you remove the metal control plates and the scratchplate and take pictures of the wiring?
Do you have a multimeter?
Tommy.
Probably corrosion on the contacts in the 1/4 inch socket. Go to Radio Shack, get a spray can of tuner cleaner and spray it liberally into the socket. Then plug and unplug the audio cord many times to clean the crud off the contacts.
I'll pick up the Bass tonight and then i can make a picture. I have a multimeter, but I am not sure what components i have to measure and how? (What Settings on the Multimeter(never used one before)).Originally Posted by ziess
Putting up pics is a good first step.
Unlessthe bass was under water, I'd suspect that a component that the signal from both pickups passes through to be the culprit, probably the jack or tone pot.
Cleaning the jack and pots is a good place to start.
If that doesn't work, measuring the resistance at the jack, then the tone pot, followed by the volume pots, then the pickups themselves would be a good way to go.
The readings should be several thousand ohms.
Finally I got my Bass back. First I used the contact cleaner on the jack and pots. Then I measured the pots and the jack. I got several thousand ohms on each and they reacted to different settings with different resistances. So I measured the pickups. I was told to measure milivolts and to quickly contact with a flatiron or something. I did and got the desired milivolt changes. So everything should be fine I thought. I put a string on the Bass to test and it works. Doesn't seem to be defect after all. The only problem seems to be the jack. Sometimes it crackles and buzzes. When I move the plug around a bit it stops. (Its not the cable, it happens with different cables).
Ok, the string snares really bad when tuned. I think I'll go to the local guitar tech and pay for a basic setup, neck and string settings and intonation.
Maybe ask the setup guy to clean or even replace the jack while he's working on your bass.
Tommy.
I did so. He asked about the electrics and I told him.
And thx alot for all the good tips and hints! It really helped me!
Glad to hear it worked out well.
Thanks for the follow up.
Yeah, i'm glad to hear it too!
Got any pics of the bass?
Tommy.
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