To Rewire or Not To Rewire...?

[stetto]

Man, somethin' gotta be done...Some input from you 'lectronical types out there might hep...

I have a sweet Spector NS-2A, scalloped back, arched top, aerodynamic, ya know...After almost 20 years of abuse it's starting to get noisy, in the pots mostly, but I have other issues---The active board is one of those wierd "might be" 18-volt types, one battery clip is actually part of the circuit board, the other "floats" in the cavity--I've taken to wrapping the floater in soft foam so it doesn't knock around in there...Thing that I don't really get is that the active eq seems to work fine with only one of the batteries (in the circuit board clip) connected...I assume it's a redundant setup and actually 9 volts, the second battery a backup...or not...Whatever...

...I have to replace the volume/tone pots. They too are incorporated into the circuitboard, but that's not a problem...I'm just wondering if active eq technology has come that far since the 80s that it would be worth replacing the whole shebang...The Spector in question is a Kramer era instrument, and I assume early EMG electronics, though there are no markings proving as much...The circuitboard takes up the whole of the electronics cavity, and I know that technology has at least gotten smaller, so I'd be able to install a better battery-mount...

...Idunno, whaddaya think?

Thanks
Eric

 

[Zaphod B]

I'd say it depends on how much you want to retain the originality of the instrument. If it's really important, just replace the pots. Otherwise knock yourself out.

The dual-battery setup may have the two batteries wired in parallel, so that you still get 9V, but get more time out of them.

Got any pics of that streamlined beauty?

 

[stetto]

Ey, seniore, pictures we got...And a shot of the 'lectronics in question...

 

[Zaphod B]

Very nice, stetto.

Looking at the guts, I think I'd be inclined to just replace the pots and leave the circuit card alone. (Something about if it ain't broke..... )

 

[Fusioninspace]

If it's only the pots, you might just take the board out and spray contact cleaner into the pots. I've saved many an old componant with contact cleaner.

 

[Thatupstateguy]

What Fusion said,.... contact cleaner is great for cleaning up noisy pots,..... and you may not have to replace anything,.....


worth a shot anyway,.... much easier, and less expensive to do as well,.....


Steve

 

[stetto]

Ah yes, the pot cleaner worked fairly well on the P-bass volume pot, but the other stayed "scratchety", and I'm wondering if a ground problem hasn't started with the tone pots...They buzz LOUDLY when touched, and depending on the position will continue to buzz, only more quietly...

...I'm awful close to deciding to yank the board out and go passive...Kinda spoiled to the boost/cut stuff tho...

Eric

 

[Fusioninspace]

If the contact cleaner doesn't do it, you might gently play with the pot housing. There might be some little clips that hold the back of the pot to the front. That could be getting loose as well.

But like you said, it may just be time to replace stuff. I've pulled some pots and jacks before and they basically fell apart in my hands.

Now the fun part... Cold/cracked solder joints. If you pull the board(s), you MIGHT find something on the board that has come loose. This can be a bear to find... and might be even more fun to try to solder back in place.

With my level of skill, I'm about 75% sucessfull fixing those (depending on the proximatiy to other joints, sensitivity of the components, etc.). I'm a step above iffy

Good Luck!!!!! Rick

 

[Light]

Contact cleaner for the pots, for sure. At least give it a try. That may or may not be enough, but it is a start for sure.

By the way, most active electronics for guitars which run on 18V will work just fine at 9V, but you will get more head room with 18V, which translates to better high end response. On a guitar, I typically hear it as a smoother, cleaner, and more pleasant treble, up above the 2k range, but on a bass it should also increase the avalible dynamic range.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[stetto]

Thanks for all the great input guys! For now, at least, I'm going to be content with replacing the Jbass pot and look for whatever has caused the "grounding" problem with the cut/boost pots...The electronics, for the most part, are operating nominally, but I think a new module (balanced preamp, perhaps?) will eventually be i order....

Eric