Series One refuses to work, after relocation abroad ....

[rv_bass]

Hmmm...everything looks so clean!  Maybe check the gray and light colored wires where they connect to the maroon plastic connectors and make sure those wires are intact and not frayed and coming apart and breaking the connection.  The light one in the middle should be your hum canceler, so make sure that is not running to the bridge or neck pickup.  Maybe follow all of those wires and make sure they are going to the proper pickups.  Then take a look at where the wires connect to the neck and bridge pickups and make sure they are not damaged (you have to remove the pickups to do this).

[JimmyJ]

Darryl (or Dazza if you prefer),

Thanks for the new pictures.  And for the comment about the JT Live record - engineer George Massenburg and producers James and Don Grolnick took good care of the bass tone on that one!

As Rob said, your whole bass looks super clean, like new!  I don't think that instrument has seen much playing so it's up to YOU to put some mileage on it.  Ha!

Troubleshooting: 
1.  First try my simple suggestion of exercising all the pots and switches to see if your bass pickup comes alive. 
2.  Rob's suggestion; follow the pickup wires into the cavity to make sure each is plugged into the correct spot on the preamp board (see your modified pic below).
3.  Try turning up the bass pickup trimpot (see below) and check the headphones again.
4.  Swap the Bass and Treble connectors at the preamp board and see what happens in the headphones.  Report back if you try this.

I see you're missing the small plastic "C-clamp" that holds the ribbon cable connector in place.  Not a big deal (I think one of mine was gone too) just be sure the ribbon cable stays firmly seated as you move the board around during these operations.

We're getting closer.  Gotta get that bass running properly so you can enjoy the tones!

Jimmy J

[Dazza53]

Hi everyone,

Well ..... the trimpots do appear to be working as expected, but turning both of them up full still has no effect i.e. only the treble pickup is operating.

I'm only using a mono lead to test everything out (as I don't have a stereo lead!), and I just noticed on the Alembic operating guide that it says 'Inserting plug turns on internal batteries. If you use a mono cord you will only get one pickup'.

Which is what is actually happening .... but only through my headphones ! There's still S.F.A coming out of my Genz Benz amp, when I connect the mono lead to it.

Does this mean that I won't get sound through my amp if I only use batteries? Conversely, does it mean that everything will be OK if I get a new DC5 and special lead?

Many thanks,

Darryl a.k.a Confused of Bulgaria ...

[rv_bass]

Hi Darryl,

Happy NewYear!

I just checked it out on my Series I Bass. 

1. With a mono 1/4” cable you should get sound through your amp from the neck pickup only.  If you are getting sound from the bridge pickup only, check the connection at the preamp board, they my be connected backwards.  If you are not getting any sound check the cable and the amp, they may be the source of the problem.  Also, install two new batteries in the bass and see if that helps.

2. With stereo headphones you should get sound from each pickup individually in separate ears, and in both ears when selecting both pickups. The sound will not be loud.   If this is not the case, check the connections at the preamp board to make sure they are tight and connected properly. 

3. Exercise all pots and jacks to clean out the contacts and see if that resolves the issue.

4.  If none of that resolves the issue, then it may be time to bring it down to your local tech to evaluate.  You may have a faulty 1/4” jack or some other issue that they should be able to identify.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Rob

[JimmyJ]

Hey Darryl,

Happy '19!

I believe you're hearing the treble pickup in your RIGHT headphone (??) which means half of your bass is working correctly.  The RIGHT headphone is the "ring" of the 1/4" stereo jack.  The "tip" of the 1/4" jack should be the bass pickup, but it's not yet producing sound.  That's why when you plug in a mono cable and connect to your amp you've got nothing.  Does that make sense?

So as Rob and I have been saying - your very first move should be to exercise all the pots and switches, back and forth on the switches and full sweeps of the pots, like 20 times each.  (Not the trimpots, leave those alone for now.)

The next test is to swap the two pickup connectors at the preamp board and see what happens.  For instance, if that results in you hearing the bass pickup only - through your RIGHT headphone - then we need to look into troubleshooting the board itself and the wiring harness.  But if the treble pickup moves to your LEFT headphone and you get that sound through your mono cable and amp, that points to an issue with your bass pickup.

The fact that the bass is making any sound at all means that your batteries are correctly powering the board when you plug into the 1/4" jack.  I do not believe a DS5 would make any difference at this point and you'd still only have output from the treble pickup.  If you can, try the two things above and let us know what happens and we can help figure out your next move...  Sorry for the frustration, thanks for your patients. 

Jimmy J

[mica]

Wow - thank you everyone for helping this member out. It truly warms my heart that you are so generous with your time assisting eachother. I'll wait to hear Darryl's pickup report and then we can see what parts he needs to get his bass up and roaring again

[Dazza53]

Hi again everyone,

I'm gradually losing the will to live with my Series One problem ....

I'm not technical at all, and certainly don't want to start messing around with swapping connections, soldering, etc, etc - I'll probably just end up making a bad situation even worse!

Much as it grieves me to say so .... I think I need to get the guitar into an Alembic dealership to be sorted out properly (or to a luthier who knows the workings of this model well). Not sure where the nearest reputable place to Bulgaria would be for me - maybe even Station Music in Germany, but that would necessitate a plane trip ....

Many thanks to everyone for their help, patience & guidance - but I feel this is something that I just can't correct via the Internet !!

Kind regards,

Darryl a.k.a Dazza53

[JimmyJ]

Darryl,

I understand that if you're not a wire-head (like me) it can be a bit overwhelming to try to troubleshoot this electronics package.  There's a lot more going on here than on a Fender bass!  But we're all sad your bass isn't working properly and would love to help you get it going.  After all, you've gone to the trouble of acquiring this great instrument, which is very rare in your current part of the world, and this community here in this forum would like to see you enjoying it and playing it to its full potential...  It's like we're concerned for one of our children.  Ha!!

I understand you are new to that area but start asking around for an electronics shop that might have a repair guy.  Could even be a stereo store.  Or if you meet any musicians playing electric instruments, see if they know of a shop or if they do any wiring themselves and would be willing to lend you a hand.  Then if you find somebody, have them log in here and we can talk them through the procedures. 

You should also send your mailing address to Mica*at*Alembic.com in case you need parts...

In the meantime, keep playing that bass "acoustically" to keep your fingers moving!

What I haven't asked is; did the bass ever work properly with the original DS5?? 

And Darryl ...  EXERCISE THE POTS AND SWITCHES.  You haven't confirmed that you've tried that yet and it is by far the simplest fix.

Jimmy J

[StephenR]

Hey Darryl... Understand feeling intimidated by the thought of poking around at the electronics but suggest you at least swap the pickup connectors before throwing in the towel and taking the bass to a repair facility. I am terrible with a soldering iron but the connectors on the pickups are modular and really easy to disconnect and swap, no tools other than fingers required. Even I can do it! If one of the pickups is dead you will need to get a new one from Alembic so better to figure that out first. If one pickup needs replacing you could have a tech do that once you have the new pickup.

[mario_farufyno]

You understood that there is no soldering involved, right? Is just for swaping conectors and exercise potentiometers, can't get easier. Exercising pots can solve many noise/distortion/low level issues and swaping conectors can show if problem is in the PU or in circuit. There is no expertise needed, just will to find and solve a (eventualy easy) problem before going to a repair shop or givin up a superior gear...

[Dazza53]

Hi again everyone,

Sorry for the delay in rejoining the thread ....

Jimmy - I can confirm that I've exercised the pots (ad nauseum), and still no joy.

Just to reiterate - I get no output at all from the guitar through my Genz Benz Shuttle amp, but do get one channel when connecting up to my Phil Jones headphones.

I'm not a techie in any sense of the word (and have no intention to be, either) - think I need to take the guitar to my nearest 'kosher' dealer (Station Music in Germany ?), or even take the guitar back to a London dealer on my next trip back to the UK.

Thanks again

Dazza

[DEOTTO]

Great to hear the instrument is creating some sound, that is a positive development. Be that as it may, the mono sign ought to have been the bass pickup as it were. Would you be able to disclose to us which switch positions produce that sound?

[Gladone]

I know I'm not helping with this thread but I've got to say daaaammmn! Your electronics compartment is so neat! My '79 is a rat's nest of wires and a ribbon to the circuit board. Best of luck on your issue though. You can get a wiring diagram from Mica if need be. Say, a question though. Did your DS-5 die catastrophically while playing? Maybe some kind of power surge/short/?? from that event?