crackling pickup blend knob

[dslapster64]

Hello all, I recently bought a 1987, Stanley Clarke signature Bass, ( my first Alembic) and it is great, except the pick up knob switch crackles and has severe noise when I'm trying to go between pick ups. I am not sure if it is supposed to have a Center detent, but I am on able to dial in both pick ups at the same time. Any ideas would be great thanks.

[pauldo]

Turn fully clockwise, then turn fully counter clockwise. 
Rinse, lather, repeat.

Seriously.  Alembics have “self cleaning” pots.  Sometimes they need to be ‘exercised’ to clean the gunk out.  Try 50 or so rotations for starters.  Do another 50.   

Please report back.

[adriaan]

Just to be clear, if it has a pickup switch then this will have three clicks moving between four positions, and the first position is a mute position. If it has a pan/blend pot instead of a switch, there may or may not be a center detent.


Other than that, exactly what Pauldo suggests.

[dslapster64]

Thank you for the replies, much appreciated. I have tried the back-and-forth turning ad nauseam but to no avail. I may have to replace it (if nothing else works, but with what? The website does not have a replacement pick up pan for the Stanley Clarks sigs

[JimmyJ]

Hey dslapster,

What the heck is up with that pot?  It looks like it's been dragged behind a car... 

I didn't think the SC Signature had a "blend" control.  In any case, you should be able to source a replacement part from Alembic.  Or ... here's what I believe to be the exact same part (component number has changed slightly, and slightly different solder lugs...):
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/3852a-282-502al/bourns?q=3852a-282-502al


Having said that, it's rare for these components to fail (though yours looks strangely thrashed) so first you want to make sure the noise is not being caused by some other component or even DC power coming back up the line from your amp or pedal board.  Does it happen with any amp?

Jimmy J

[dslapster64]

Thanks for the info. I have contacted Alembic a few times, they have been great but still waiting for a solution concerning this issue directly. The noise is present with any amp I plug into.

[jazzyvee]

if it's any use I have a loom with both the Volume and Pan Pot for a SC Signature Deluxe with the plug in connectors and battery clip. It's left over from my upgrade to anniversary electronics. I would need to find what it is worth before letting it go but I guess it's not something that alembic get asked for that often especially since, as Jimmy mentioned it's rare for these components to fail. It's from a 2001 sig deluxe so not sure if the wiring is the same as yours.

[dslapster64]

I went ahead and ordered the part from Arrow, so thank you JimmyJ. .When it arrives I really hope the bass will be as it should, because already love it even with the annoying noise. JazzyVee, I am not sure what the differences are between  a vintage SC bass and one that is much more recent, but if you are selling the loom, and I need it, please let me know.

[JimmyJ]

Alright!  I sure hope that fixes the problem. 
Please come back to this thread to let us know.

Jimmy J

[mica]

There are several versions of the Signature electronics, and yours are an early version. We're trying to figure out if the more recent upgrades to the circuit (like not dipping 3dB when at the center detent - oh and having a center detent!) will work with the rest of the electronics you have. It may take a couple more days to finish the engineering needed to assure the replacement part will function best.

[dslapster64]

Thank you Mica, much appreciated. I cannot tell if there is a center detent because of the crackling as I try to blend both pick ups. And yes it does seem to get softer as well. Hopefully I look forward to hearing from you all soon. Thank you so much. I Cannot wait to do some recording with this machine.

[dslapster64]

Ok so thanks to JimmyJ and everyone else, went a head and installed the potentiator pickup selector pot from Arrow and it worked. OMG, What a machine. I can see it becoming my main axe even though its a 4 string (I'm used to playing 5 and 6 string). I did notice the dip in volume when both pickups are engaged, which was strange, but the crackling has gone.  I can deal with that. in over 40 years of playing, I have never had so many tones at my fingertips. Anyone has a written tutorial on all that tone that would be great. Thanks everyone.

[JimmyJ]

Great result dslapster, thanks for the update.  And doing the work yourself meant it was a relatively inexpensive repair. 

Glad you're digging the bass.  It's true, these axes have such a wide tonal response that you can make a variety of different sounds just with your hands.  You're preaching to the choir in here.

Meanwhile, standby because Mica may come up with some further mods to tweak your electronics package.

Jimmy J

[jazzyvee]

Good to hear that you bass is sounding just as it was designed to. As for a tutorial on all that tone, there are some demos on you tube which may help you understand and find your own tone.

My first alembic was a SC Deluxe too and personally found that being new to low pass filters can take some time to get used to them. I was twidding the knobs all over the place looking for a sound, chasing my tail but also finding other great ones on the journey that i couldn't find again. Eventually all that settles and that's when you find the real beauty of the tone controls.

My saviour was finding one general bass tone that I could set the controls to and use for most of the songs I play, (what i privately refer to as my safe spot), and always set the bass controls to that tone whenever I picked it up to play or whenever i got lost and then make adjustments from a known useable tone. These days whenever I put my bass back in the case I return all controls to that safe point.
Enjoy this bass.

[dslapster64]

Hey jazzyvee, much appreciated again. I am now in the process of doing just as you suggested. I certainly look forward to all the total possibilities. As far as YouTube is concerned, I found maybe two that were very good, but if I could find something that I could read and carry with me, that would be even better.

JimmyJ, thanks again for your help, I love this machine. I can't take credit however for doing the work myself, because I did take the bass to my favorite luthier, Guitar Factory here in Orlando, who did it in about 10 minutes. Next time I will try it myself,  lol,  as it didn't look as difficult as I thought it would. I  will be standing by in case Mica has any mods that can be tweaked. I am now a lifelong fan.