Replacement Electronics

[Chaspatm]

Hello, I picked up a 93 Essence for literally pennies. After going through it all I've come to the conclusion that there's something wrong with the electronics. When you put the blend knob in the sooner the temp volume drops by 50%. Also a full volume there's distortion which I find unbelievable I've played with the game controls inside the cavity and it doesn't go away. The little boost switch for the tone circuit is broken but I don't hear filter sounds it sounds like almost like a passive tone single knob tone control.
So I'm looking for a replacement set of electronics if it's at all possible I'd rather turn it into an anniversary style set of electronics. Unfortunately I can't get any response out of the mothership whether I call or send emails I get nothing back in return so I thought I'd try here and see what comes of it
Thanks, Charles Muir

[StephenR]

Hi Charles

Sorry to hear you are having issues with your new bass. Suggest you post a picture of the electronics cavity so members here can check if all the components are the original Alembic parts.

FWIW... it is always a good idea to get a seller to provide you with a shot of the electronics cavity if you are not buying in person. This becomes even more crucial if you find an Alembic listed for "literally pennies". That could be a major red flag, or may not, but regardless the bass can be brought back to spec and you will be able to spend many years playing and enjoying it. Hang tight!

[mica]

While we can repair your electronics or get you replacements, you're going to have to give up on putting Anniversary electronics in that tiny bass. While we have _squeezed_ them in on new builds, I don't think it's possible with the original size cavity and backplate, plus working around existing holes.

It is unusual to have a Q switch 1993, so I suspect that was added later. As Stephen suggested, add a photo of the electronics you have and lets see what's under the hood. You can also email me directly.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Charles,

Welcome to the forum.  As Stephen and Mica suggest, post some pics if you can and we can at least help get you pointed in the right direction. Regarding the distortion, are you sure the battery is good?  (I think the battery is behind a separate cover on the back of the Essence?). I can't quite understand your blend knob question but we'll do our best to help you figure things out and get that axe working properly.

Jimmy J

[JimmyJ]

Charles,

You told me in a PM that you had some pics of your electronics and we would all like to see them.  So just a note about attachments in here...  Start a reply below and then click "Preview".  Now click on "Attachments and other options".  Then under the word "Attach:" click on "Choose File" and navigate to the pic you want to include.  Note the restrictions; 10 max per post and each smaller than 1000kb. That means you may need to resize your pics by exporting them or "saving as" smaller jpegs, for example.  Your note will not display the attached photos in "Preview", they will show in the list of attachments but will only appear once you finally click "Post".   Give it a try and if it goes wrong don't worry, we've all been there. 

Jimmy J

[Chaspatm]

I sent Mike in the pictures and was told about the same thing that it may not be all original Electronics I'll have to see if I can get the picture quality in pixels to a smaller number and then send them back but what I really had contacted about my last email at least I thought I did is I need the two screws that go in the bottom of the pickup so I can adjust them correctly and then there is this little micro switch there but I need to replace. My comment about for pennies was it was 1500 bucks and the person that sold it to Dave bought it in parts and put it together and evidently something straight but I think 1500 bucks for the body and Hardware is not unreasonable if I can just get the the electronics to work correctly my comment about Center detent is when I go to Center the volume drops each pickup on its own is fairly strong but when you put them together you get a decrease in output. I'll see what I can do about pictures and try this again thanks for the response

[Songdog]

... it may not be all original Electronics ... and then there is this little micro switch there but I need to replace ... the person that sold it to Dave bought it in parts and put it together ... my comment about Center detent is when I go to Center the volume drops each pickup on its own is fairly strong but when you put them together you get a decrease in output.

That last bit about the decrease in output in conjunction with the mention of electronics that have been ... modified ... makes me wonder if the pickups could be out of phase, resulting in cancellation when they're combined.

And the mention of distortion at full volume (original message) makes me wonder whether perhaps one or both of the pickups are not Alembic. Alembic pickups are low impedance and low output and require more gain than more typical pickups (high impedance, high output). Non-Alembic pickups might simply have too much output, overloading the Alembic preamp.

Is the "little micro switch" the Q switch?

[sonofa_lembic]

Classic example of "You get what you pay for".  Just replace the entire circuit and likely the pickups with what it originally came with and you will be more than happy.  A simple Essence circuit still has all the tone quality of the fancier more complicated circuits (other than the Series), so instead of butchering the body to shoehorn more pots and switches into it, retain the value of the bass by using some restraint.