Spoiler trim pot weirdness

[gearhed289]

I picked up a nice '84 Spoiler today. I noticed when I was trying it out that one of the pickups was significantly quieter than the other. I figured I'd just need to tweak the trim pots. Got it home and opened it up. Both pots were dimed. Hmm... The pickup running through the left pot was quiet and a little dull. The pot is seemingly functional as it did lower the volume when I turned it down. The pickup running through the right pot is loud and bright (just how I like it). But turning that one has no effect on level. I swapped pickups, and same thing. Any clues?

[JimmyJ]

Hey Tom,

When you say "I swapped pickups, and same thing" do you mean the same pickup was quiet or did the other pickup become quiet?  That should tell you if it's the pickup itself or a problem with the preamp circuit.

Jimmy J

[pauldo]

Pickup height (distance from strings) is the same?

[gearhed289]

Sorry, I didn't know how to word that.   What I meant was, I unplugged the pickups and plugged them into the opposite contacts on the board, so it's definitely not a pickup problem. They both behaved the same.
Pickup heights are the same, and I would say it's definitely more noticeable than something a low mounted pickup would cause.
Thanks for the input guys.

[JimmyJ]

OK so the preamp circuit related to the right trimpot is bright and powerful with either pickup - but the left trimpot circuit seems quiet and dull.  Thanks for clarifying. 

But you also say the right trimpot doesn't seem to change the volume of the louder circuit so there's definitely something odd going on.  The old standby answer to most issues is to exercise all the pots and switches about 50 times.  Especially if they haven't been swept, or switched for years, that can sometimes clear up strange audio issues so try that first.

Is it possible the "quieter" circuit is working as expected and the "louder" circuit has a fault which has bypassed the trimming section?  Like is the bass putting out a crazy amount of level compared to other basses?  And is the "quiet" side really also "dull" or is that just a trick of the lower level?

I wish I had some better ideas but maybe others in here do and they'll chime in.  Do the "sweep and switch" thing and see if anything gets better, although in this case I'm skeptical.

Jimmy J

[gearhed289]

"Is it possible the "quieter" circuit is working as expected and the "louder" circuit has a fault which has bypassed the trimming section?  Like is the bass putting out a crazy amount of level compared to other basses?  And is the "quiet" side really also "dull" or is that just a trick of the lower level?"

This is kind of what I'm thinking, but hoping I am wrong simply because it's such a lower output than my other basses. The loud but non functioning trim pot is around the same output level as my "go to" basses. I haven't touched the input gain on my mixer, and it is not going into the red. I'll do an A/B after work. I'll also try exercising the trim pots, but I too am skeptical. Won't hurt to try!

[gearhed289]

Thanks for bearing with me on this. We have a major plot twist! It turns out that the bridge pickup is dead. Also, both trim pots are working fine. What really threw me off is that I'm still getting varying levels of signal in every position of the selector switch besides the off position. When it's in the neck position, it's the loudest. Both pickups position is just slightly quieter. Bridge position is the "quiet and dull" sound. Plugging that pickup into the other input on the board does the same, but in reverse (bridge position loudest, etc.). To make things even more confusing, it turns out the left trim pot controls the right pickup input and vice versa. SO... Just to make sure everything is normal, I plugged in an Alembic Ric pickup I have lying around, and all is well. I also opened up my Exploiter and unplugged one pickup at a time, and lo and behold, I get the same varying levels of sound in all positions. So there you have it - I need an AXY.

[edwardofhuncote]

That's some good intel, Tom... likely useful here again.

Hey, failing a replacement shows up here, Alembic has those 'Classic' shell AXY's. I highly recommend the FatBoys, especially for the bridge position. I had these two in a Series bass as surrogates for a while. Mighty fine.


*if it's me in your spot, I'd put a set of FatBoys in that Distillate Exploiter and rob it's AXY's for your new-found Spoiler. You'd still have a bonus spare for the toolbox. 

[gearhed289]

Hey Greg, I am actually thinking about a FatBoy, but I would put it in the neck position. I don't want to lose that classic Stanley vibe with the bridge pickup soloed (IDK if that's what he does, but it's always worked for me on my basses, which have all been non-Series). The other reason is, this bass does not have the bass boost/flat/cut switch like my Exploiter. That's an "always on" thing for me. With the dual trim pots, I think this could work nicely.

[hammer]

I don’t know about a FayBoy in the neck. Seems I remember a few people here trying that and then going back to an AXY.

[gearhed289]

We shall see! It's an easy enough swap.

[edwardofhuncote]

Some have felt it was 'too much of a good thing' having both pickups as AXY FatBoys... that's okay, I just disagree. I had a pair of them in a Series bass for a while, and granted the Series controls and preamps had a lot to do with what came down the line, but that was an amazing bass. I have considered many times upgrading the neck pickup in my Custom fretless 5-string for a FatBoy to match the bridge, but I kinda' don't like messing with things that already work just fine. That bass doesn't need anything. Except a more capable player.