Author Topic: Series I Electronics problem (Read 567 times)

brianm · « **Reply #15 on:** August 21, 2006, 08:15:07 PM »

I took the bridge apart yesterday and gave to a very good cleaning with Flitz. It looks great, but didn't solve the problem if anything it may have made it a bit worse. Man it took for ever to do. I triple checked the bridge saddles and they are and were in the correct way. Funny thing though, I compared the bridge saddles to my point body series I and the saddles are on the wrong way (reversed) on that bass yet no problems with that bass.

The lock nuts on the bridge are not working properly, I'm not sure why. Sometimes the work properly and other times they don't. I believe that my point body doesn't use lock nuts I think its a screw that is threaded directly in to the bridge. I like that system much better than the lock nuts. I'm thinking of trying the screws from my point body bridge on the small body (the one with problems) and see if they fit and will work. If so then all I need to do is pick up a matching pair for the small body's bridge. Thanks for the tip about the bridge rail screws, I'll double check them to make sure they are good and tight.

When Tim shipped the bass the removed the batteries, just incase of damage from battery leakage. I did put batteries in the bass, but it makes no difference with the overtone problem.

I'll try to take a few pics of the bridge & tailpiece in the next couple of daze. The high pitch feed back sound is back but only on the bridge pick up. I've rotated the tone control a few hundred times and it clears up then returns a day or so later. I may need to replace that pot. Does anyone know if the tone pots are made by Alembic or would I be able to replace it with a similar non Alembic sealed pot?

David Houck · « **Reply #16 on:** August 21, 2006, 08:27:39 PM »

I think it is the case that Alembic doesn't make the pots themselves but have them made special order for them. So I'm guessing you would want to order directly from them.

jacko · « **Reply #17 on:** August 22, 2006, 02:34:51 AM »

I had a problem with a buzz at certain frequencies when playing my Rogue acoustically. i eventually traced it to the master volume pot knob being too close to the body. I had to loosen the knob collet, lift the knob slightly then tighten it up. Problem solved.

Graeme

adriaan · « **Reply #18 on:** August 22, 2006, 03:34:40 AM »

Check whether the middle bolt in the top nut is turned tight. (You screw it in to loosen the nut, and screw it out to tighten the nut.)

... and then it dawned on me - it's a 1970s model, so it probably doesn't have an adjustable nut ...

(Message edited by adriaan on August 22, 2006)

brianm · « **Reply #19 on:** September 22, 2006, 04:50:54 PM »

As promised, heres the update:

I took my bass to a guitar repair tech who has worked on Alembics in the past. He said the grooves in the saddles are cut to deep thus causing the overtone issue. I talked to Mica and explained the problem and she asked me to send her the bridge which I have done. She said they may be able to just replace the saddles (with luck). I also asked her to look at the lock nut(s) that weren't locking properly (to raise and lower the bridge). I should know next week if they can fix my current bridge. I'm also ordering a master volume control for each of my basses and a new tone pot.

In order to keep some tension on the neck while my bridge is at the factory I've placed a block of wood in the cavity the bridge normally sits in and strung and tuned the bass.

Tailpiece: Mica also recommended filling the striped holes in the bass that hold the tailpiece down with a paste made up of ground up tooth picks and glue. The repair tech said that using any type of metal inserts in the holes could lead to problems down the road. Wood contracts as a much different rate than metal and I could have a string vibration problem if the metal inserts loosen over time.

Once all of the repairs are complete I'm sure I'll have a killer bass. Man I can't wait :-)

I want to thank everyone who posted on this thread.

Take care and have fun
Brian

mica · « **Reply #20 on:** September 22, 2006, 04:56:49 PM »

Hi Brian,

I received your parts today. The bridge did not have a locking nut - which explains the behavior you noticed.

From my initial inspection, I think we'll be able to just load some new saddles in place. I'll let you know when we actually get to work on it next week.

brianm · « **Reply #21 on:** September 23, 2006, 09:39:56 PM »

Thank you for letting me know :-)