Davo-London Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 OK, fellow LDLDers H E L P ... I've taken out my controls on my MIJ Jaco Jazz, see Photo: http://www.purevolume.com/backend/davolondon/photos Now the Audere pre-amp, "which is really easy to install", refers to hot, common and cavity wires. So, the Jazz has 3 wires per PU, one shiny black with writing, one dull black and one white. As you can see the two blacks are soldered together on the volume pot body, the white is soldered onto the external pot connection. There is also a seventh wire which comes from the recess baseplate and is soldered onto the tone pot. So, looking at the Audere website: http://www.audereaudio.com/JZ3_Docs.htm which wire goes where? Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumbao Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 I can't view your pics because I don't have an account... According to Fender, though, what comes out of each the pickup cavity is: Hot - White Common - Black (the other end of the pickup coil) Shielding - (no color, but we know from you it's also black) There is also a ground/shielding wire from the bridge. The preamp has the following inputs: 1,2 - Hot and common, PU 1 3,4 - Hot and common, PU 2 5 - all shielding/ground wires It's important to separate the sheilding wires from the "common" wires for your new preamp. In a passive installation they would be ganged together as they are now, but they are kept separate here to be used to complete the battery circuit when the cable is plugged into the jack. That's how the preamp is turned off by pulling the cable. If you can't determine the difference between the shielding and the common wires from the pickups, I would unsolder all the black wires from each other and everything and reconnect them one at a time. connecting the common wires will allow a pickup to work, whereas connecting a shielding wire will not. So, in the end you should find that only two black wires make sound. Once you have isolated the common wires you know what to connect to the preamp screw terminals. The other sheilding wires can be connected together and then to the grey/white wire from the preamp (at the jack). Hope this helps. Good luck. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy from Motown Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Sorry but I don't agree with seperating the shield from pickup commons. It is not important to seperate them , in fact it is not necessary at all. The white wire from each pickup is the hot wire, the black ones go to common and the wire from the bridge goes gray/white wire from the pickup. It couldn't be easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumbao Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 This is why I would recommend separating them: If the common inputs on the preamp are not connected directly to ground (a reasonable chance) then connecting the shielding to the common input negates the benefits of having used the sheilding, i.e. the shielding would be connected to signal 'ground', but not earth ground where it needs to be. The common side of the unbalanced preamp output is definitely connected to earth ground, however (assuming the amp/board/etc. is grounded). So the best way to guarantee that the sheilding and the bridge are connected to earth ground is to connect them to ground independently of the preamp, i.e. after the preamp. Also, if by chance (slim possibility) the shields were connected to the bridge directly and also connected to the input and outputs of the preamp, a ground loop can be formed which can produce hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 I would think that if they are different, you should be able to tell which of the black wires is the shield and which is the common by using a multimeter. The resistance between the common and the white will be a few Kohms. The resistance between the shield and white should be open circuit. Feel the groove internally within your own creativity. - fingertalkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy from Motown Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 The common inputs on the preamp are ground, no doubt about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 Well gents thankyou for your thoughts. I removed the pick-up to discover which of the black wires came from the PU and which from the cavity plate. The shiny black wires are from the cavity plate. Thus, following Audere's instructions, I wired the hot (white) wire and the common wire (dull black) for each PU as indicated into the green connector. Then I connected the three grounds from the bass to the pre-amp ground. Then I spent about an hour (I'm not kidding) getting the pre-amp/plate back on the bass. It sure is tight. Finally I sorted it and plugged in my tuner. ABSOLUTELY NO OUTPUT WHATSOEVER. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh! The LED bleeped frequently for 5 seconds meaning, according to Audere, the battery is flat. So I replaced the battery - same problem. I poured myself a large glass of wine and came to share this with the forum. Any thoughts? Desperate Davo As an aside, I though purevolume.com would be a good place to download photos, if other LDLDers cannot access this without registering then that is rather useless. Where does one upload photos? "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooster6550 Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 At least you got farther than I did. I'm not slouchy at wiring and soldering, but the thing (battery plus module plus about fifty feet of extra wire) doesn't even come close to fitting in my Geddy Lee Jazz. I should ask -- exactly which preamp did you get? I assume the "ready-to-install-in-a-Jazz-Bass" version. . .? Wish I had. I ordered the 3-ZB-2-A/P module, which he said would fit (but it would be 'tight'). No, it didn't fit, and I think he's half-cracked for telling me that it would fit (after I specifically asked him), because it's *nowhere* close to being able to fit. But, I digress. Good luck. "When it comes to havin' a good time, nothing beats 'fun'. . ." -- Stefan Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Originally posted by Davo-London: As an aside, I though purevolume.com would be a good place to download photos, if other LDLDers cannot access this without registering then that is rather useless. Where does one upload photos? Sorry I can't be much help in the matter at hand (especially at 1am) but you could try hosting your images at www.photobucket.com as many here do. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I'd check the battery is OK still. I'd also check to see if it works when it is out of the cavity and that you haven't bent any components or broken any wires trying to fit the unit into the cavity. Give the wires a wiggle with the bass plugged in. Check the battery is making a good connection with the snap on terminals. There shouldn't be any hazardous voltages present, as long as your amp is grounded properly assuming you or someone else hasn't taken the ground off the 3 pin plug for your amp at any time to eliminate ground hum. Feel the groove internally within your own creativity. - fingertalkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumbao Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I agree with TimR to pull the preamp and double check wire connections. After the battery was changed, did the LED show good power or is it still showing dead battery? Here're some other things that come to mind: If the LED worked at all, one would think the contacts on the 1/4" jack and your cable are good. The new jack is a TRS style jack which uses the ring® and sleeve(S)to make the battery connection. I see low-z and high-z mode references. Is the preamp bypassable? If so, does it work in either mode? Is the low-z gain cranked pot all the way down for some reason? You aren't using a TRS cable, right? To turn the preamp on you need a TS cable. But then you did see the LED... Is the end of your 1/4" TS cable clean and shiney, i.e. conducting well? Fundamental check: You could unscrew each set of the pickup wires and connect them directly to a patch cable from your amp just to confirm that you have the right wires from the pickups and that they are still good. Did you strip enough housing from the pickup wires to make certain the preamp screw terminals are clamping down on bare wire? Audere mentions that you can easily change the tone caps to alter the tonal response. I think they said the caps were in sockets. I would pull them and reinsert them to ensure good contact. If you plug the bass into an amp, do get any hiss from the preamp atleast? Hiss that you can alter by adjusting the tone controls? This would be to prove that the preamp is sending signal, but not getting any for whatever reason. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumbao Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Just looked at the rest of Audere's info on the preamp... The bass has PASSIVE pickups in it, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 Yeah passive. I've pretty much done all the above. I followed the instructions to the letter, well except the wine. I think I'll have to find a guitar repairman! Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audere Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Hi Davo-London If you send me emails, I can respond faster. In the case of the Audere preamp the pickups are DC connected to the front of the preamp. The commons to the pickup are set to a voltage which is equal to roughly 1/2 of the battery voltage. If you connecting this pickup common voltage to ground it will increase the battery drain (pulling the voltage down) and the LED because of the reduced battery voltage will go into the LOW BATTERY flash sequence. It would also sound bad - mainly distortion if you play it this way. So disconnect the connection you have to the input connector commons - use the other black wire I suspect you want the one with writing on it. Do not bother to put the preamp back into the bass yet or connect the shielding wire to ground. Does the LED work - does the bass play? Ok - Now connect the ground Again test the system Now put the preamp into the bass. Send me emails or call me etc. if you have any questions or problems. Thanks David - Owner Audere Audio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audere Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 subscribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy from Motown Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 I couldn't of been more wrong, sorry about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted September 24, 2006 Author Share Posted September 24, 2006 Blimey, the owner himself. this is what I call service. Frustratingly, i'm on a 4 day trip and so this will have to wait. Thanks Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Audere - thanks so much for another lesson in top customer service !! Stop by any time! Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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