Seymour Duncan STC-3P Bass Preamp - Part Two

◀ Part One

The STC-3P preamp had been wired up, and everything worked as it should. Tried fitting the circuit board into the control cavity, but the pickguard would not sit flush with the top of the body. I guess it was because of the massive bulk of the wiring getting in the way.

And so, it was time to carve out a new cavity just for the circuit board. I used my drill press with auger and router bits to gouge out a suitably-sized area. Cleanup was with chisels and my trusty rotary tool. Then, the cavity was shielded with conductive shielding paint. A piece of conductive self-adhesive copper tape was also added to ensure connectivity between the cavity shielding and pickguard foil shield. Once dry, I sealed the shielding paint layer with a couple coats of clear.

This new configuration meant that the circuit board would now be much further away from the pots; and I'd have to splice extra wire to each of the ten leads connecting the pots to the plastic connectors. Lengthening these hookup leads was a major headache in itself. To make sure I didn't get confused about what went where, I tackled only one lead at a time. Took me the better part of the night to get all this done.

Besides this, the battery compartment had to be modified to fit only one 9V battery. This was accomplished using strategically-placed and glued high density foam inserts. Tested the mod with an Energizer Max, and it was as "snug as a bug in a rug;" as my late Dad would say.

This time I was able to reinstall the pickguard with no problems, thanks in part to the judicious use of cable ties. Called up SUK bassist Jack Firdaus to give this American Deluxe Precision Bass V a whirl; and he was here in double-quick time. After all, he'd be the one using this bass; right? Once Jack had warmed up, he went straight into slap-and-pop mode. And guess what? I actually managed to record two short videos of Jack doing his thing straight into my Laney RB2. Uploaded them to YouTube, and here they are: Video One | Video Two.

Thanks for dropping by, and do enjoy the pics :)

Taming Noisy Pickup Polepieces

The pickup polepieces of the neck pickup on this 2004 American Deluxe Precision Bass V had, over time, begun to produce awful buzzy popping noise whenever someone accidentally touched them with his/her fingers; and it was getting to be too annoying to ignore. I believe this is quite a common problem, as it's been mentioned on various forums on the web. Relatedly, Audere Audio Engineering has come up with a very helpful and informative FAQ on this subject. Do take the time to read it as it answers many questions and offers a solution.

Upon disassembling both halves of the split P-style neck pickup, I discovered that the coils were completely unshielded; which might be a contributing factor to the problem. And, as the popping noise did not occur if you touched the polepieces while touching the strings or bridge; I was certain that the polepieces needed to be grounded.

To begin with, the pickup height foam strips were carefully pried off the underside of the pickups, exposing the bottom of the polepieces. As the strips had been attached with double-sided tape; there was some goo and gunk to be cleaned off with Zippo Lighter Fluid (naphtha).

Now that the pickup bottoms were clean, a strip of conductive self-adhesive copper tape was attached. A connection was established via a short jumper wire to the negative lug of the lower pickup; which was already connected to system ground. Yes, now the polepieces were well and truly grounded.

Next, the pickup coils themselves were wrapped with black pickup-coil tape; so that the windings would not come into contact with what was coming next. Following this was the next wrap of conductive self-adhesive copper tape. Another copper tape tab was soldered to the coil wrap, and this tab was soldered to the tape grounding the bottoms of the polepieces. In this way, any rogue interference would now be blocked and shunted to ground.

After thoroughly checking for continuity with a multimeter, the pickups were reunited with their plastic casings and reinstalled. Oh yes, I did also dab a thin layer of lacquer on the tops of the polepieces. Overkill? Well, maybe :)

Soon it was time to plug her in and let it rip. Guess what? The infamously noisy polepieces were now as quiet as mice when touched. Whew ... what a relief! So, guys and girls, you might want to try the steps I've outlined here if your polepieces ever start misbehaving. Last but not least, be excellent to each other and eat your veggies :)

Seymour Duncan STC-3P Bass Preamp - Part One

Part Two ▶

Hallelujah! The Seymour Duncan STC-3P Bass Preamp is finally here. If you will recall, the store had earlier sent an STC-3M4, which would not work for the 2004 American Deluxe Precision Bass V electronics upgrade we've got planned. This one, thankfully, has got the features we need: Master Volume, Pickup Blend Control; and three-band EQ.

The Master Volume pot is a push/pull. Pushed in, it operates as a regular master volume for both pickups. Pulled up, the "Slap Contour" circuit is engaged; which, as the name implies, is an EQ preset specifically tailored to slap-and-pop techniques. Do note that the Slap Contour mid cut and bass boost can be "fine-tuned" by adjusting two trimpots located on the circuit board.

The bass/treble controls share one concentric pot; giving us a total of four controls. Now, if we'd gotten a preamp with separate controls for bass and treble; we'd have no place for the fifth pot as this bass has only four holes in the pickguard. I've hooked up the preamp to the pickups, and everything works as it should.

In the upcoming episode, we'll find out whether the pickguard can be reinstalled without any problem. If the new innards are too bulky to fit; we'll most probably have to enlarge or modify the control cavity. That's all for this post. Stay home, stay safe, and stay tuned; folks :)

Seymour Duncan STC-3M4 Bass Preamp

The bass player who wanted to upgrade his 2004 American Deluxe Precision Bass V had actually ordered a Seymour Duncan STC-3P Tone Circuit (onboard preamp). However, he was sent this "STC-3M4 Tone Circuit for Music Man Bass" instead. Which would be totally unusable as the STC-3M4 lacked a dedicated pickup blend pot; while his Precision Bass V had two pickups in a P/J configuration. In any case, since the box was already open, it would have been be a waste not to take some pics and share them with you; my faithful readers. Last I heard, the store had admitted their mistake and would be sending him an STC-3P. Stay tuned for updates :)

HM Studio Kuantan

HM Studio is a privately-owned rehearsal and recording studio that is fast gaining a reputation as the most comfortable and up-to-date facility in Kuantan. Two rehearsal rooms are available for hire: a rehearsal/jamming room, and a dedicated recording room. The owner is rumored to be the 3rd largest collector of Gibson guitars in Malaysia. Well, I did mention "rumors," right?

However, what I do know is that this humble and down-to-earth dude owns a staggering collection of vintage and modern guitars from makers such as Gibson, Fender, PRS, Gretsch, and Tyler. He's also into vintage tube amps and pedals. Don't be surprised to see an array Fender, Marshall, Mesa-Boogie and Hiwatt (to mention a few) amp heads and combos both inside and outside the rehearsal rooms. Then there's the vintage Ibanez, Boss and Maxon pedals --- you'll be spoilt for choice!

The keeper of  HM Studio is the "All-Seeing Skull," who remains perched on his favorite vintage Fender Super Reverb combo after everyone has gone home and the studio is deathly quiet and empty. I've visited HM Studio many a time in the past, and found it to be a very laid-back and ultra-cool joint. There's even a hang-out corner with a widescreen LED where clients can chill while waiting for their turn; or after a session. Now, what more can one ask for?

Squier Vintage Modified '77 Jazz Bass

This black beauty belongs to Juan of Kuantan-based indie band Whizzer. He wanted it derusted, cleaned, polished; and restrung with La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin' Bass flatwound strings. Of course, I was only too happy to oblige. I'll let the pics tell the story of what went down. Meanwhile, a little research at the websites of Swee Lee and Music Bliss have unearthed quite a bit of information concerning this instrument. Most of the features would be quite obvious even to the non-musician; but I'm listing them here for the sake of future reference.

Body Material: Agathis
Body Finish: Gloss Polyester Black
Neck: Maple/bolt-on/"C"-shaped profile/vintage-tint gloss finish
Fretboard: Maple/34" scale/9.5" radius/pearloid block inlays/white binding
Frets: 20 medium jumbo
Bridge: 4-saddle standard bridge
Pickups: Two Fender-designed single-coil Jazz Bass
Tuners: Standard Open-Gear
Controls: Neck pickup volume/bridge pickup volume/master tone
Knobs: Black Strat-style
Pickguard: Three-ply black/white/black
Hardware Finish: Chrome