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 :)

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 :)