Aria SB-404/5 Bass

Here's an Aria SB-404/5 bass that, stock, would have featured active electronics, a Mahogany body, Maple/Nato five ply neck (thru body construction), 24 fret Rosewood fingerboard, 34 inch scale length, two BDS-5 humbuckers, black hardware, and a Stained Natural (SN) finish. However, looking at it today, the only stock features are the strings-through-body bridge, neck and body. The owner had long ago upgraded this bass with gold-plated tuners, EMG 45HZ pickups and a RAM Bass preamp system (master volume, pickup blend, and boost/cut treble/bass controls).

He loves this bass to bits, but was troubled by intermittent hum and noise. While evaluating the electronics, I noticed a couple of problems  i) the control cavity was totally unshielded, ii) the back of the control cavity cover was bare, iii) connecting wires had not been trimmed to length; and iv) the preamp module had simply been shoved into place.

I suspected the lack of shielding and excess wire length to be the main culprits behind the hum and noise. Thus said, I proceeded to 1) shield the control cavity walls with shielding paint and a ground tab, ii) add an aluminium plate to the back of the control cavity cover, iii) trim excess wire length and resolder components; and iv) secure the preamp module. I'm glad to report that these measures succeded in minimizing the problem.  

Further Reading

Aria SB-404/5 Ovangkol 5-String Electric Bass Guitar | Music123

Bass Review - For Bassist : Aria SB 405/5

Aria Pro SB-404-5 | Reverb

ESP LTD EX260 BLK

The black beauty (that's what the "BLK" stands for) featured in this post came in for a string change, general setup and electronics check. Kindly note that the electronics configuration is non-stock. The passive neck humbucker, 3-way toggle switch, and bridge ground have been disconnected, leaving exposed wires dangling dangerously. Talk about a sure-fire recipe for a short.

The only functioning components are the bridge EMG humbucker (active), master volume, and master tone 25K pots. There's no separate battery compartment, so the single 9V battery has simply been wedged in between the pots and control cavity wall. One positive aspect is that the whole control cavity has been coated with shielding paint, and metal foil glued to the back of the control cavity cover.

Thus said, all that was left for me to do here was trim excess/disconnected wire, insulate the ends with heat-shrink tubing, and resolder the bridge ground. Here are some specs for this particular EX260, based on my observations and information sourced from Stringsite and Ultimate Guitar.

Construction / Scale: Set Neck / 24.75” 
Body: Agathis
Neck / Fingerboard: 3-Piece Maple / Rosewood
Nut Type / Width: Standard / 42mm
Neck Shape: Thin U
Fret Markers: Dots
Inlay: 12th Fret "Name Inlay"
Frets: 22 Extra Jumbo
Hardware: Black Nickel
Tuners: ESP-LTD
Bridge: Tune-o-matic with Stop Tailpiece

Schecter Stiletto Studio 6 LH Bass

Schecter Stiletto Studio 6 LH | Specifications

Model Name: Stiletto Studio 6 LH
Color: Honey Satin (HSN)
Dexterity: Left Handed (LH)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Construction: Neck-Thru with Ultra Access
Body: Mahogany
Top: Bubinga
Neck: Maple/Walnut Multi-ply with Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Rods
Fretboard: Rosewood
Inlays: Abalone Offset Dots
Scale: 35”
Frets: 24 Extra Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 16”
Neck Shape: Thin ‘C’
Nut: Graph Tech XL Black Tusq
Truss Rod: Dual Truss Rods (2-Way Adjustable)
Pickups: EMG 45HZ (Neck/Bridge)
Power Source: 18V (9V Battery x 2)
Preamp: EMG B64rC (Bass/Mid/Treble, Boost/Cut)
Controls: Master Volume (500K), Blend (250K), 3-Band Active EQ
Hardware: Satin Gold
Bridge: Diamond Custom Bass
Tuners: Schecter
Knobs: Metal Knurled with Set Screw

Source: Schecter Website

Schecter Stiletto Studio 6 LH | Work Done

Now that we're done with specs, let's talk about work done on this particular bass. Besides action/intonation work, the owner wanted the electronics checked out thoroughly, as there'd been unwanted hum and noise of late. First of all, I checked out the shielding paint job and found it to be spotty in places, especially around the output jack. There was also minimal contact between the control cavity shielding and the metal foil on the back of the control cavity cover. I don't equate a blotch of shielding paint with adequate contact (see pic #9). To remedy the situation, I repainted the entire control cavity in a couple layers of shielding paint. Also added was a copper foil strip that would make firm contact with the foil on the back of the control cavity cover when closed. Behold, a Faraday Cage of sorts! 

I worked on the electronics next. Both the 500K master volume and 250K pickup blend pots were going kaput, and scratchy as hell despite loads of contact cleaner. The 250K mini pot was the worse of the two. Besides suffering from a corroded exterior and intermittent contact, it was near impossible to latch on to the center detent. Time to go, said I. On the other hand, the EMG B64rC preamp and its associated bass/mid/treble pots were working fine, much to my relief.

The owner eventually decided to go with a Jazz bass-style layout, ie individual Alpha 500K volume pots for both the neck and bridge pickups; which would feed into the preamp.

The final part of the job was rewiring the output jack. The original soldering job was so corroded that the ground wire simply snapped off while I was repositioning components. Glad I caught that in time. That's about it for my report, so let's look at some pics now.

     

Ibanez RGIR27FE Iron Label 7 String Guitar

Is the art job on this particular RGIR27FE Iron Label stock? Nope, so you won't find anything quite like it in Bentley or eBay, for that matter. It's a custom job for the Pilgrims'/Achtung Riders' guitar player, who shall remain unnamed. Yes, it's all nifty sticker work, and not a paint job. Only the bottom half of the body and neck remain untouched. I have to admit that this is the first 7 string guitar I've ever played, let alone worked on. Imagine my surprise then, when I found myself happily strumming away (while carefully avoiding the low B string, of course) after just a few minutes. The neck, though wider than you'll find on a 6 string, is really comfy; for want of a better word.

Looks good, feels great, so what's the problem? Turns out the guitar would quite often go dead whenever the 3-way switch was in the middle and neck positions. All the electronic components checked out OK and the single 9V battery still had lots of juice. However, a closer look at the control cavity and output jack wiring revealed some pretty gnarly soldering as well as  burnt insulation. Ah, well ... let's deconstruct this baby, rewire it and see if that solves the problem. I'm glad to say that after rewiring the switches, 25K volume pot and output jack; this RGIR27FE sounds a whole lot better in all three positions.

The moral of this story is that you can equip your axe with the best components money can buy, but still screw it all up with a poor soldering job. Cold solder joints can fail at any moment, and burnt insulation can cause shorts when you least expect it (besides looking absolutely gnarly). Below you'll find some specs I found on the Ibanez website, followed by a couple of pics I took with my Zenfone 4. Enjoy :)

Origin: Indonesia
Neck: Nitro Wizard-7 3pc Maple/Bubinga
Body: Basswood
Fretboard: Bound Rosewood, 400mm Radius
Scale Length: 25.5"
Fretboard Markers: Side Dot
Frets: 24, Jumbo
Bridge: Gibraltar Standard II-7
Pickups: EMG® 707 Alnico Humbuckers (Active)
Hardware Color: Cosmo Black
Notable Feature: Kill Switch