Yep, thanks for this time. I don't view your questions as insulting and I appreciate them. I did finish my post with a disclaimer that I'm a dummy about this stuff, so here goes:
ORIGINAL: yep
A lot of the obvious questions are insulting at this point, but since you didn't clarify:
Did you securely insulate the stripped/soldered joints, e.g. with shrink wrap? On a scale of 1-10, how certain that exposed wire is not touching any other metal or wire or shielding?
8
Well, after I soldered, I used liquid electrical tape to cover up my work.
On a scale of 1-10, how sure are you of your solder connections?
7
I actually took the battery connector off of another pedal I had, and twisted the black/black & red/red, these are the junctions I soldered. I just soldered to ensure they wouldn't twist apart, and then I covered with the liquid electrical tape.
On a scale of 1-10, how sure are you that something else did not pull loose? The windings that attach to the battery wires are a lot more fragile than the battery wires, remember....
8
Pretty sure, I again, used a working battery connector, and just twisted the wires. I did this because the original one from the bass was really poorly constructed with a very thin plastic backing that I had to use a knife to uncover from the original solder points. Underneath, there was thin cardboard bridging the two button-style connectors. That's why I tried to use a more sturdy connector and twist the wires. Therein could lie my problem.
How sure are you that the battery is good? stranger things have happened...
The battery ain't great, but it stung my tongue pretty good when I touched it, and powered up the tuner I took it from. I def. need to get a brand new one in any case. I figured at the very least I'd get a distorted signal again, not NO sound!!
Are these actual genuine active pickups, or are they passive pickups with an on-board preamp (active electronics)? The troubleshooting is different.
Hmm, I always assumed they were active. I just did a search and they are
EMG-HZ Pickups w/ Pre-amp.
On a scale of 1-10, how good of a solderer are you? Any possibility that you blew out the pickups with "hulk smash" soldering technique? Do you make quick, slick, invisible solders with perfectly smooth and shiny surfaces, or do you leave gobs of clumpy gray lava behind with bits of char and scorch marks?
2
Not sure what hulk smash technique is, and I hope I didn't do it. Unfortunately, I do leave gobs of clumpy gray lava (thought not as much as in the past), but no char and scorch marks. I actually was able to keep the solder to just around the wires with a minimum of drips this time.
Well, based upon your questions and my responses. I'm pretty sure I fouled up the whole thing. I sure could use your help, YEP!
Again, my disclaimer is that I am not an electronics guy and that's why I'm here. Please have mercy on me. I appreciate any and all help you can give.
Thanks!
Cheers.
post edited by spindlebox - 2008/09/10 07:30:10