The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Bill's Shop: Projects, Mods & Repairs => Topic started by: drbassman on February 24, 2015, 08:44:21 AM
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OK, the jack on my Kubicki has been acting up. The problem with the though-body jacks is their enclosed case. You can't tighten up the plug clip when it gets stretched. I like using them, but they do wear out. Of course, I decided to check it out and several fun things appear. First, the electronics, ala NASA, are crammed into the cavity with zero tolerance. I had to remove all of the circuitry guts just to get at the bottom of the jack. The guess what, one of the jack wires broke off the circuit board (a tad brittle after 20+ years). Not a big deal, just annoying.
So, I ordered a new through-body stereo jack. It needed it anyway. When it arrives, I'll be back asking for pointers on wiring my first ever stereo jack. I'll probably go with new wires for the jack to circuit board run.
The biggest pisser about this is I was going to take it to practice tomorrow. Oh well! :-[
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The guess what, one of the jack wires broke off the circuit board (a tad brittle after 20+ years). Not a big deal, just annoying.
Of course it did! Sounds like my luck. I'm not a fan of those barrel jacks either.
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Of course it did! Sounds like my luck. I'm not a fan of those barrel jacks either.
Yeah, barrel jacks! Couldn't think of the term on my own. I'm dying to play this bass but have to wait for the parts now.
If something bad can happen, I can usually count on it. Comes with the territory of tinkering and fixing things myself.
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Ah, grasshoppa, remember no good deed goes unpunished. :P
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Ah, grasshoppa, remember no good deed goes unpunished. :P
For sure, Al.
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I went XLR decades back... never had a failure... ;)
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XLR?
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XLR?
These:
(http://www.swamp.net.au/images/productimages/Large/YS146.jpg)
By barrel jack do you mean these:
(http://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk/system/cache/jack-socket-barrel-type-stereo_cms_site_products_images_1295-1-643_800_800_False.png)
If so then note that the lower end Neutrik ones (aka REAN) are notoriously unreliable. Spring the extra bucks for the Switchcraft ones. I use them in speaker cabs and learned the hard way - sometimes even new, the Rean/Neutriks just don't work right. Which is odd because all their other stuff is rock solid (I use Rean RCA jacks all the time; best quality:price ratio). If I was a bit more pessimistic I'd posit that they did that intentionally to get folks to switch over to speakon, but it's more likely that it was just due to factory change/offshoring.
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Interesting. The issue might be the space provided for the jack is limited and these might be too large. I'll do some measuring to see.
I assume you can wire the cable to go from XLR to a 2 conductor 1/4" cable that plugs into the amp jack?
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I repaired a Kubicki jack once for a good friend and the EXACT SAME THING happened. I re-lived all the horror again just now.
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Mics tend to use XLR plugs as their connector and as a three pin they are stereo capable as an option with a three core flex... came as standard on Alembic, iirc...
I like them because the are locking connections and I get very little noise issues... I have/had them on cabs too... adaptors are multi-choice...
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Interesting. The issue might be the space provided for the jack is limited and these might be too large. I'll do some measuring to see.
I assume you can wire the cable to go from XLR to a 2 conductor 1/4" cable that plugs into the amp jack?
You can buy xlr to 1/4" adaptors, just make sure the one you buy is for instrument cable.
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You can buy xlr to 1/4" adaptors, just make sure the one you buy is for instrument cable.
Less than $5 delivered on Ebay
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I repaired a Kubicki jack once for a good friend and the EXACT SAME THING happened. I re-lived all the horror again just now.
It's always something! I like the XLR idea but I don't think there's enough room for the jack.
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FYI: Phil Kubicki is a pretty accessible guy if you reach out.
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Phil Kubicki died in 2013.
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FYI: Phil Kubicki is a pretty accessible guy if you reach out.
Unfortunately, he passed away on March 18, 2013. I had heard that about him before. With the available room, I think the only thing that will fit is the barrel jack. Bummer..... :-\
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I've seen these on some basses. Locking 1/4'' jack. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Switchcraft/E111L/?qs=EUmV0Jb91HMZ0hh0FJdmag%3D%3D&kpid=43041870&gclid=CJHM1KeQgMQCFQaSaQodFwUAYw
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Yeah, but if an XLR won't fit; neither will that (those were developped by Neutrick to fit the same punchouts as their D Series XLR jacks).
Also Mouser is, like, THE most expensive place to buy audio jacks from (along with Digikey). Only maybe worth it if you need to order other stuff from them anyway.
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Phil Kubicki died in 2013.
So....this would be the best contact methodology?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/English_ouija_board.jpg)
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Ah yes, socket-to 'em Al... ;)
Just a thought... XLR's a considerably shorter depth that a barrel connector so if you were willing to cut a larger hole it would fit and might be an answer...?
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So....this would be the best contact methodology?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/English_ouija_board.jpg)
Huh...Ouija look at that!
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Ah yes, socket-to 'em Al... ;)
Just a thought... XLR's a considerably shorter depth that a barrel connector so if you were willing to cut a larger hole it would fit and might be an answer...?
'
Neutrik makes chassis stereo jacks in the XLR size too, short but wide.
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Got the Kubicki wired up. My first time with a circuit board. As you can see, there's no room to move in there! And no room for an XLR or standard jack on the tail of the bass.
Here's the old jack. They even had to trim the poles to make it fit in the tiny compartment.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Kubicki%20Bass/DSCN0947_zpsqznlye8a.jpg) (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/drbassman/media/Kubicki%20Bass/DSCN0947_zpsqznlye8a.jpg.html)
Here's everything jammed in. I use cloth insulated wire in all of my work, so deployed that here too. Much heavier, easy to use.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Kubicki%20Bass/DSCN0942_zpsibzshelu.jpg) (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/drbassman/media/Kubicki%20Bass/DSCN0942_zpsibzshelu.jpg.html)
Had to extend the ground wire too so I could get it soldered.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/drbassman/Kubicki%20Bass/DSCN0944_zpssdix9lk5.jpg) (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/drbassman/media/Kubicki%20Bass/DSCN0944_zpssdix9lk5.jpg.html)
All done and sounds great! Hope I don't have to do that again for 20 or more years! It's going to practice next week, can't wait.
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I would have probably got the router out and enlarged the compartment. :)
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If it weren't a future vintage piece, I would have!
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If it weren't a future vintage piece, I would have!
Oh, we have all enlarged holes on future vintage pieces, have we not?
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Oh, we have all enlarged holes on future vintage pieces, have we not?
:rimshot: ;D " Try the veal folks!! .... I'll be here all week......"
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Wholly cavity, Batman! Hand me my headlight, I'm going in! 8)
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No... Holy Hole Doc-Man...! If only I'd have thought of that with my PC...!
Bill, when it comes to worrying about keeping something "original", it's a sure sign she's not a keeper... every mod I've carried out (read "butchery" here ;D) has been to make something more functional (imho), excluding the fins... :o
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Phil Kubicki died in 2013.
Oops. Been a while since i contacted him. He was very helpful and supportive when i reached out.
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I hear ya Kenny. I've always been hesitant to mod something old that wasn't already defiled by someone else first! It's not a museum piece anyway, but the problem I have is the drilling I'd like to do is for a standard 1/4" jack and there ins't enough room to do that without really buggering it up. Because of the design, you can't get a drill bit going in straight and I don't think a crooked hole would work.
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Definitely deferring to your greater knowledge here... ;)