Epiphone EBM-4 electric problems.

[Cyril Marien]

Hi all ! Newbie here.

I have an electric issue with this Epiphone EBM-4 bass a friend of mine brought to me for setup & repair. It has ‘active pickups’, of which I know little to none. Even with a fresh 9V battery connected, it doesn’t give any sound at all. On the web there’s no info or schemes about the electric setup. Any of you can help me out here ??

 

 

[ksdaddy]

I can barely change a light bulb but the first thing I would look at is if the 9 volts is getting to the preamp. Easy enough with a voltmeter. Second, the jack has a switch built into it that kills power once the cord is unplugged. If that connection is dirty or oxidized, there will be nothing. Just shoot some contact cleaner into the jack and poke the plug in and out repeatedly.

Personally I use WD-40 to clean contacts but I know the electronics guys will burn me in effigy for saying it. It doesn't work and it's just plain bad....that's why I've used it for almost 40 years lol.

[Cyril Marien]

I read somewhere that most of the time it’s not the pickups that are ‘active’, but adding a pre-amp does that.

Does that mean that by taking out the pre-amp section (printplate, pots etc.) and rewiring the pickups in some ‘passive’ way will do the job ?

I know that I first need to check all the wiring and stuff. Problem is that I am a complete newbie to electronics.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Cyril Marien

[ksdaddy]

Chances are, the pickups either won't work at all or the output will be unacceptably low.