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As there seem to be alot of guitar players on here I'm hoping someone can help.
After a very long time of not playing my bass I've dug it out and plugged it in.
Its a Westone Thunder 1A which I bought in 1983! I don't think its been plugged in in about 10 years. In passive mode there is no sound coming out the amp whatsoever. I've also plugged the same amp and cable into a different guitar and that works so it would seem to be down to the wiring in the bass and I'm wondering if its not caused by oxidization or a short ciruit grounding the output.
The bass has an active circuit and turned on, there is sound and the pots work. Turned off there is nothing. There is also alot of hum, much less than the guitar and the E string volume is a lot less than the strings.
I have also tried an Vox AMPlug and I don't know how sensitive the input is but the volume is very low in my headphones and much lower than my iPod.
So does anyone know if a Vox AMPlug should sound lound in my earphones and does anyone know how to sort the electronics?
if it's working (ish) on the active circuit but not on the passive circuit, or on the E string, then I suspect either (a) the bottom pickup isn't working or (b) the whole of the wiring needs looking at. I suspect (b)
there should be some plastic plates on the back that you can unscrew to get at the wiring but, unless you're any good with electronics, I'd take it into a decent guitar shop & get it looked at. Shouldn't cost too much.
My mate had a Westone Thunder back in the day. Stuart Morrow (ex New Model Army) also had one, see here:
I doubt if the problem is with the Vox thing
Multimeter it! Sounds the same as my collection of electric guitars all of which need some TLC following years of abuse being gigged and then put away for a few years.
In my case I suspect either corroded switches/pots or the pickups have expired after being sweated on for a long while 😉
I had one of those too 25 years ago - it was a great guitar!
Strange that the active circuit works. Thought the battery would be completely dead after that long. My first bass was a westone thunder but it was passive.
I put new batteries in 🙂
I've sprayed the pots with WD40 but its not improved things. I can't see any broken wires. Perhaps a trip to the shop is needed. But I'll have a go with a multi meter first. In passive mode, there is some earthing hum which I can turn up and down with the volume knob, so something is going through it.