FNA Jazzman Circuit Boards

MediaCriminal

MediaCriminal

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I have a 32" 5 string 2004 and a 34" 5 string 2005. I was just changing the batteries and noticed the 2005 has 11 fewer components on the circuit board as compared to my 2004. See pictures...

They both have boards that say "02-2002" but the '05 has fewer resistors, chips, whatever. Does anyone know why the change?

That stuff had to be doing something !! lol

Thanks, Frank
 
I'd bet if you took that first one out, it would have the same 'missing' components on the other side of the board. Just my thoughts.. :D ~M~
 
The back side of the board has no componenets...just a a piece of adhesive foam sheet to hold it in place.
 
That's weird then... Must be two different Rev's of the same design. I'm stumped. :? ~M~
 
Just from looking at the pics, besides the missing components they look like silghtly different boards. I'd see if you can get a direct comparison between another one from the same year, see if it has components missing, the circuit could have been optimized over the years. Fewever components = cheaper production and all that.
 
Although the wires obscure the full view of either PC board, it's hard to see if the artwork is really different on either board. The design appears similar (both appear to have transistor stages and one dual op-amp).

I see what appear to be two additional transistor stages in the second photo. The 2 transistors themselves, their associated resistors, capacitors etc., are missing from the simplified design. The engineers must have determined that the extra transistor stages were not really necessary.

At the very least, removing the two extra stages would improve battery life.

Are these preamps functionally the same (i.e., pickups passive or active, both 2-way; both 3-way)? It seems that the type of pickups (passive or active) would impact preamp requirements.

O
 
Both are passive pickups with 3 band active electronics. The only difference is the year, the color of the bass and one has a 32" neck while the other has a 34" neck. I emailed the question to DBG tech dept. here in the US. They should answer soon.
 
I'm sure DBG can sort this out. Anything else would at best be conjecture. Even MEC does not provide much detail about their electronics.

This is a very interesting thread.

O
 
Oliver... can you shed any light on this question. It's unusual but no answer from DBG on 2 emails. Normally they are on the spot. Maybe they are swamped. Thanks...
 
Well...still no response from DBG or MEC. Very strange. I see from the owners manual that the tone circuits were once supplied by SD Basslines. Anyone know what the tone difference was between the SD and MEC?

I am finding the tone of the FNA Jazz too middy for me and am considering changing the pickups. I love the way it plays and it is a 32" 5-string so selling it and buying a "punchier" bass with more lows is not an option. Not many 32" 5 strings of this price and quality available. I rather get the tone I am looking for from a pickup swap and judging from a review of past posts it looks like it is achievable. I have an ash Standard 5 with active MEC's and it is very punchy while maintaining the growl. I love it.
 
The Jazzman is made from light ash so the bottom it produces is very open and airy allowing the barky mids to dominate the tone. One of my first posts was on this subject and I think SD made a mid scoop option in the electronics for slappers. Tone-wise, I can't remember anyone saying there was any difference. I want to change it's tone but am hesitant to change anything on my Warwicks as they are investments as well as beloved possesions so I ended up getting another jazz bass but still pull out the Fna J from time to time.
 
I have heard this before but I am somewhat confused since I have a Vette Standard 5 CS with an all ash body and active MEC's and it has a ton of bottom and punch with none of the "barky" mids (good adjective!). Both strung with DR Lo-Beams. I was thinking that it was the maple cap that was adding the mids (and the weight!) to the Jazzman.
 
Those active mecs make a big difference to me particularly in the neck postion since the one on the Jazzman is completely passive. It grunts but doesn't have the extended bass range of an active J so the rear pup is dominant. I much prefer MEC active J design....oh wait, none of this is actually helping but it's good to talk to another Jazzman owner.
 
Yes it is good to hear other prospectives on the Jazzman. I am considering a Bartolini for both positions. Here is the link for the Barts I am considering:



The latter link is the Jazz pickup and I am considering the 59 J1 L1(Bridge) and the 59CBJD1-L1(Bridge). I need to use a Bridge pickup due to the size of the MEC I am replacing. Main difference between the two Bart Jazz pickups is that there is more top end presence in the 59CBJD version. I have not decided which Jazz I want to try. Any first hand info on these Barts? I have used a Bart on my P-Bass in the past and loved it.
 
I've been to that page as well and was put off by the term "airy" on the top end. So now I'm thinking, great now I'll have an airy top and bottom. Part of the problem with replacing this particular pickup is they have to be earless (no screw holes) which as far as my search went, limits me to the Barts or MM. I'm going to go through my old posts to find the guy here that made a good swap he says.
 
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