something amiss with my fortress - volume issues

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ahpook

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i've been scratching my head about this for a while, but i'm convinced there's something wrong with the pickups or preamp in my '94 fortress. basically it's quite low output and not very bassy at all - compared with my rockbass fortress fretless it sound week and weedy.

i've tried adjusting the trim pot on the preamp, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all - it just spins and spins and makes no difference to the sound.

any ideas, short of replacing all the electronics ?
 
Have you looked at your power (battery) of the preamp. maybe some wire is loose.
 
I felt the same about my 97 F1 and so did Pedro,we both fitted EMG pups in the end.
 
i don't think the trim pot is supposed to spin all the wat around i thought it had stops at each end.
 
Hey Ahpook! Do you have passive pickups and preamp? If so then there is probably nothing wrong with your bass, it's just a bit of a tame animal. Like Verb mentioned above, we have both switched out the original pickups for EMG's and that seems to have solved the problem.

I also had a rockbass fortress originally and found that to be much more aggressive, owing both to the active pickups/preamp and the body wood aswell (ash as opposed to maple). You could if you wanted replace your whole electrics system with MEC active pickups and preamp, but MEC pickups do seem very expensive - i think you would be looking at £300+, where as the EMG pickups I went for were just over £100.

In the mean time put more emphasis on the P pickup and max out the treble and the bass, and let your amp do the rest of the work.

Good luck!
Let us know how you get on!
 
thanks pedro - i do indeed have the passive pickups and active circuit, so it looks like new pickups might be the way to go, though i am concerned about the every-spinning trim pot in the circuit....

and the pickup height is pretty much as far up as it will go rikaddictedto.
 
do you have mec passive pups i know they had seymour duncans at one time stock but i don't remember which years though.
 
Pedro said:
Hey Ahpook! Do you have passive pickups and preamp? If so then there is probably nothing wrong with your bass, it's just a bit of a tame animal. Like Verb mentioned above, we have both switched out the original pickups for EMG's and that seems to have solved the problem.
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which EMG pickups did you go for ?

i'm very tempted to go with a wizard pickups pj set...i've used their precision pickups before and they sound great.
 
I fitted the standard active EMGs and an Aguilar OBP 3 preamp,and iirc Pedro fitted the EMG X series pickups with the EMG single tone control that came with the pups.
 
thanks for the info - certainly something to think about
 
Yep, Verb's right, I went with the EMG X active pickups. It gives 2 volume controls and a single tone, also only has 3 pots so keep one of your old pots from your current setup or you will have a weird hole lol.

The EMG X's are, imo, very good. The J pickup on its own is a little weak, perhaps even a bit muddy, so I tend to have the P pickup at full volume and just give it a little bit of the J pickup when I need some extra weight to my sound. Combined with my Tubepath its a great combination, but I do let the amp do most of the work tonally.
 
i haven't tried the emgx pups but i don't realy like emgs to much i have them in a fender and a spector i'm thinking of switching the tone pump out for a emg preamp and if i still don't like it swap everything out
 
as a proof of concept, i took a wizard pickups stealth pickup in the fortess from a fender i'd modded and it sounds amazing now...i can't believe how weak the originals were compare the the replacement.

the pole pieces don't match up with the string positions, so i'm going to get hold of a bartolini set to take advantage of the blade pieces.
 
just an update - i managed to snag a bartolini 8S precision pickup for my fortress from ebay, and managed to fit it tonight before practice.

wow...what a difference...

sounds like a different bass...but in a good way

happy man !
 
Florin said:
:-)
Click to expand...

that's a pretty good summation of my mood after i put the bartolini in.

i'm very much a front-pickup man, so i may not even bother replacing the jazz p-up...

unless a cheapy turns up somewhere !


a quick thank you for everyone's help and suggestions.
 
U just have to play a fortress unplugged to appreciate the beauty of the wood choice. It growls and gives off warmth even when there's no volume - its just a case of finding the right electricals to bring out that sound!

Glad your happy, man!
 
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