[CORRECTION: This article originally stated to use epoxy; that was incorrect. The correct material is silicone. Apologies for the misinformation.]
I’ll start off this one by saying up front that this topic is a little gross.
Okay, let’s not sugar-coat it.. this is really gross… but it happens.
Some guys sweat buckets when playing their bass guitar on stage, and sweat so much that the moisture actually gets into the electronics, ruins them and makes the bass unplayable.
In the somewhat-rare instances where this happens, certain guitar techs have had to come up with inventive solutions to keep the player from ruining his bass.
One such guitar tech, Jessica Hill, encountered such a problem where the player was ruining his bass guitars due to sweat getting everywhere. She tried Google to find a solution to the sweat problem. No luck. After several phone calls, she got in touch with Jason Newsted’s tech (Jason is of the high-sweat variety), and from that conversation developed a way to “sweatproof” a bass guitar.
Step 1. Seal the pickup modular connector
The pickups in the instrument Jessica was working on were EMG brand, and they have modular connectors, which of course is an exposed point where moisture could get in. That was sealed with silicone.
Step 2. Seal the hole where the wires go (from the pickup cavity)
Silicone to the rescue here once again. To prevent moisture from getting down to where the control knobs are, that hole was sealed up as well.
Step 3. Create a “gasket” for the rear plate cover
A thin foam-like material was cut to the shape o the rear plate cover, and then the rear plate was screwed back down over the “gasket”, effectively keeping out any moisture that would want to get in there.
Does it work?
Yes, it does.
No, there is no specific “kit” you can buy to sweatproof a bass, because it doesn’t exist. Jessica as well as other techs in the industry have had to come up with “preventative maintenance” ideas just to keep the bass guitars working right.
You can find Jessica on Facebook and LinkedIn.
She hangs out with some pretty cool people, by the way. 🙂
Maybe you should heat shrink your modular connectors instead of epoxying them and ruining their purpose.
I wouldn’t use epoxy, maybe RTV or rubberized speaker adhesive. The speaker adhesive is more difficult to remove than RTV.
Fill the connectors with electronic grease and plug them back in, wipe off the excess. MAYBE O-rings around the pot shafts under the knobs, maybe not?
Some nail polish on screws and exposed pick-up poles help.
Dielectric grease makes a lot more sense for the connectors. That’s what it’s made for. We use it for connectors in all kinds if nasty testing condition at work and exterior trailer wiring and such.
Dielectric grease makes a lot more sense than epoxy. That’s what it’s made for.
Use “blue pooky” … otherwise known as Blue RTV. It is totally fluid proof AND does not make connections permanent like epoxy does. It’s stupid easy to apply, it comes in a “toothpaste tube” with a tip you can cut to suit your situation. It’s dielectric (won’t electrically connect stuff that is not supposed to be electrically connected) and may also be used to form a gasket. Run an even bead of it around the mating surfaces of the control plate/cavity cover (make sure to put it on the cover plate and not the bass), then allow it to completely dry and cure BEFORE you put the cover on the bass. Once it cures, you now have a totally fluid proof seal that may be refined and shaped with a single edged razor blade. And since it is adhered to the cavity cover and not the bass, you have not ~ruined~ the bass body itself. It cures into a nice rubbery consistancy and is a medium blue color. Excess may also be easily trimmed off with an Exacto blade or razor blade after it cures. It is used by builders of $250,000 racing engines so I think it will be sufficient for any bass in any situation. It can be formed and shaped very easily when still ~wet~ by putting a little saliva on your finger and smoothing/shaping the applied RTV with the wet fingertip. The saliva prevents the pooky from sticking to your finger and allows you to ~trowel~ the stuff and make it look all nice and good.
BLUE RTV folks …. I’ve used it for years on many things! It’s even heat proof to over 1,200f should the need arise. Cures in about 6 hours, but it’s best to allow 24 hours.
Find it under PERMATEX #77B, it’s called “RTV silicone gasket maker” by Permatex. Also known as “77B”. (No I don’t work for Permatex, I just use it alot).