do active bass pick-ups go bad???

primussucks_79 · #1 10-07-2008, 08:15 PM

I was at band practice a couple days and i plugged in my Yamaha RBX 750A which is an active bass into my amp and it was much quieter than usual...actually a little quieter than the drummers passive bass. I have changed the battery and still the same result...i have to run my bass into the non-padded input on my amp and still turn it up a little....is it possible that the electronics in my pick-up went out??? I'm not sure what would cause this, any suggestions???

fenderhutz · #2 10-07-2008, 08:17 PM

Sitting your bass against the front of your amp can wreck havok on pickups.

I was advised I needed to send my Basslines to Seymore Duncan to get them "De-Gaused" when I lost output.

Catalin · #3 10-08-2008, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Sitting your bass against the front of your amp can wreck havok on pickups.

What do you mean?

Ric5 · #4 10-08-2008, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Sitting your bass against the front of your amp can wreck havok on pickups.

I was advised I needed to send my Basslines to Seymore Duncan to get them "De-Gaused" when I lost output.

de-gaussing pickups = demagnetizing them. No magnetic field = no output at all.

Any pickup can go bad in 2 ways. The wiring can fail or the magnet can de-gauss.

SteveC · #5 10-08-2008, 07:45 AM

Cold this happen to just part of the pickup? The D and G strings on mine seem to have lower output than the rest. They are Bart 5 string jazz pups.

primussucks_79 · #6 10-08-2008, 05:04 PM

I have opened my bass up but haven't found any obvious wiring problems.....and All the strings are at the same audio level...if my pickup have lost their magnetism do i need to get new pick-ups????

MacheteSteve · #7 10-08-2008, 05:08 PM

i have active pickups and i find you just have to replace the batteries every now and then.

primussucks_79 · #8 10-08-2008, 06:55 PM

i've replaced the battery

Stone Age · #9 10-08-2008, 07:10 PM

Anything can go bad.

You sure it's not an EQ problem? I've been going crazy with my Ibanez lately because the stupid EQ knobs on it keep getting moved around. The volume drops off a cliff.

I don't know anything about your bass in particular. Other possibilities are that the pickup has been lowered towards the body on the treble side, or maybe the action has changed on those strings? Are you sure the amp settings haven't changed? Every time someone else helps me move my gear, every knob seems to get bumped...

But it could just be bad pickups.

JimmyM · #10 10-08-2008, 07:11 PM

I had an EMG go bad about 3 years ago. It was over 20 years old, though, so I felt like I got a good run with it.