Stingray 5 harsh and trebly

powellmacaque · #1 06-12-2011, 01:40 PM

I've noticed over the past several months that my Stingray 5 has been sounding harsh and trebly on the G string especially. Just to save any further questions:

* I've tried new batteries, several brands, several packs. Doesn't seem to fix the problem.

* I've tried the bass on different amps and I've tried the -dB setting on these amps, and no dice.

* My preamp is almost always set flat on the bass.

Could it be a problem with the pickups, or a wiring problem? The sound I'm getting is just a really dirty, distorted, clipping noise when I play my G string with any sort of intensity. It doesn't do it if I'm playing mellow, but if I pluck harder, the clipping happens.

narud · #2 06-12-2011, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powellmacaque

I've noticed over the past several months that my Stingray 5 has been sounding harsh and trebly on the G string especially. Just to save any further questions:

* I've tried new batteries, several brands, several packs. Doesn't seem to fix the problem.

* I've tried the bass on different amps and I've tried the -dB setting on these amps, and no dice.

* My preamp is almost always set flat on the bass.

Could it be a problem with the pickups, or a wiring problem? The sound I'm getting is just a really dirty, distorted, clipping noise when I play my G string with any sort of intensity. It doesn't do it if I'm playing mellow, but if I pluck harder, the clipping happens.

have you tried lowering the pickup?

**TheMutt** · #3 06-12-2011, 05:36 PM

+1 on check the pup/string height.

Might be a problem with your preamp. Have it checked out (or do it yourself if you know how) to see if all of the components are in working order.

powellmacaque · #4 06-12-2011, 11:13 PM

My pickup is pretty even across, but now that I'm looking closer, my saddle on the G string is significantly lower than the other strings... Could this be the cause?

Just to be clear, it's not a fret buzz sound, but it sounds like what happens when you crank the treble on a tweeter-loaded amp and wail on it. Very "clippy."

bassbenj · #5 06-12-2011, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powellmacaque

My pickup is pretty even across, but now that I'm looking closer, my saddle on the G string is significantly lower than the other strings... Could this be the cause?

Just to be clear, it's not a fret buzz sound, but it sounds like what happens when you crank the treble on a tweeter-loaded amp and wail on it. Very "clippy."

Exactly. Apparently what you have is a G string that is significantly louder than the other strings (you should be able to notice this when playing softer) and that higher output is causing the preamp to clip.

There are two things here. One is that the G string saddle is lower causing the G string to be closer to the pickup and hence louder. And the other is that there is some kind of problem in the preamp and it has somehow lost some headroom due to a bad component. Since the G string is louder than the others, the defective preamp clips with that one first. Or it may bee that treble is boosted and the high notes are louder than the low one and hence clip first.

In any case lowering pickups will lower input to preamp and keep it from clipping. To tell if preamp is defective you'll have to look at the output signal and see if it's a reasonable level when it clips. The peak to peak value should be about a volt or two less than the 9 volt battery. If it's clipping with just a couple of volt output, it's defective.

But since MM pickups are hot, it may just be a simple matter of lowering them away from the strings to keep from overloading the preamp. (Same effect as playing lighter). If these kinds of measurements are a bit outside your fence (takes gear like oscilloscope etc.) you may need to have it looked at by a tech.

powellmacaque · #6 06-13-2011, 02:39 PM

Thanks, I'll try raising my saddle a bit to see if that helps. It is a significant difference - about 1/8th of an inch or so, hopefully that will work.

Thanks guys, I'll let you know if that works.

**Chef** · #7 06-13-2011, 02:56 PM

or, lower that side of the pickup and leave your action where you like it.

TimWilson · #8 06-13-2011, 02:58 PM

It's hard to imagine that a full .125" (1/8th") difference between adjacent strings is reflective of a correct setup (regardless of the fingerboard's arch). It seems that either your G is far too low (which you'd have noticed by it's fretting-out), or your D is far too high. In either case, a good, pro setup would be well worth the money. Take that bad girl in to the shop and get her set up right!

**smperry** · #9 06-13-2011, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef

or, lower that side of the pickup and leave your action where you like it.

+1

**Chef** · #10 06-13-2011, 03:43 PM

The G string is 1/8" lower than the rest?
My strings aren't anywhere near that high off the fingerboard, any of them.

My action; which I rate as medium-low; has the G string with 1/16 of gap between the top of the 12th fret, and the bottom of the string. Each of the following strings is just a hair higher.

Folks, y'all really need to learn to do your own setups. It's not hard, and it takes a bare minimum of time and tools. Every time you throw $75 at a tech to set your bass up, you could have done it yourself, and bought three sets of your fave strings instead.

**jlepre** · #11 06-13-2011, 03:49 PM

Before you do ANYTHING, I would call EBMM Customer Service:

1-866-823-2255

Let the experts who actually make your bass, weigh in on a solution to your issue. Just my 2 cents...

joeyl · #12 06-13-2011, 04:54 PM

weird because usually people complain of low volume on the G string with Stingrays....

BigOldHarry · #13 06-13-2011, 05:23 PM

excellent suggestions. Could also be bad strings, who knows.

arsie · #14 06-13-2011, 07:06 PM

Turning the treble just a little bit down makes a huge difference from having it flat. I usually run like that. I also noticed that turning the bass up a little makes a big difference for the whole silent G Stingray thing.

powellmacaque · #15 06-15-2011, 02:49 PM

I just fixed it by raising my G string a little bit. Thanks for the help guys.

OldFenderPlayer · #16 06-15-2011, 03:37 PM

A Stringray was my main axe for 20 years, but a few years ago I grew tired of the too-treble-tone and pretty much set it aside. But a month ago it moved back to the front-of-the-line after watching Ed Friedland's review of the Stringray Classic. He liked the factory-installed string mutes, which I never used on my 1987 bass, and the Ernie Ball flatwounds on one of the basses he reviewed. I haven't yet installed flats on my Stringray, but I did engage the mutes and WOW .... they completely change the nature of the bass. There is still some brightness in the tone and a palm-mute effect on the open strings. I'm certain that some tone issues can be solved by string and pickup adjustment, but the string mutes have made this a gigging bass again.