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Dead preamp
- Thread starter Tinkachu08
- Start date
The only ones I've kept stock are ones that I love the tone of and don't want to touch anything. So far that's 2 of them. Lol the rest I did things to make them what I wanted.
I see. You'll figure out your own style. Once you get dialed in you'll stop thinking about what you're playing and just play. That's where the fluidity comes from. It's when you're relaxed and just feeling the music. There's muscle memory and dexterity that comes through time playing but so much of it is feel. It doesn't matter how you hit notes as much as it matters that you feel the notes and can know where to go. Getting enough time in you'll learn anything but meanwhile keep feeling your way around and you'll figure it out. If you can keep a beat you can play music.
Step one is to clarify whether or not guitar Center would handle the warranty issue in a useful way, like getting you a preamp from the mfg, Or even just getting a new burst in the room and seeing if you like it as much (Probably the easiest and simplest)
If it seems like they can’t or won’t get a preamp, and you truly don’t want to swap the bass for even the same finish, then get a second opinion- Sometimes they have very good techs, But more often than not guitar Center has a wholly unqualified ‘tech’ with absolutely no technical chops, no real experience, and is trained that first and foremost their job is to a) say yes I can do that and b) sell you something, anything.
Unless you personally know them and/or are confident that you know they are a legitimate tech with electronics chops, then don’t just take their word for it. This is a especially relevant because even un OK novice tech is likely going to have way more experience with guitars, which tends to mean that they very rarely if ever need to deal with a preamp, and when they do it’s just to install one.
All that being said, the classic stingray preamp schematic has been floating around the Internet for a long time, and I believe it is thought to be legit; there are almost certainly small sellers who build clones of it, and they will undoubtedly be pretty cheap.
You can also reach out to EBMM, As they may give you a more satisfactory response to the warranty issue. Normally, I would be suggesting just getting a decent inexpensive preamp like Nordstrand, but I tend to think that the preamp is part of the stingray sound, and part of many peoples use case.. though it may be that some companies offer a stingray-tailored preamp, too.. can’t say I’ve ever needed to look for it
If it seems like they can’t or won’t get a preamp, and you truly don’t want to swap the bass for even the same finish, then get a second opinion- Sometimes they have very good techs, But more often than not guitar Center has a wholly unqualified ‘tech’ with absolutely no technical chops, no real experience, and is trained that first and foremost their job is to a) say yes I can do that and b) sell you something, anything.
Unless you personally know them and/or are confident that you know they are a legitimate tech with electronics chops, then don’t just take their word for it. This is a especially relevant because even un OK novice tech is likely going to have way more experience with guitars, which tends to mean that they very rarely if ever need to deal with a preamp, and when they do it’s just to install one.
All that being said, the classic stingray preamp schematic has been floating around the Internet for a long time, and I believe it is thought to be legit; there are almost certainly small sellers who build clones of it, and they will undoubtedly be pretty cheap.
You can also reach out to EBMM, As they may give you a more satisfactory response to the warranty issue. Normally, I would be suggesting just getting a decent inexpensive preamp like Nordstrand, but I tend to think that the preamp is part of the stingray sound, and part of many peoples use case.. though it may be that some companies offer a stingray-tailored preamp, too.. can’t say I’ve ever needed to look for it
Thanks Edododo, The bass arrived yesterday from Minnesota so I took it to my GC and asked their sales rep to check it out, he played it and said.... The preamp didn't work...
I asked their luthier/some kid he said the preamp is inside the pick so just replace the pickup and he would just put a passive pickup in it cuz I don't need a active one... I'm a beginner and know this kid is an idiot I'm not ever gonna leave my bass with him cuz I know what he'll do..
I'm gonna go to GC and offer them this option.. it's a used bass so refund my money then I'll buy it back "as is" final sale for $100 it's gonna cost me $140-$200 for a new preamp. You sold me a bass that doesn't work... Sterling doesn't sell replacement stock parts so what they gonna do resell a broken bass to some else or mark it as is or throw it in the trash..
I don't think I should have to pay to make it a playable bass, that's what they sold it as..
I asked their luthier/some kid he said the preamp is inside the pick so just replace the pickup and he would just put a passive pickup in it cuz I don't need a active one... I'm a beginner and know this kid is an idiot I'm not ever gonna leave my bass with him cuz I know what he'll do..
I'm gonna go to GC and offer them this option.. it's a used bass so refund my money then I'll buy it back "as is" final sale for $100 it's gonna cost me $140-$200 for a new preamp. You sold me a bass that doesn't work... Sterling doesn't sell replacement stock parts so what they gonna do resell a broken bass to some else or mark it as is or throw it in the trash..
I don't think I should have to pay to make it a playable bass, that's what they sold it as..
You DEFINITELY don't have to make it a playable bass. Hold GC's feet to the fire. It's on them. You've already put more that enough time and effort in. Make the store take the preamp out of another SUB 4 and install it in yours. Or at least do an A/B to compare it to another SUB 4. I hope you get it resolved.
BBB
I stopped at GC yesterday just to confirm cuz it didn't sound right (my first mm bass) I told the sales rep I didn't want to return it cuz I loved the vintage burst color and for a used bass it was perfect not a mark on her. He didn't offer a solution just...the preamp doesn't work have a nice day.. their luthier is an idiot told me the preamp is inside the pickup, just put a passive pickup in it... Let me get out of here before I go off on this knucklehead
I’ve set up and rehabbed a SUB 4 or two for friends. The preamp is most certainly not built into the pickup, they are 2 separate parts although the actual MM pickups don’t work / sound as good without the pre.
Second, if you do return it I wouldn’t be surprised if it was back out for sale in a day or two at the same price you paid.
Second, if you do return it I wouldn’t be surprised if it was back out for sale in a day or two at the same price you paid.
I've heard that they do that just resell it, how can you do that it doesn't work.. probably get another sucker like me to buy it on line..
I already know my options are gonna be keep it as is or return it and buy the mint green ray4.
I like the Ray24 I saw a white one with a maple neck/fretboard it's $200 more than the Ray4.... I don't see a difference that warrents $200.... By the time if I have to buy a new preamp and pay for install might as well buy the Ray24
I already know my options are gonna be keep it as is or return it and buy the mint green ray4.
I like the Ray24 I saw a white one with a maple neck/fretboard it's $200 more than the Ray4.... I don't see a difference that warrents $200.... By the time if I have to buy a new preamp and pay for install might as well buy the Ray24
I started off on a P/J, too! Nice!
(Actual photos sent by the pawn shop, just before shipping "My Lovely 'Dyne" to me!
)
Kudos for keeping your first-ever bass!
Oh, and a lesson for @Tinkachu08; GAS (aka "Gear Acquisition Syndrome") is a very real thing...an elusive and nefarious force that will drain the money and time right out of you!
Very true.
For the record, if it affects anyone in my Northeastern U.S. region, the techs at the Wilmington, DE Guitar Center really know their stuff. Mike, their lead tech, has gone out of his way to explain to me some of the ins-and-outs of what makes guitars and basses tick. That includes him talking me down from a couple of ideas that, upon serious contemplation, were really bad ones...even if it would've been more paid work for him.
For the OP - You need to contact the selling store and let them know what is going on. They will offer you options such as price adjustment or refund / return only. You can decide from there how to proceed. That is not an expensive bass new. As such I don't think it was expensive to buy used and the adjustment for DOA will be negligible. I would try to repair the existing preamp. If you do not have the skills to do that seek out someone who does. Maybe an electronics tech more than a guitar tech. For an electronics tech that is a simple circuit. For a guitar tech it may be beyond his / her comfort zone. I have an SBMM Sub Series Stingray 5. It has a simple preamp on a single board attached to the back of a potentiometer. Mine is based on a TL071C Operational Amplifier IC with a handful of support components. Not complex at all. The datasheet is available online from Texas Instruments.
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@Tinkachu08 the preamp in the ray4 is sometimes problematic. Mine had overdrive on low notes. I sold it before I realized I wasn’t the only one. There’s tons of aftermarket preamps that fit, even some that emulate a 70s EBMM ray. Knowing this, I’d replace the preamp anyway if you keep. If it were me, I’d put the pickup in parallel and get a preamp to mimic the old Rays.
Good luck with it!
Good luck with it!
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/2-band-preamp-from-sbmm-sub-ray4.1638555/
Saw this and thought of you
