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Help Diagnosing Broken USA Sterling 4H

atquinn

atquinn

All gear, no talent
Supporting Member
Mar 21, 2004
736
2,027
51
Long Island, NY
#1
Just had a USA Sterling delivered. Cosmetically, it's perfect, however audio-wise, something broken. 😭

With a battery in, the output is insanely low, as if something is broken. I've tried multiple batteries and plugged in with a couple different cables. With no battery, in there is no output at all, so I think the battery is doing something. And turning the knobs does something, but not much. If I use the 3-way switch to change pickup modes, occasionally I get a loud pop. And while playing, occasionally, there is a loud pop. Finally, if I shake the bass, it sounds like something is rattling around in the pickup cavity. Like, the dummy coil is rattling around in there? Not sure, because I haven't had time to take the pickguard off and poke around.

So, with that information, how screwed am I?
 
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#2
atquinn said:
Just had a USA Sterling delivered. Cosmetically, it's perfect, however audio-wise, something broken. 😭

With a battery in, the output is insanely low, as if something is broken. I've tried multiple batteries and plugged in with a couple different cables. With no battery, in there is no output at all, so I think the battery is doing something. And turning the knobs does something, but not much. If I use the 3-way switch to change pickup modes, occasionally I get a loud pop. And while playing, occasionally, there is a loud pop. Finally, if I shake the bass, it sounds like something is rattling around in the pickup cavity. Like, the dummy coil is rattling around in there? Not sure, because I haven't had time to take the pickguard off and poke around.

So, with that information, how screwed am I?
Click to expand...
Return it or ask for a sizable discount / refund to cover the bench fee and possible replacement.

Riis
 
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#4
New / Used / where'd you get it. An immediate return is the right answer. Now knowing me.... I'd pull the pickguard and look around a little. But unless I find something insanely easy to fix inside of there, I'm returning it.
 
#6
Well, I had time to get the pickguard off and take the pickup out and and it's definitely the dummy coil. Despite the massive amount of whatever they use to glue it onto the main pickup magnet, it broke off. And one of the leads got detached. In theory, an easy fix, but I don't know what to use to reattach the dummy coil and what if something is still wrong once I fix the apparent problem? Ugh.
1000003566.jpg
 
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#7
Did you get a good enough deal or is the bass special enough (to you) to make repairing it a better option than returning?

If so, the electrical part of the repair seems pretty straightforward:
1775679353814.png


As far as reattaching the dummy coil, industrial-strength double sided tape should do the trick...especially if there is magnetic attraction between the dummy coil and the ceramic bar magnet on the bottom of the main coils.

Although tape grabs instantly, it still needs time and pressure to reach full bond strength.
Tape it, verify your positioning is correct, put a book on it to apply pressure, then wait 24 hours.
 
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#8
If you love the bass and can invest some money into it (or get a partial refund), EBMM can probably warranty the pickup for you for a fee. Might be worth finding out what that cost is and trying to get a refund for at least that amount, rather than having to do a full return. I found EBMM customer service to be quite good in my few dealings with them.
 
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#11
Agree it's an easy enough fix if I'd damaged it myself.

But if it's new I'd either be asking for a replacement, or seeing if I could get a replacement pickup from EBMM.

If it's 2nd hand maybe find the cost of a replacement pickup from EBMM and negotiate with seller. If the seller doesn't play ball I might keep it and do the reapair, or pay for the new pickup myself depending on how much I love the bass.
 

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