Double Bass MB150S111 problem...pickup or amp?

[Hammertime3]

I have a K&K Bassmax pickup on my Kay bass, but it hasn't been plugged into or used in several years. I have decided to sell my bass so I wanted to make sure the pickup was OK, but when I plugged it into my MB150S111, there was hardly any sound until I jacked the volume up considerably. Then the E string farted out terribly. Isn't this just a plug in and play situation with these pickups and amps? The amp did come out of a cold room..did I not let it warm up enough? I am not supposed to need a preamp with these amps, right? Could the pickup be dirty from sitting so long? I'm at a loss to explain this, so maybe someone can help. The amp has never been any trouble before, and they have been the holy grail for upright for several years.

 

[Ric Vice]

I have a K&K Bassmax pickup on my Kay bass, but it hasn't been plugged into or used in several years. I have decided to sell my bass so I wanted to make sure the pickup was OK, but when I plugged it into my MB150S111, there was hardly any sound until I jacked the volume up considerably. Then the E string farted out terribly. Isn't this just a plug in and play situation with these pickups and amps? The amp did come out of a cold room..did I not let it warm up enough? I am not supposed to need a preamp with these amps, right? Could the pickup be dirty from sitting so long? I'm at a loss to explain this, so maybe someone can help. The amp has never been any trouble before, and they have been the holy grail for upright for several years.

Well, the way to find out is to put some Deoxit 5 on a QTip or better one of those swabs with the wooden shaft and run it around all the 1/4" jacks on the GK MBS and you'll likely
get some black corrosion that comes off onto the swab. That may fix the issue.

Ric

 

[DoubleMIDI]

A cable might have been broken. This often happens at the jack, so, if possible, open the jack and check if both cable parts are connected to the jack and also that there is no short circuit inside.