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Music Man sound and pickups

#1,141
SteveCS said:
I have one of those in my Ray34 - search up the thread and you will find it.
As it is the pickup will not fit the Ray4/Ray34 cavity. You need to either rout the body or remove the phantom coil. They come off easily enough, although you also have to clip one wire right back. IIRC it is the purple one, but check first. Then it will drop right in. They are great pickups if you prefer ceramic over alnico.
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@SteveCS Your post:

Interesting. I've found that rolling the volume back just a few degrees on my Ray34 seems to tame the transients, but that is the opposite to what you describe. It might mean nothing, but my Ray34 actually has an EBMM Sterling pickup, which is ceramic and can be really aggressive when digging in. Rolling back just a smidgen brings out a more 'passive' character which is great for slap style.

Sounds perfect! I have a replica of the famous MM Stingray preamp from 1979, based on the LM4250 chip, designed by Leo Fender (From Ebay seller: bolebas (44) 100%) that's going in my Ray 4 & was going to put a Delano MC 4 HE/S in. But i think I'll save the Delano for another Ray 4 mod.
 
#1,142
HowieD72 said:
Thanks @SteveCS
I noticed there is the black wire connected to the phantom coil as well. Does this get resoldered anywhere, or clip it right back like the purple wire?
View attachment 5033978 View attachment 5033979
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Yes, that black wire becomes redundant. I've just opened mine up and taken this picture. The pickup is wired in permanent parallel mode - you can clearly see the green and white wires going to the 'In' of the preamp, and the red and shield going to the ground on the back of the pot. Look a little closer and you can see the black wire going nowhere.
20230417_092826.jpg
 
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#1,143
SteveCS said:
Yes, that black wire becomes redundant. I've just opened mine up and taken this picture. The pickup is wired in permanent parallel mode - you can clearly see the green and white wires going to the 'In' of the preamp, and the red and shield going to the ground on the back of the pot. Look a little closer and you can see the black wire going nowhere.
View attachment 5033980
Click to expand...

Thanks heaps for your help Steve. Greatly appreciated!
 
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#1,148
TheBogart said:
So guys. I have a Sterling SuB Ray4 and I want to upgrade the pickup and the preamp. What do you guys say about the Darkglass Tone Capsule? Paired with the Seymour Duncan will sound good?View attachment 5086105
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That's highly subjective but I put a Sentell custom wound pickup with a Bartolini 2-band running at 18v in my Sterling and it sounds amazing. After buying Sentell pickups I'll never buy another retail because he can wind it exactly like you want for around the same price. I never liked any mid controls on a preamp
 
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#1,149
BassLife77 said:
That's highly subjective but I put a Sentell custom wound pickup with a Bartolini 2-band running at 18v in my Sterling and it sounds amazing. After buying Sentell pickups I'll never buy another retail because he can wind it exactly like you want for around the same price. I never liked any mid controls on a preamp
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Sentell has an amazing variety of pup types. He will make you happy (musically speaking of course).
 
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#1,150
Hello. I've read about half of this thread and learned a lot about the Stingray sound, however my sound vocabulary is lacking and I'm hoping to emulate a certain era of Stingray in my Sterling Ray 4. The two videos below capture the sound I'm looking for. I love the sizzle/rattle in the mids (like fret 3 to 7 on the A string) and it sounds more "open" and aggressive compared to the thinner, clean preamp/pickup sounds listed in this thread. Lobster's videos are excellent but most of the pickups and preamps seem too clean. I listened to all of his combos and none stood out as the clear winner, but this could be due to my lack of listening skills. For instance, I like the sound of the EBMM Classic vs. the newer Special. I will say I'm intrigued by the ergonomic upgrades of the Special and it seems like the tone range of the preamp could be adjusted to get a more aggressive sound.

From what I can tell, I would need Alnico pickups and a 2-band preamp to achieve the sound. And possibly set up the bass for a lower action to get the sizzle. Like many others, ideally I could get close to a late 80s/early 90s Flea, Tim Commerford, or Justin Chancellor tone/EQ without getting a Wal. Could I get close to the sound with a third party pickup and preamp? Or should I just snag a used 2000s/2010s EBMM Stingray to get the real thing?



 
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#1,151
I've got a thread going about extensive modifications to a Harley Benton MB-4 to make it suit my needs.

(Harley Benton MB-4 intensive overhaul)

Here I just wanted to add that with the original music man sting ray 2 band preamp, or copies using identical valued components, the pickup DC resistance has a huge impact on the sound. I rewound the stock pickup to vintage specs (~4200 winds, 3.5k per coil, slightly unbalanced with a few more turns on the bridge and less on the neck coil). Reused everything but the copper wire, no other components changed. This completely changed the resonant frequency, before rewinding the pickup it sounded ok, but nowhere near what it should in my ears. It was quite dull even when maxing treble. The resonant peak was way too low with the high output pickup. Rewinding it to much lower output unlocked the sound I was looking for, and that seems a critical part in the pickup/preamp combo. I had read about this, which is why I rewound the pickup rather than just buying a new one. I was still amazed at the effect though, because it was so evident then.
 
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#1,152
SteveCS said:
I have one of those in my Ray34 - search up the thread and you will find it.
As it is the pickup will not fit the Ray4/Ray34 cavity. You need to either rout the body or remove the phantom coil. They come off easily enough, although you also have to clip one wire right back. IIRC it is the purple one, but check first. Then it will drop right in. They are great pickups if you prefer ceramic over alnico.
Click to expand...

Hey @SteveCS
Did you install the EBMM pickup with or without the phantom coil? Just curious, because I was wondering if it would make much difference sound wise?
 
#1,153
HowieD72 said:
Hey @SteveCS
Did you install the EBMM pickup with or without the phantom coil? Just curious, because I was wondering if it would make much difference sound wise?
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There is not enough room in the SR4 body rout to accomodate the phantom coil and I didn't fancy carving the body out, so I simply removed the phantom coil - it is just stuck on with a silicone 'goo'. If there are any sound differences I don't think they are significant - what I hear from my Ray34 is pretty much what I was hearing from the Sterling, even with the different preamp. Obviously 'single-coil' noise-cancelling mode is no longer available.
 
#1,154
SteveCS said:
There is not enough room in the SR4 body rout to accomodate the phantom coil and I didn't fancy carving the body out, so I simply removed the phantom coil - it is just stuck on with a silicone 'goo'. If there are any sound differences I don't think they are significant - what I hear from my Ray34 is pretty much what I was hearing from the Sterling, even with the different preamp. Obviously 'single-coil' noise-cancelling mode is no longer available.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks Steve. I had my EBMM pickup in my old Ray 4 without the phantom coil. Sounded pretty good combined with the John east preamp. However, I removed it to put in my new Ray 4 that has a MusicMan Stingray 2-band Active Preamp Replica and a series/parallel switch. But this time I'm getting the body routed to accommodate the whole thing. Will be keen to hear how it sounds.
 
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#1,160
Videojunkie said:
View attachment 5211101 So I pulled everything out of the Rick-man, and as far as I can tell, nothing is obviously wrong with the board or wiring.

Are there any test points on the circuit board that I should run through to check its status before I reach out to SD?
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Spoke with SD, and they are replacing the board and wiring harness under warranty.
 
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