Alright, I officially can't stand this any longer. Whenever I just have the bass sitting there it hisses. Adding treble makes it hiss even louder. And it drives me insane with my loops. Do I need to take this bass to a professional to have it shielded properly or can I do it myself without completely destroying my instrument? For the record: if I opened up my bass I have no idea what I'm doing, so I'd rather take it to a professional if that's what it's going to take.
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Musicman Sterling Hiss
- Thread starter Hippos Melas
- Start date
Positive. I've gone direct from my bass to my amp with no pedals in the way and it hisses like crazy. The hissing gets worse if I increase the treble so I'm assuming either it's not grounded properly or not shielded properly.
Do you have another bass handy that you can plug up? (same cable, amp, location, etc...) just to confirm that it really is the bass? Best to make absolutely sure first.
- Aug 21, 2008
- 10,386
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- 68
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- Owner, SGD Music Products
Hissing, like steam, or a high pitched buzzing?
Hiss is noise from the preamp.
High pitched buzzing is a grounding or shielding issue. Does it go away if you touch the strings?
No, it doesn't go away if I touch the strings. It's a hiss from the preamp. The level of the hiss only changes if I either turn the volume knob down or it will increase/decrease if I add/subtract treble.
- Aug 21, 2008
- 10,386
- 252
- 68
- Disclosures
- Owner, SGD Music Products
You might have a bad IC in the preamp. I have no experience with these basses, so I don't know if they are normally noisy. Every circuit makes a little noise. It doesn't have anything to do with grounding.
Rick Auricchio
Registered Bass Offender
EB customer service is really good, so don't worry about your warranty just yet. Talk with them and see what they suggest.
I presume you've replaced the battery. And even some new batteries can be dead, so give it a shot.
Does the bass' output level seem normal?
I presume you've replaced the battery. And even some new batteries can be dead, so give it a shot.
Does the bass' output level seem normal?
- Aug 30, 2003
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- Engineer & Owner, Sonic Nuance Electronics
the musicman basses I have used (SR5HH and Bongo5HH) hiss.
I love the instruments and have been told by others that they are dead silent. They are quiet when the band is playing but hiss otherwise. I've paid Musicman (yes I've called customer service) to fix the preamps (used instruments out of warranty) but the fact is, they are nowhere near as quiet as my Bartolini equipped basses for example. I wouldn't be surprised if I get flamed for this, but this has been my experience even with new instruments in stores. They are wonderful basses and a fantastic company but unfortunately I think the active electronics (at least on the instruments i have tried) could use some more optimization in terms of hiss.
For the record, the Bongo 5HH is my main bass and except for the hiss it is about as good as it gets tone wise - I've learned to turn down the volume during quiet passages when playing with a band.
I love the instruments and have been told by others that they are dead silent. They are quiet when the band is playing but hiss otherwise. I've paid Musicman (yes I've called customer service) to fix the preamps (used instruments out of warranty) but the fact is, they are nowhere near as quiet as my Bartolini equipped basses for example. I wouldn't be surprised if I get flamed for this, but this has been my experience even with new instruments in stores. They are wonderful basses and a fantastic company but unfortunately I think the active electronics (at least on the instruments i have tried) could use some more optimization in terms of hiss.
For the record, the Bongo 5HH is my main bass and except for the hiss it is about as good as it gets tone wise - I've learned to turn down the volume during quiet passages when playing with a band.
From my experience the majority of the hiss in the Bongo comes from the hi-mid boost. Try cutting it back some and it should help. Also, if you have a horn/tweeter in your cab then be sure to turn it down, too.
- Aug 30, 2003
- 1,479
- 457
- Disclosures
- Engineer & Owner, Sonic Nuance Electronics
I agree about the hi mid knob
You are right about tweeters too. However I usually play direct to the mixer.
I understand the whole Bongo thing, but this is a Sterling. This hiss is all in the treble, not the mids. I'm calling EB this afternoon and seeing what they have to say.
