MusicMan Stingray Short Scale Bad Electronics

[wmcran]

Reaching out to see if anyone has had a problem like this. In January I got a MusicMan short scale Stingray direct from MusicMan.
This has passive electronics with a 3 position switch.

1. Parallel
2. Neck portion of pickup
3. Series

There is an intermittent problem in the series position where there is no audio output and what seems as a grounding issue. If you touch any metal on the bass, you get a buzz. If I pull pluck a string hard, the high transient intermittently fixes the problem.
The bass would be fine for a day or days then the problem reappears.

I contacted MusicMan and it when back for repair. It came back 3 weeks later with the same problem. It was sent back again for repair and came back with the same problem again! I have troubleshooted with five different amps and cables, it’s a problem within the bass.

First time repaired they said they replaced the switch. Second time they said they replaced all electronics.
At this point, I asked for a refund. They are sending me a UPS tag and made this statement.

"We did replace all electronics when it was here, and it passed inspection before it shipped. The failure may be due to environmental factors that we cannot control outside the factory. We'll go ahead and issue a UPS call tag to send this one back with. Once it arrives here, we'll process a refund for the full purchase price, pending inspection.”

I find it funny that they say...The failure may be due to environmental factors that we cannot control outside the factory. The bass never left my home. Also this is like saying you can only use the bass on a sunny low humidity day. I guess they are covering their butts.

What a shame because this bass has a great playing neck.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Never had any issues with any of my EBMM basses. I’m glad they are willing to give you a refund and have tried to fix the issue.

It’s quite puzzling that the bass works fine in their faculty and doesn’t in your home.

I don’t recall hearing anyone else experiencing these issues.

This must be quite frustrating and disappointing.

 

[wmcran]

Never had any issues with any of my EBMM basses. I’m glad they are willing to give you a refund and have tried to fix the issue.

It’s quite puzzling that the bass works fine in their faculty and doesn’t in your home.

I don’t recall hearing anyone else experiencing these issues.

This must be quite frustrating and disappointing.

Just want to make this clear. It’s intermittent in my home, will be okay then fail.
I thing at the factory that they replaced electronics, check it and stop. They are not going back and forth checking it multiple times.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Just want to make this clear. It’s intermittent in my home, will be okay then fail.
I thing at the factory that they replaced electronics, check it and stop. They are not going back and forth checking it multiple times.

Gotcha!!! Like maybe they got a bad batch of parts that fail after a short period of time.

 

[mrperkolator]

You could try wrapping electronics with electrical tape. It’s possible that when held/bumped a certain way a wire touches the cavity wall grounding it out. I’d also check the pickup for anything loose/weird.

If it were me I’d investigate further to fix. Unfortunately most technicians (in most fields these days) are more part swappers than true technicians. If you want to keep, I’d recommend investigating more so that you can tell them EXACTLY what to fix.

 

[wmcran]

You could try wrapping electronics with electrical tape. It’s possible that when held/bumped a certain way a wire touches the cavity wall grounding it out. I’d also check the pickup for anything loose/weird.

If it were me I’d investigate further to fix. Unfortunately most technicians (in most fields these days) are more part swappers than true technicians. If you want to keep, I’d recommend investigating more so that you can tell them EXACTLY what to fix.

You should see the inside of the electronic cavity. All priority parts with circuit boards with miniature components on them. Nothing I would expect in a passive bass. Wires are not soldered on a post just on circuitboard landings. Here is the schematic of electronics.

 

[mrperkolator]

I’ve seen the schematic before. I’m just guessing over the net that something is touching intermittently that shouldn’t. When I work on electronics my first step is to delicately open it and look for anything obvious.

I had a pickup once that had a slightly stripped wire coming from bottom of pickup housing.

Your issue sounds like something is grounding when it shouldn’t.

What do you think @micguy ?

 

[micguy]

What do you think @micguy ?

Intermittent connections are a bitch to troubleshoot. Could I fix this? Absolutely. Can I describe you you how to do that via the web in text? Nope.

This thing just needs to get in the hands of a competent troubleshooter. The guy at the factory may be qualified, but he or she is probably also expected to fix a bunch of things in a day, and that may have hindered his or her ability to take the time necessary to really know that the thing is fixed.

 

[wmcran]

Intermittent connections are a bitch to troubleshoot. Could I fix this? Absolutely. Can I describe you you how to do that via the web in text? Nope.

This thing just needs to get in the hands of a competent troubleshooter. The guy at the factory may be qualified, but he or she is probably also expected to fix a bunch of things in a day, and that may have hindered his or her ability to take the time necessary to really know that the thing is fixed.

I’ve seen the schematic before. I’m just guessing over the net that something is touching intermittently that shouldn’t. When I work on electronics my first step is to delicately open it and look for anything obvious.

I had a pickup once that had a slightly stripped wire coming from bottom of pickup housing.

Your issue sounds like something is grounding when it shouldn’t.

What do you think @micguy ?

micguy and mrperkolator thanks for joining the conversation.

When they originally shipped it to me, the switch in the series posistion didn't work right out of the box. I did opened it up but found nothing pinched or stripped, no cold solder joints. As I said in the original post, it went back twice and still has the same problem with the switch in the same position. Personally, I think it's a problem with the pickup and as far as I know they replaced the pickup and every other component.

It baffles me, the bass is sitting on my workbench plugged into a Phil Jones Double Four amp, I plug it in and it works fine, turn the amp off, walk away, when I come back the switch isn't working in the series position. I had no problem for two days, so I thought I was being a pain in the neck but here we are again, it's not working.

I read where someone had the same problem 10 Years ago with an active full scale. It went back to EBMM three times and still couldn't get repaired. He ended up replacing the pickup with a Nordstrand and problem solved.

So, is the switching between parallel, front coil, and series being done only through the switch or is there something within the pickup also? Someone mentioned that there might be a dummy coil in the pickup to reduce noise in certain positions, but that's beyond my scope.

I'm a 69 years old and been playing for 55 years and this is just beyond any explanation.

 

[billythec]

If it’s weird, it’s often the ground.

 

[humbuckaroo]

Some homes with older wiring can cause issues with electronics like guitars and amps. Before sending the bass back, I would tell you to go check it in a guitar store where the electrical wiring is known good. It could literally be your house and not the bass, depending on how old your home wiring is.

 

[wmcran]

Some homes with older wiring can cause issues with electronics like guitars and amps. Before sending the bass back, I would tell you to go check it in a guitar store where the electrical wiring is known good. It could literally be your house and not the bass, depending on how old your home wiring is.

It’s not my home wiring. I have six other basses that work fine.
It’s been returned and inspected and money refunded.