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Musicman with no output! Please Help!

Levin Hannaford

Levin Hannaford

Apr 21, 2007
637
965
40
Charlotte N.C.
www.instagram.com
#1
last week I purchased a 1999 Ernie ball Sterling H bass used from GC. (Not the SBMM, the actual Sterling) I was told the bass had been looked over, and the wiring inspected.

Last night at rehearsal, the bass made a high-pitched squeal and then there was no output from it at all. I am pretty well versed in troubleshooting basses and here's what I tried

Changed cables - no effect

Changed Battery - no effect

Checked Pots - no effect

Pulled out the input jack and looked for damage - No effect

I am at a loss here. The only thing I have yet to do is take out the entire preamp and look through it :( Any suggestions form my TB friends?
 
#2
We would have guessed it was a real sterling by the fact it came out a decade before the SBMM's ;) .

Did you try it plugged in before the rehersal at all? I would have tried it in the GC, and it might be worthwhile taking it back seeing if they have any other used Sterlings?

Have a look inside and make sure there aren't any loose connections anywhere. Does it still make the high pictche squeal when you plug in or is it completelly dead in the water?

Good shout on the troubleshooting so far, but you have tried it on a different amp?
 
#4
Thanks for the reply :)

I tried the bass out at GC for about 15-20 minutes before paying and it was fine. I guess I just have bad luck, I'm sure they went through it an all. It makes NO sound now at all.

I'm going to look through the preamp and control cavity this afternoon and hopefully it is actually a loose wire somewhere in there. I tried another amp as well, still nothing. I even went as far as gently bending the connects in the jack to ensure a tight fit.

I will update you guys once I have a look-see inside this afternoon
 
#9
Okay guys, problem appears solved!

I took out the preamp and everything looked fine. The wires leading to the battery box had nice shiny solder joints and they were in good shape. Needless to say I was still quite puzzled as to why I was having trouble.

Then it dawned on me to take the actual battery box itself out of the bass. I did this and isolated my no-output issue immediately. :) It looks like the battery, though brand new, wasn't getting a solid connection. So I adjusted the plastic tab on the top of the battery 'door' that flips up. I also gently pulled up on the connectors in the bottom of the box to ensure a tighter fit.

I assume the 'door' was warped due to someone attempting to install a battery backwards, and the connectors were just worn out.

I put the battery back in and back to life my Sterling came :)

thanks for the input fellas :D
 
#11
Check the wiring on the battery connection , I had a similar problem with my SR5. Found that the connection to the battery terminal that snaps onto the 9v came loose.
Click to expand...

+1

I thought I had tried everything to fix my 1999 SR5. All the usual suspects with no solution. I went so far as to ship it back to EB for diagnosis. Turns out it was just the battery connection. ...Yup, that cost more than it needed to! :rollno:
 
#14
If you line up a few differend brands of 9V, they can vary in height by 3-4mm. If your battery box is one of those gotoh ones like Invalid Link Removed, you have discovered one of the major shortcomings of its design. (I've also come across a few batteries than are too fat for these boxes as well.) A little piece of soft foam on the back of a too-short battery will be fine in most cases.
 

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