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Series v parallel volume variation on MM Sterling bass..?

bob atherton

bob atherton

Mar 8, 2005
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#1
Just got a nice used MM Sterling bass with single pickup.
The two sounds I like the most are the parallel , on the bridge switch position and series, on the neck switch position.
The problem I have is that in series the bass is quite a bit quieter than in parallel.
This would appear to go against perceived wisdom with most basses. Is it possible that the previous owner/s have done a bit of a mod or is this normal for a MM Sterling?
Lovely bass by the way...
Thanks, Bob
 
#2
You're probably dealing with a phantom coil:

body-44.jpg


Hmm, as per their diagram it should be louder with the switch towards the neck :confused:
 
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#3
The phantom coil is in the middle position, which is about as loud as the parallel, but the front position, series (not phantom coil) is the quietest..? All a bit odd..?

All three positions sound OK except for the volume of the series. One of my bands is a covers band and I switch between these two but have to have the bass on 100% volume in series and then roll back the volume to about 75% in parallel to get about the same volume.
 
#5
Is it possible thar the switch is reversed? Just to be sure, the parallel position should sound noticeably brighter than the series one. Series sounds timbrically more similar to single coil but bassier/ballsier.

Don't discard your bass having some "bug", contrary to many other manufacturers who simply put a humbucker's coil tap before the preamp Musicman basses' switching works together with some onboard tone correction so that you don't have such huge EQ or volume mismatches when switching. Never experienced that with any switchable ceramic 3 coil Musicmen.

BTW, excelent bass choice. Eversince having both my Stingray5s (old ceramic ones, basically 5 string Sterlings) I've rejected SO MANY other basses that came around (both cheaper and more expensive), nothing comes remotely close to me. Furthest I could go was Sterling5 HS I lately got for some added tonal variety. Only other bass I'm interested in would be a 5 string Caprice if EBMM ever release one. All my EBMMs have a switch mod to allow using the neckside coil when in single coil mode (instead of the bridge side which is stock). That's the position I like the most, adds sort of a P clankiness to the single MM sound.
 
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#7
Normally there is a definite volume difference between parallel and series, but I believe EBMM did something inside their wiring to minimize this difference. My SR5, and other switchable EBMM basses all have a similar output, despite where the switch is.
 

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