Hello - been a while since I've been here!
So I've been having a lot of tone issues with my Sterling S/H for a while - had it for almost 3 years and the problem started about 1 1/2 years ago. I've switched tunings with my band (went from standard drop D to a lower, drop C sharp, tuning), but have had tons of problems with noise through the pick up while playing. This started before lowering the tuning.
Clicking, farty sounds mostly on (but not limited to) the top string. I've had the bass set up twice by two different shops, tried different strings (brands and gauges), lowered the pickups, raised the action, run through different amps, tried different 9 volts, bought pedals to help disguise it - whatever I do, I can't get rid of it. At one point I had a 115 gauge top string with the action ridiculously high and the pickup lowered and it sort of fixed the problem, but then it just sounded dead. So bad that I had to use a much cheaper brand bass in the studio because we couldn't get it to sound right! Blah! After this many adjustments made, it starts to not feel like a Music Man anymore.
Has anyone run into this before? I have no idea what to do next. I play hard, but I'm not out of control. If it's a matter of my playing style I might have to hang her up, which would be a bummer. Always liked the way it's played.
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