Question: Pickup Question?

[NoUse121]

So I am proud owner of a Sterling By Music Man Ray34. I Have had it for a few months now and so far so good. Dig the over all feel and sound. My background is mainly a guitar player who just messes around on bass here and there but as of lately I have been playing a lot more bass. My question is, would swapping out the pickup improve anything? As mainly a guitar player I have always swapped out pickups to bring out the top performance of the guitar for my style. In this case would it help out or should I just leave well enough alone? If so any recommendations?

[kamakazee]

I think I speak for many on the forum when I say, you can't improve perfection! :-) Unlike most brands of guitars/basses, EBMM definitely doesn't skimp on the pickups and electronics. You can feel good knowing you bought a bass with the best hardware already installed from the factory. Enjoy your Ray!

[oli@bass]

Some of the magic and main sound characteristics of the StingRay stem from the pickup and preamp. Many third party providers try to get that sound but hardly anyone acheives it. Would be hard to get anything that sounds «better» (except perhaps if you could swap the SBMM electronics for EBMM originals - which are unavailable as replacements). The point is rather: If you like the 'Ray sound, play a 'Ray, otherwise look at a different model or make.

Bottom line: It's easier to improve on your playing than your MusicMan Bass. ;-)

[NoUse121]

Thanks guys! Like I said, I dig the sound. It was just a thought that came to me. I think in just about ever over seas made guitar or bass I have had I have swaped out the pickups. Just in my research I have not found many replacment ones out there.

[Holdsg]

Welcome to the dark side.
It's more common for the guitar players to want to swap pickups, its kind of a rite of passage thing. Lots of swapping go on for certain brands (note the fair number of replacement pickup manufacturers on the bass side) But its much less common, if not very uncommon for EBMM bass players to do that. Look at the SBMM as your gateway drug. You'll be back for the EBMM sooner or later, and it will be waiting for you, as patiently as possible.

[Bman14417]

I do have a question on the S.U.B pickups, is it normal for them to be abnormally quiet? so the point where my amp has to be at full blast for any sound to come out, and it is only on this bass that it happens. Should I switch the pickups?

[cellkirk74]

Did you switch the battery? (Some SUB's are active)

[Rano Bass]

I do have a question on the S.U.B pickups, is it normal for them to be abnormally quiet? so the point where my amp has to be at full blast for any sound to come out.

That is not normal, have your bass checked by someone who knows better about electronics.
Also check the battery if your bass uses one.

[Golem]

`

My SUB was just as loud as my others. The PU is
the regular StingRay PU and the 2-band [if it's an
active version ... most are] is the regular 2-band,
no different than the Ray. Same battery, also ;-)

[Ian Perge]

Both my SUB Sterling (Active) as well as my SUB 5 (Passive) are as loud, if not more so than any of the rest of the Basses in my collection. In fact, the low-B on my passive SUB 5 comes dangerously close to "farting out" my speakers, and I'll be physically backing off the string from the polepiece to see if that balances out the string-to-string volume. I'm with everyone above: first thing replace the Battery, check for any obvious wiring or input jack issues like a loose connection, and after than bring in a profession or a fellow player with a good amount of history in technical matters.

[fender1]

My sr4 is loud apart from the "g" string, no matter if i raise or lower the pick up it is quite "feeble" even if i use my compressor pedal to even smooth the levels out

[Golem]

My sr4 is loud apart from the "g" string, no matter if i raise or
lower the pick up it is quite "feeble" even if i use my compressor
pedal to even smooth the levels out

Check the ax unplugged. If the G is unusually feeble unplugged,
then it's that particular G-string ... so you'd just change it out.

Also, when amped, if you're EQ'ed for a boomy tone then ANY
G-string will be rather feeble, as they just don't participate in,
or contribute to, anything you'd call 'boom'.


`

[MattOfSweden]

Bottom line: It's easier to improve on your playing than your MusicMan Bass. ;-)

^^ *nail being hit squarely on the head*

[fender1]

sounds okay unplugged and when i put the bass through my 16 track with all controls centred and and no effects etc on the 16 track i.e no added effects etc it is still feebly quite,i play with a middly punchy tone. when i tried the same with my passive jazz is not tlike it.
Can the poles be adjusted to maintain an even sound?

[adouglas]

fender1 -- Try starting with the basics and take a clean sheet approach.

Fresh battery.
Known good cable.
EQ checked and verified to be flat on both bass and amp.
Fresh strings.
Setup to factory specs (INCLUDING pickup height and string height), which are posted in the bass FAQ on music-man.com.

Be rigorous about this stuff… assume nothing and never overlook the obvious. Pretend you've just been handed a bass that's been mucked with by a complete stranger who doesn't know which way to turn a trussrod.

You do know what happens if you raise the pickup too high, right? The magnetic field can damp the string, making it too quiet. Logic tells me that this would affect the G string more than the others because it's lighter (less massive, less inertia), but I don't know that for a fact. Same thing will happen if you lower the string too much at the bridge.

If the bass still isn't right after you've done your due diligence, call Customer Service. Word has it that they're superb.