baske
Well-known member
I was wondering if anybody ever replaced te onboard preamp of the Music Man Stingray with another brand? And what did you think about it?
Yes; be sure you have Accurate Information before making a DecisionI haven't, but if I were going to put the effort into it I would need a good reason. There would probably need to be some specific annoyance that I wanted to fix and that just hasn't been the case with my MM basses. Not to say that improvements can't be made. Obviously MM has made changes over the years, but in my experience there is usually some give and take when making sonic adjustments and I would be super sad if my MM bass didn't sound like a MM bass anymore.
If I were serious about making a change, I would find a few aftermarket preamps that get good ratings, read the reviews, and try to figure out what changes, sonically, so that I could make a reasonably informed decision.
I am in the process of replacing the 3-band of my 2020 BFR 5 string fretless. Having major trouble finding a pickup wiring diagram.I was wondering if anybody ever replaced te onboard preamp of the Music Man Stingray with another brand? And what did you think about it?
I just got done (literally, yesterday) replacing the 3-band with the excellent DarkGlass Tone Capsule. As it happens, I build and sell clones of the original pre-EB 2-band Stingray preamp, including a clone i.c. of the original (60+ year old) 4250 op amp. When you pair that preamp with one of the three best pickups (Nordstrand, Aguilar, and Guitar Fetish), you can very accurately reproduce the original Stingray tone. Since my 2020 Ray uses a pickup with a Neo magnet, I wasn't sure if installing the two-band preamp would give me the tone I wanted, but I was pretty sure that the Tone Capsule would be a better choice for replacing the modern 3-band EB preamp.I was wondering if anybody ever replaced te onboard preamp of the Music Man Stingray with another brand? And what did you think about it?
.I just got done (literally, yesterday) replacing the 3-band with the excellent DarkGlass Tone Capsule. As it happens, I build and sell clones of the original pre-EB 2-band Stingray preamp, including a clone i.c. of the original (60+ year old) 4250 op amp. When you pair that preamp with one of the three best pickups (Nordstrand, Aguilar, and Guitar Fetish), you can very accurately reproduce the original Stingray tone. Since my 2020 Ray uses a pickup with a Neo magnet, I wasn't sure if installing the two-band preamp would give me the tone I wanted, but I was pretty sure that the Tone Capsule would be a better choice for replacing the modern 3-band EB preamp.
I did extensive research, like you, but could find no wiring diagram, schematic, or printed description of what pickup wires do what. So, what I am doing is basically trial and error. I used a meter to determine the following:
The wires are Orange, Black, White, and Blue. Using the ohmmeter I tested all six combinations:
Orange to Black - No Connection (n/c)
Orange to White - n/c
Orange to Blue - 4.46K ohms
Black to White - 4.5K ohms
Black to Blue - n/c
White to Blue - n/c
So, I connected the two individual coils in series and that worked. Almost too much output. Today, or as soon as I have time, I will connect them in parallel and see which connection I like better.
I ordered a replacement switch from Amazon, a Kaisch with identical specs. Once that arrives, I will do some more guessing and wire the switch up for series, parallel and use one of the two coils for single coil operation although I doubt I will ever find a use for the single coil only position.
I hope that helps.
Bud