Help! Active Sterling bass and unwanted distortion from the active electronics. Not the b+

[Xenrelic]

I figured I'd post this if anyone is having the same issue and is looking for a solution to it.

A friend of mine was experiencing unwanted distortion from the active electronics in his satin black Musicman Sterling 4 string bass, when running it with his SVT-4 pro.

It wasn't the 9V battery, because he tried several new ones and they all read good on his battery tester. It wasn't his amp, because his older sterling bass sounded great through it, so we figured it must be an issue with the active electronics.

We tested the PCB and all of the components are working perfectly fine. We tried swapping the TL062 chip with a new one (just in case it was the chip), but problem was still there. However, we did find that if you replace the TL062 chip with a TL072 chip, not only does the distortion problem go away, but the bass actually sounds better with that particular chip installed.

He ended up loving the sound of it and the bass has been working amazingly ever since.

This may be something to look into if you are having the same issue with your active Sterling bass.

 

[sanderhermans]

This is a strange problem. Mostly because his other sterlings did not have the same issue.... I must admit that the sterling is a verry powerfull bass and it can drive a amp pretty hard. I use a svt 7 pro and that amp has a clipping indicator wich lights up allmost constantly when using active basses. Thats one of the reasons i use my sansamp as a pre amp and the svt as a power amp.

How does the other chip exactly change the sound? Is the overall output level of the bas lower? Or different tonal characteristics?

 

[Bert]

An TL072 might sound better, but needs a lot more ampere. The 9V Batterie wouldn't last that long.

 

[Meypelnek]

Can anybody please help me to do my homework? What chip? Where is this located? And where would you get a replacement/ an alternative to it? Thanks so much!

 

[sanderhermans]

Can anybody please help me to do my homework? What chip? Where is this located? And where would you get a replacement/ an alternative to it? Thanks so much!

Chip on the circuit board of the bass. But my suggestion is to leave everything stock. If you do have trouble, contact customer service.