An Earnie ball customer from 15 years ago needs help :)

[Mr_Phunk]

An Ernie ball customer from 15 years ago needs help

Hi guys. I'm new to the forum. I'm not sure if Ernie ball can help me. I'm hoping a moderator reads this and gives me some advice.

First some background info:

I bought a new stingray in 1990-91. It took a few months to get used to it. I was a really short, skinny little 16 year old kid. This thing was BIGGER and WEIGHED MORE than me! During that time, I started noticing a problem. The G string sounded quieter, had a dead sound to it and would decay quickly, losing the fundamental (going into a harmonic). I tried different strings, altering the neck set up, pick up placement etc but nothing helped.

I took it back to the store, but they claimed they couldn't hear the difference. They DID offer a free set-up and fret work though, but that didnt help. I told myself, "Just use this bass for a while, then sell it later and buy another". Well around 1993-94, I started experiencing problems with my fretting hand which forced me to GIVE UP BASS PLAYING. It was a really sad time for me.

Fast forward to 2005. I find the old stingray hidden away in the shed and decide to give it a clean and buy some new strings (10 year old strings didnt sound so great!). After playing for a few hours I realised:

* I've lost my chops (like totally!)
* I'm 30 years old but have hardly grown an inch since I was 19 so the bass is still bigger/heavier than me and the first fret is still hard to reach
* I really love the stingray sound. It's beautiful...but that dead G string is still there, and pissing me off more than ever. Recording it DI into my digital studio setup REALLY confirms the G string sounds different. Every other string has an even, well balanced sound. The G string sounds like it belongs to another bass.

I don't want to sell this bass. It still holds so many memories and I'd also feel guilty about the next buyer realising the G string is dead.

My question is, can Ernie Ball help out a 15 year old customer? Can I try replacing the neck or some other part to fix the G string problem? Can I ship it to Ernie ball and get a REAL EXPERT to check it out and get the problem sorted out? If the answer is yes, will this cost me more than just buying a new stingray?

I should mention that I HAVE played SEVERAL other stingrays in the past 10 years and none of them had this problem. I still think the Stingray is the best bass in the world

 

[JayAmel]

Mr_Phunk,

I'm neither a moderator nor an EB employee, but please allow me to suggest that you try to re-string the G string.

You should start with the first wrap on the upper of the post, then wrap downwards.

Also ensure you have enough string length to do at least 3 or 4 wraps.

As long as this won't be tried, you can't be certain the neck is defective. Though, the problem is that your strings are damn old now, so the result won't be 100% reliable.

Hope this helps,
Jay

 

[tommyindelaware]

see if your magnets all have the approx. same amount of pull. use a small allen wrench.....they are magnetic..& easy to hold/feel.

 

[Mr_Phunk]

Thanks for replying Jay.

I have NEW strings on the bass now.

I've also tried several different brands and gauges over the years. Ive always made sure to have plenty of wraps around the post (at least 3 or 4). So this is not the problem.

 

[Mr_Phunk]

tommyindelaware, I've checked this out in the past. Someone else mentioned it to me. I'll check it again though.

I should also mention another thing. When I pluck the G, I can definitely feel a difference in the resonance of the body against my stomach compared to the other strings. It decays much quicker and has more "thud" in the attack or something.



UPDATE: Just checked the magnets and the pull seems pretty much the same on all of them

 

[JayAmel]

I have NEW strings on the bass now.

I've also tried several different brands and gauges over the years. Ive always made sure to have plenty of wraps around the post (at least 3 or 4).

And are the wraps properly positioned ? (I mean first one on top of post, and others progressively downwards)

 

[prickly_pete]

This is a long shot, but that year SR has the bridge mutes, are you sure that that the g-string mute is not touching the g-string? Also, check to make sure that both coils of the pickup are working. I had a similar problem with my 92 ray from a loose wire on the pickup, which caused one coil not to work.

 

[Mr_Phunk]

Jay yes the wrap goes from top to bottom on all strings (didnt realise you could do it any other way?! ).

prickly_pete the mutes are all down. No where near the string.

About the coils, how would I check this exactly? Is it just "obvious" from seeing a loose wire or do I need to listen to something specific to tell if a coil isnt working?

 

[Randracula]

Have you tried raising the pickup on that(g string) side?

 

[SteveB]

Mr. Phunk,

Call EBMM customer service. They can answer your questions. I'm sure they would be glad to assess the instrument, but I have no idea what it might cost.. only they could tell you that.

 

[Mr_Phunk]

Randracula yes thats what I use to do back when I bought it to compensate for the volume difference on the G. I also use to play harder

Before I posted here, I went through the EB faq and followed all their set up tips and measurements so I could get it as close as I could to factory settings. Now I'm no expert but I think I've done an OK job (best I could anyway)

 

[Spudmurphy]

It may be the nut?

I watched a DVD the other day made by an American Luthier (can't remember his name!) all about fitting new nuts to guitars. man what a diffference that made.
I watched nuts being fitted but not like the way he did it.
just a long shot !!
Good luck and keep on playing - I don't let a couple of arthritic fingers stop me ;-)

 

[basspastor]

Call EBMM customer service! This will take all the guess work out of your problem and in the long run save you time for in most cases time is money and some things become very aggravating. Check with your local postal service etc. for shipping cost. Approx. $60.00 one way shipping. There, I solved one of your problems.
P.S. really some things can wear on your nerves, try not to let this happen.

 

[Mr_Phunk]

basspastor yeah calling EB is what I wanted to do. I thought it might be better to find out if they would even support me first, by asking on this board.

Who else does "customer support" for a 15 year old product?!

 

[SteveB]

basspastor yeah calling EB is what I wanted to do. I thought it might be better to find out if they would even support me first, by asking on this board.

Who else does "customer support" for a 15 year old product?!

The thing about EBMM.. they love their instruments as much as we do!

 

[prickly_pete]

About the coils, how would I check this exactly? Is it just "obvious" from seeing a loose wire or do I need to listen to something specific to tell if a coil isnt working?

Pretty simple: Simply use a small screw driver (or anything that is magnetic) and tap all of the magnets on the pickup; they should all be the same volume.

 

[Mr_Phunk]

Ah thanks pete. I just tried it. They all sound about same.

 

[prickly_pete]

I wonder if it could be a problem with the neck angle? What I mean is that the neck has to be angled a certian way in relation to the body (its not parrallel, but rather a slight downhill if the bass is lying flat on a table, and usually a shim in the neck pocket is used for this). If the neck is parrallel to the body, you would have to have the pickup saddles very low to achieve good sting action. Look at the saddle on your g-string and see if it is lying flat against the bridge, or if it is being supported by the two allen adjustment screws. If their is not a good break across the string at the bridge, the string will be muted and generally sound bad.

I hope that is clear, kinda hard to explain, but simple to understand, I guess

 

[Mr_Phunk]

Pete, Im just looking at the neck (my eyes are near the bridge looking up towards the nut) and I can't really see any sort of angle. Looks pretty flat to me but maybe I'm just looking at the wrong thing.

The G string saddle is the lowest of all strings, but it is not flat against the bridge (has slight support from the 2 allen screws)

It kind of looks like this (some really bad ascii art coming your way):

          ******** ********
********  ******** ********  ********
********  ******** ********  ********

The E and G saddles are almost the same height, but the D and A saddles are higher.

Looking at the bridge face on (from the top) the saddles are all set to different length. E being the shortest and G the longest.

                            ********
                   ******** ********
          ******** ********
********  ******** 
******** 

-------------------------------------

 

[prickly_pete]

You probably will not be able to see any angle by just looking for it, it is measued in 100ths of an inch. You could try raising the g-string a bit, to add more break on the string (just to test this idea) and see you that sounds. Btw, does the g-string sound different than the other strings unamplified?