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HH Sterling pickup problem

B

baron

New member
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
2
I love my HH Sterling but the bridge pickup is driving me nuts! Intermittently, half of the pickup cuts out for no apparent reason and then will spontaneously start working again. The sound does not completely stop but it loses about half its power in any switch position which uses that coil of the pickup. Wiggling the switch back and forth has no effect on the problem. This may happen several times a session or may not surface for days. I sent it back to Ernie Ball and they kept it for a couple weeks but were not able to duplicate the problem and so found nothing wrong. Because the sound does not completely stop, I think they did not hear the issue. The only thing that seems to bring it back to life when it happens is loosening the back cover plate slightly and tapping or wiggling the cover until comes back to full strength. Unless I want to continue to drive the sound guys nuts I'm forced to use switch positions that do not use that coil. I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice. :confused:
Thanks in advance.
 
bdgotoh

bdgotoh

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
970
Location
Pacific NW
I had a similar problem with an early HH Sterling, but wiggling the switch lever made the coil cut in and out. I sent it back to EB and they put a new switch in and the problem was fixed.
I now have a more recent Sterling HH and they have stopped using the early switch that had a plastic body and are now using an open switch more like the HH Stingray and single H Sterling use.
That story about the back cover makes me wonder if it's a grounding issue. The inside of the back cover has conductive foil on it that might be shorting out a wire. If they left that cover off to do their testing that might be why they couldn't replicate the problem. Try playing your bass with the back cover off and see if the problem goes away. If that cures the problem you can put electrician's tape on the inside of the cover, just don't cover up a small area where the ground wire for the cover sits.
 
B

baron

New member
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
2
The EBMM customer service and tech were very good to work with and tried diligently for a couple of weeks to duplicate the problem. Obviously they can't figure out how to fix something that's not happening...it's like the car engine that stops making a funny noise when you take it to the garage for repair. Do I risk frying anything by playing for a short time with the back cover off, assuming nothing pokes into the area? Any problems not having the ground wire touching the cover? Sorry for my ignorance regarding the electronics.
 
J

jsc1953

New member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
3
pick up issue?

I have a sterling hh, that for some reason the d string loses practically all volume, on intermintent occasions. It is a 2007 that I bought used and appears practically unused. Has anyone had this issue, if so I would welcome all advice. I noticed a post by others that had similar problems, but this is only the d, weird?
 
J

jsc1953

New member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
3
I also have a similar problem with my sterling hh. It is a 2007 that for some reason, the sound cuts out almost completely on the d string? It is intermintent and it cannot figure out why, any ideas?
 
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