• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan

Kaputsport

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Aug 1, 2009
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3
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Carlisle PA
Hello, I am new here, but not to music, or forums. I searched, but this is more of general question.

I recently acquired an Ernie Ball Musicman SUB 5 bass. I have owned it for 3 days now, and I have a slight problem I think.

The bass plays very well, and sounds great, except for the higher strings. I played a gig last night, first real opportunity to play the bass ( I like to be daring) and the bass was a little odd, compared to my Pedulla, but also, it seems the higher strings, (D but mostly G) were quieter than the rest. I adjusted the EQ on the bass to full on, and I even adjusted the EQ on the amp to bias towards the frequencies... Still, kinda hollow.

I play through a pedal board with a few different effects, into a Marshall DBS 7200 head into a 4x10 cab. The pedulla is flat and very responsive, the MM not so much. Any tricks or things I can try???
 

five7

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Nov 24, 2008
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4,296
Make sure the pickup is set to factory specs. Put some new strings on it.
 

Slingy

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Aug 15, 2007
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Fair Oaks, CA
I believe the Subs are boost only so a flat setting would be tone controls at zero. Not 100 percent sure here.
 

Basscake

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Oct 23, 2008
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149
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@ home
You could try a nice set of new strings.

I find that the EB Slinkys are a very good match for a SR5. Super-, Regular-, Power-. Whatever gauge you prefer...

Try to look at the problem from a different perspective: Your lower stings are louder than the higher ones. The aim is not necessarily to make the higher stings also louder, but to create a overall more even sound on your bass.

The gauges on the slinkys are slightly different to what other manufacturers consider as standard. That is 130(or125),105,85,65,45 in most cases.
The EBs Regular Slinkys are 130, 100, 80, 65, 45.
Note that the E and A sting are slightly lighter in comparison. As for the Low B: Well a fat 130 B string never did any harm on a 34" scale bass.

With some other brands I also felt that the E and A string are rather dominating my SR5. It's probably them you should try to tame a bit.

Maybe its just me imagining things, but i really think it makes a difference on my bass.
 

RocketRalf

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Joined
Dec 10, 2007
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1,119
Location
Sydney
NEVER turn all the knobs to full on an active EQ bass. If that alone doesn't balance it, try raising the pickup on the side of the higher strings. If that doesn't help yet, call Customer Service. I think I'd call them anyway if I were on the States, before listening to the people on this forum giving advice without having seen your bass... like me :p
 
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