Problem with active electronics?

[Wit]

Hi guys n gals,

recently purchased an '04 3q Stingray off FleaBay...

The thing sounds fine, however, I think it could have a problem.

ive not tested it on my ashdown rig yet (which has active & passive inputs), only an an old 20w rocktek bass amp.

Volume pot works fine, however the hi/mid/low pots dont seem to have any effect at all....infact if I remove the battery the sound remains the same.

Could this be a preamp or pots problem? Any suggestions?

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Try a fresh battery and check that battery is making contact with the terminals in the compartment.

Different brands of 9 volt batteris are minutely different in size although they look identical. I believe Ernie Ball uses Duracell.

And welcome newbie

 

[Joe Nerve]

Sounds to me like somebody was fiddlin with that thing. From what I remember my basses don't work at all if I pop the batteries out.

 

[Wit]

aaaah thats more like it!!

Removed the battery casing, positive wire was loose. Possibly in transit.

Soldered it back up and im in heaven, even thru a crap 20w practise amp.

Roll on tonights rehersal with a proper rig

Cheers guys!

 

[LowDownDave]

Sounds to me like somebody was fiddlin with that thing. From what I remember my basses don't work at all if I pop the batteries out.

There was a thread about this not too long ago Joe. It would seem that some EB basses work with the battery removed (just no EQ adjustment possibilities via the bass) whereas other forumites reported (like you) that their basses produced no sound at all. Could be a manufacture date thing, but this was never confirmed. My Stingray works without a battery (passive?) but haven't tested the Sterling yet. Just FYI.

 

[Wit]

Apologies for the confusion.

The bass actually did produce sound with a battery inserted, and with it removed. (As it turns out, the battery was permanently off cos of the loose cable)

So works without a battery...its an '04...

 

[EasyTiger]

Welcome!

 

[fretless1]

Corrosion in Battery compartment

Glad to find you resolved your problem. I have a fretless StingRay 4 from 2002. I had not played it for a while and also found the active eq not to be working a couple weeks ago . I changed the battery....still nothing! I took the battery compartment apart and then fouind the problem, some corrosion on the negative battery contact. I cleaned it at all up with some WD40 and its working perfectly now. The old battery had not leaked, so I can only put it down to the climate where I live. For those that happen to read the strings in this post, I wrote this to reassure those in despair that if their active EQ stops working its probably just a simple problem, cheers Tom .

 

[Hutton]

All this type of info is very much appreciated. I recently was experiencing problems including strange intermittent sounds and sudden loss of volume. As my amp was only months old I assumed it was the active electronics in my ray. However, everything checked out. So, you've guessed it, it was the valves in the amp. Two new valves later and normal service was resumed. Learning curves are greatly helped by the experience of those who take part in this forum. The moral of the tale for me is to post up the problem on the forum and the chances of solving the problem quicker are greatly enhanced.