Problems with my (currently silent) Stingray

[Defiant]

Hey everyone,

The unthinkable has occured... my (1 1/2 year old) stingray 5 w/piezo has suddenly died!

The bass is now not giving any output... nothing is registering on a tuner, and it's definately not the amp. I have replaced the battery to no avail. I had someone in a local music store open it up and check the input connections, battery connections, and the pre-amp.

Just before it cut out, the sound was crackling after I played each note.

Has anyone come across this, and have any idea what might be going on? I'm thinking that maybe the pre-amp has packed it in?

Cheers,

Defiant

 

[strummer]

Hey everyone,

The unthinkable has occured... my (1 1/2 year old) stingray 5 w/piezo has suddenly died!

The bass is now not giving any output... nothing is registering on a tuner, and it's definately not the amp. I have replaced the battery to no avail. I had someone in a local music store open it up and check the input connections, battery connections, and the pre-amp.

Just before it cut out, the sound was crackling after I played each note.

Has anyone come across this, and have any idea what might be going on? I'm thinking that maybe the pre-amp has packed it in?

Cheers,

Defiant

I really can't be of much help, but i feel for you. You might want to check the battery compartment/battery fit, as some batteries make lousy conections.

I hope you didn't pay that "someone"?
To check for electronics faults you'll want to start by finding the problem. the way to do that is to work your way along the signal chain. I use wires with tiny metal clamps for this. First simply find the wires from the pick up, clamp one cable to each (you can do this on a solering point) and the other ends of the cables to your signal cord going to the amp. Then do the same after the preamp. Then, if there is no signal after the preamp, check the battery leads coming to the preamp with a multimeter. If the fault is in the preamp you'll probably want to contact the place where you bought the bass, or EBMM customer service if you are in the US.
If you get signal from the preamp, continue following the signal.
cheers
/magnus

 

[Paul_C]

my guess would be battery/battery box too, have you tried pushing the battery in as far as it will go, and maybe adding a little packing behind it to keep it from moving ?

failing that it might be the wiring from box to preamp, certainly worth checking again.


P.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Some batteries are minutely smaller in physical size and may not make propper contact with the connectors in the battery compartment.

 

[StingRayzor]

I share your pain. Same thing happened to me about three years ago with an EBMM bass. Mine was the battery box. It was a quick fix that cost me very little. Did the person who looked at it remove the box to inspect the connections? Just an idea. Good Luck.

 

[58super]

Crackling after each note could mean a bad connection somewhere.
Might be the output jack?

 

[Defiant]

my guess would be battery/battery box too, have you tried pushing the battery in as far as it will go, and maybe adding a little packing behind it to keep it from moving ?

failing that it might be the wiring from box to preamp, certainly worth checking again.


P.

Thanks everyone for your advice... I decided to check the battery compartment myself, and sure enough, one of the leads had come loose! It's all fixed now after 2 mins with a soldering iron. Cheers

 

[Bill]

Another happy ending! I'm glad it's all fixed up now. Enjoy!