Replacing a fried preamp, Five String MM

[prisonstreet]

Aloha...I recently had my bass ruined by a hack 'repairman'. It functioned great before and now I am working with some that appears far more competent. The bass is from 1990 and as a bass player, with zero knowledge on how to source parts/repair a bass, I really need help to find a preamp-motherboard that will get my bass back in working shape. I'm so bummed. Hopefully someone can help. Thanks in advance!

 

[tbonesullivan]

Contact EBMM customer service and see i they can repair it. Unfortunately I can see what looks like at least one damaged trace, which should really never happen on a relatively low voltage low current thing like a bass preamp. Make sure to let anyone and everyone you know NOT to go to this "repairman", as I've rarely seen worse soldering than that. What were they trying to fix?

 

[prisonstreet]

@tbonesullivan I've sent an email to EBMM and am waiting for a reply. I recently moved to a place that my pickups will amplify some country radio station nearby....It's super gnarly when I use a distortion pedal. This so called repair guy overheard me talking about it and said it was an easy fix. He just needed to shield the pickups with copper. So I dropped it off with him (working) and gave it back to me like this (screwed).

 

[tbonesullivan]

Yeah.. uh.. I'm pretty sure the pickup cavity and the underside of the pickguard are already shielded, and copper, really? Sounds like one of those guys who watched a youtube video. I'm also not sure why he was even messing with the electronics if he was shielding the pickups. What model of bass do you have? I'm assuming a stingray 5, but that looks like it has a metal control plate, which I don't usually see on Stingray 5s.

Did you have another bass in the same setup to see if it was isolated to the bass or to the location / rig?

 

[prisonstreet]

You are correct. It is a Stingray 5H and it is from 1990. I'm the original owner. I lost my home and most of my town in the Lahaina 2023 fire and was lucky to have my office/studio not burn. So the bass is one of the few things I still have, pre-August 2023. I bought a second one in the Fall of 2023 that is a 5H direct from MM, but have never opened it up. I'm fairly positive it gonna be different from my original and I'm not qualified to work on my gear. I should probably get more acquainted with the inside and not just performing. lol

I play both through my GK/Trace Elliot (cab) set up (back on island) and my Aguilar gear here. The new repair guy I trust and want to source a replacement part that won't compromise my tone. @tbonesullivan thank you for assisting!!