Sterling Pickup Sugestions?

[tweedeluxe59]

I have a 2000 Sterling which i which i bought new and loved the sound of when it was new. Now my playing style has changed and i need to change the tone of my bass acordingly. I now find myself playing my 78 pbass more and more becuase of the tone. I know there are 10000 "boutique" pickup winders out there. Have any of you replace the pickups on your sterling and if so with what? I want that 70's pre erinie ball growl. I gone as far as to put flats on it and it still won't stop clicking! help me!

 

[mynan]

You're probably not going to get a lot of takers on this one... Most of us really, I mean REALLY, like the way our basses sound right from the factory...

 

[Frankie5Angels]

I think the essence of an EBMM bass are its pickups. I wouldn't change them at all. If you did change the pickups, it wouldn't really be an EBMM bass anymore. I'd change my amps and cabinets if I were looking for a different sound.

 

[Retrovertigo]

Get yourself a Sterling H/S

As for the clicking, that is a technique issue, if I can be so blunt. I had the same problem for years, digging in way too much. MM instruments are more versatile than some people give them credit for, so long as your technique is versatile as well.

 

[tweedeluxe59]

I guess i'm looking for the sound or a pre EB stingray. They sound great. I want something that will tame the brightness of a sterling, and even with flats on it i can't seem to do it.

As far as technique goes, i'm a clasically trained jazz upright player who's been touring and playing professionally for the past 10 years. it might be up on CL if i can't find a way to coax james jamerson out of it...

 

[strummer]

I don't want to sound offensive in any way, but if you want a Jamerson P bass sound you should probably play a real old P bass with the flats that came with it. Forget all about wiping the strings, washing hands before playing and all that, too.
You could probably "kill" new flats by greasing them repeatedly, too

But classically trained or not I will also suggest it might be a technique issue, since the "clicking" will come from either the string hitting your fret board or from the release when plucking. I mean there isn't anything else that can go click, at least not anything I have ever encountered

Edit: I saw you own a 78 P bass, which makes this whole question sound real odd??? I mean, on the one hand you want the "pre EB SR sound", which would be pretty close to a new SR except a new bass is like twice as good, but on the other hand you want the jamerson sound, which is pretty far from what comes to most peoples' minds when the Stingray is mentioned sound wise? Again, not trying to be offensive

 

[the unrepentant]

That's a strange question, i wouldn't change your pickups at all because tonally there really isn't much difference at all between the old rays, the new rays and the sterling. If you're going to be really pedantic then you could try and find a pre EB pickup but it would be hard to find and could empty your wallet for potentially not a great deal of difference. And even if you did do that you'd still find youself playing your p-bass because they sound nothing alike each other. (no idea why you'd rather play the p but that's up to you).

Try a new amp or maybe a "new" bass, other than that i can't see any other pickup sounding like a musicman pickup, or any other musicman pickup sounding a whole lot different.

 

[Aussie Mark]

If flats and knob twiddling still gives you a "clicking" sound then it's not the bass that is the issue. Flats on my Stingray give me a lovely warm old school sound. Check out the link at the bottom of my sig and if you can find any "clicking" on any of the tunes I posted there, I'll buy a Warwick.

 

[Aussie Mark]

the "clicking" will come from either the string hitting your fret board or from the release when plucking. I mean there isn't anything else that can go click

If the pickup or pole pieces are set too high, the strings can also "click" when hitting the pole pieces.

 

[phatduckk]

in my experience... between owning sterlings for years and having many friends buy em the clicking is a technique or setup issue.

i've found that clicking is usually caused by:

1) strings hitting pickup poles as mark said
2) strings hitting a fret hard enough to make a click that the pickups can, well, pick up

if you just stare at the right hand while playing you might see the contact happeneing. this is how i had my "ah ha moment". Look at the pickup and string interaction and then the high fret area and see if the string makes contact there.

cutting off the horn on your cab can help possible disguise the symptom.

also, the Sterling didn't exist pre-EB. so a pre eb Stingray preamp or pickup's not gonna work... + they're hard to find.

your gonna wanna run the sterling in parallel mode (switch towards the bridge) as well cuz the Ray's are in parallel. but, keep in mind, the sterling and sr4 pickups are different (diff magnets and different in general) and so's the pre.

but really... my sterling's (all 5) growl like hell and im sure you can get there as well. you just gotta be willing to find the combination of factors that cause the click, eliminate that problem, then use EQ and string combos to get your tone... but it is in there

 

[mynan]

You might just need a good setup.

 

[bovinehost]

I guess i'm looking for the sound or a pre EB stingray. They sound great. I want something that will tame the brightness of a sterling, and even with flats on it i can't seem to do it.

I don't have enough long-term experience with Sterling basses to give you a definitive answer, but I have owned a few.

The Sterling is heavy on the mids. It is, to my ears, more aggressive than either the Stingray or the Bongo. I'm not sure you're going to get Jamerson out of it, no matter what you do.

Having said that, I have strung a Sterling with flats (TIs) and played through my "old school" rig - a Sunn 1200s and two Ampeg Classic cabs, 4-10 and 1-15. There was plenty of thump to that setup. It might be a different type of thump than you're thinking about, but it was definitely thumpy. And I had no problems taming the zing.

I'm all about taming the zing.

As far as technique goes, i'm a clasically trained jazz upright player who's been touring and playing professionally for the past 10 years. it might be up on CL if i can't find a way to coax james jamerson out of it...

You might well be happier with something else. A two-band modern Stingray does not, to my ears, sound significantly different than a pre-EB Stingray. We hope you stay in the Music Man family, but sometimes you're looking for something different.

I of all people certainly understand that. I'll try to answer any questions you might have, FWIW.

Jack

PS: (Get a Stingray! Try a Bongo!)

 

[73jbass]

Sounds like he just needs to get a Stingray.

 

[strummer]

If the pickup or pole pieces are set too high, the strings can also "click" when hitting the pole pieces.

Yeah, forgot about that one

 

[oli@bass]

IMO, to play MM instruments is at least as much about a distinctive sound as how good they feel. And although the different models have distinctive qualities, they all share a familar overall sound. So, if you're looking for something totally different, then maybe it's not to be found in a MM instrument.

Maybe a new StingRay or Sterling with the HH or HS combinations can be convinced to sound more like what you're looking for. Or try a Bongo with any pickup configuration, I've heard great things about the on-board EQ.

 

[carpedebass]

I agree with the crew here on the clicking issue! I have the same issue! I have a tendency to get overly zealous and dig in WAYYY too hard! It is most assuredly NOT a fault of the instrument. I have found that heavier guage strings help a LOT! They aren't so flimsy and can take a bit more heavy-handedness!

 

[tweedeluxe59]

I think i just need to get a sting ray. the sterling is just atlittle too agressive sounding.

there is no string contact, the sound it just sorta bright and clicky, and i have to take the highs almost alway out to give it the rounder sound i'm looking for. when it's too brite through a B15, it's time for me to get a mellower bass. I like the big mid p bass thing and i think stingrays have more of that, they are a nice balance btwn a p bass and a G&L which are just waaaaaay too agresive(to my ears).

When i got it i didn't like the stingray neck, as it seemed too big coming from playing j-basses. now after playing a 70's p-bass i think a bass could have a cadillac for a neck and it would seem slim. anyone want to trade a sterling for a stingray? kidding... sorta...

 

[strummer]

Put an ad in the for sale (or maybe want to buy) thread, and I'm sure you'll find takers!