LundeImages
New member
I'll try to keep this short. I bought a Stingray 5 BFR Moonbeam last fall through an authorized Ernie Ball dealer. It has always played like a bass—just a bad one. I've changed strings five times, hoping to find the sound I was looking for.
Last week, I put on a fresh set of strings, plugged the bass into Logic, and started playing. Finally, there was the tone I had been chasing! But then, suddenly—mid-bar—it disappeared, snapping back to the same dull, lifeless sound I'd been dealing with all along. If I hadn’t been recording in Logic, I would have booked a doctor’s appointment.
After a couple of hours of troubleshooting, I discovered that the bass actually does sound like a proper Stingray—but only when I give the battery compartment a push. I must have accidentally touched it when changing the strings.
That trick worked for a day or two. Now, I can’t get the preamp to function at all.
Normally, when an active bass has a dead battery, it either stops producing sound or distorts heavily. This one just keeps going, but with a completely uninspiring tone.
To be honest, this bass has been a letdown from day one. It arrived with a terrible setup, the certificate of authenticity was forgotten and had to be sent separately, the preamp has never worked properly, and now I can't even get a response from support. As if that wasn’t enough, I don’t even live on the same continent as Ernie Ball. I’m seriously considering having a tech rip out all of it, and install something that actually works.
Last week, I put on a fresh set of strings, plugged the bass into Logic, and started playing. Finally, there was the tone I had been chasing! But then, suddenly—mid-bar—it disappeared, snapping back to the same dull, lifeless sound I'd been dealing with all along. If I hadn’t been recording in Logic, I would have booked a doctor’s appointment.
After a couple of hours of troubleshooting, I discovered that the bass actually does sound like a proper Stingray—but only when I give the battery compartment a push. I must have accidentally touched it when changing the strings.
That trick worked for a day or two. Now, I can’t get the preamp to function at all.
Normally, when an active bass has a dead battery, it either stops producing sound or distorts heavily. This one just keeps going, but with a completely uninspiring tone.
To be honest, this bass has been a letdown from day one. It arrived with a terrible setup, the certificate of authenticity was forgotten and had to be sent separately, the preamp has never worked properly, and now I can't even get a response from support. As if that wasn’t enough, I don’t even live on the same continent as Ernie Ball. I’m seriously considering having a tech rip out all of it, and install something that actually works.