adouglas
Well-known member
Several weeks ago I succumbed to temptation and bought a limited-edition Envy Green Bongo 5HS.
I've only played it a few times. Last time I pulled it out, in January, I noticed that the electronics were making some noise... not popping-crackling or hum, but random noise kind of like wind blowing across a microphone.
It was coming only from the neck single-coil. When I panned to the bridge pickup, it was perfect. Pan back, and noise. Wonky connection from the pickup, I thought, or maybe a bad pan pot. I resolved to call Customer Service for advice sometime after NAMM, but never got around to it.
Last night I pulled it out again to learn some new material. Obeying the advice of the wisest man I ever knew ("never overlook the obvious," he said) I put some fresh batteries in it. The ones it came with had some zap left according to my tongue, but had an expiration date of 10/2010 so they must have been a few years old at least.
Bingo. Noise gone. Issue resolved.
So here's the point. The old batteries did not cause poor sound from the whole bass. It was isolated in just one pickup, which made it appear to be a hardware problem and not a battery problem.
I have absolutely no clue why this might have happened, but thought I'd pass it along as an object lesson to make sure you've eliminated all the variables before calling for help.
I've only played it a few times. Last time I pulled it out, in January, I noticed that the electronics were making some noise... not popping-crackling or hum, but random noise kind of like wind blowing across a microphone.
It was coming only from the neck single-coil. When I panned to the bridge pickup, it was perfect. Pan back, and noise. Wonky connection from the pickup, I thought, or maybe a bad pan pot. I resolved to call Customer Service for advice sometime after NAMM, but never got around to it.
Last night I pulled it out again to learn some new material. Obeying the advice of the wisest man I ever knew ("never overlook the obvious," he said) I put some fresh batteries in it. The ones it came with had some zap left according to my tongue, but had an expiration date of 10/2010 so they must have been a few years old at least.
Bingo. Noise gone. Issue resolved.
So here's the point. The old batteries did not cause poor sound from the whole bass. It was isolated in just one pickup, which made it appear to be a hardware problem and not a battery problem.
I have absolutely no clue why this might have happened, but thought I'd pass it along as an object lesson to make sure you've eliminated all the variables before calling for help.
