dukeplaysbass
Active member
I just nabbed a used burgundy mist Ray 4 off a big-name retailer site.
When I had the store on the phone, they told me it had a few thumps but was in good shape overall. They also told me there was an extra switch in the plate. Sounded like a treble boost, they said.
The price was already WAY more than what I've ever paid for a Ray. But I pulled the trigger anyway because I fell in love with the color.
Bass got to me yesterday.
Color is very, very cool. Matching headstock, too. I'm a little bummed because the color yellowed under the guard. Now, I can hear Capt. Bovine saying, "Only YOU care about that, Duke! You fool…" But I hate those guards, and always take them off. But this one looks like a light haze of dried pee on the burgundy mist in a sorta toilet bowl pattern. And that's why I hate the guard by the way, cuz it makes the bass look like a toilet seat. But I digress….
But I LOVE this color. And decide, I just might learn to live with a pg -- just for THIS color.
I plug it in and play it. The switch doesn't seem to do….anything. I crack it open and find this:
In case its not clear from the pic, the swx isn't hooked up to anything. Which is why it sounds like a treble boost to the store employees.
I put the cover on and play the bass some more. Start dialing around and realize the bass knob really doesn't seem to do anything either. Nor the mid. Nor the treble.
Anybody ever hear of this happening? That the EQ just craps out but the signal still goes through?
Here's a couple of extra pics of the preamp….
(BTW, aren't the dates usually stamped on that sticker, not hand-written?)
Anyway, I've replaced 2 or 3 preamps with EB before, I know that I have to send them the old one and they'll send me a new one. But I'm into this bass for a fair chunk of change now and don't want to run up the score on myself another $75-125 for a replacement preamp. And then there's the dried-pee issue.
Yes, I can take it back to the store, btw. And I might have to do that. But I LOVE this stupid color.
Any advice? (Beyond getting past the color….)
When I had the store on the phone, they told me it had a few thumps but was in good shape overall. They also told me there was an extra switch in the plate. Sounded like a treble boost, they said.
The price was already WAY more than what I've ever paid for a Ray. But I pulled the trigger anyway because I fell in love with the color.
Bass got to me yesterday.
Color is very, very cool. Matching headstock, too. I'm a little bummed because the color yellowed under the guard. Now, I can hear Capt. Bovine saying, "Only YOU care about that, Duke! You fool…" But I hate those guards, and always take them off. But this one looks like a light haze of dried pee on the burgundy mist in a sorta toilet bowl pattern. And that's why I hate the guard by the way, cuz it makes the bass look like a toilet seat. But I digress….
But I LOVE this color. And decide, I just might learn to live with a pg -- just for THIS color.
I plug it in and play it. The switch doesn't seem to do….anything. I crack it open and find this:
In case its not clear from the pic, the swx isn't hooked up to anything. Which is why it sounds like a treble boost to the store employees.
I put the cover on and play the bass some more. Start dialing around and realize the bass knob really doesn't seem to do anything either. Nor the mid. Nor the treble.
Anybody ever hear of this happening? That the EQ just craps out but the signal still goes through?
Here's a couple of extra pics of the preamp….
(BTW, aren't the dates usually stamped on that sticker, not hand-written?)
Anyway, I've replaced 2 or 3 preamps with EB before, I know that I have to send them the old one and they'll send me a new one. But I'm into this bass for a fair chunk of change now and don't want to run up the score on myself another $75-125 for a replacement preamp. And then there's the dried-pee issue.
Yes, I can take it back to the store, btw. And I might have to do that. But I LOVE this stupid color.
Any advice? (Beyond getting past the color….)
