zvenx Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 HI, I have a 92 stingray 4 string bass. When I turn up the 12Khz boost beyond ZERO it hisses like crazy, well enough to make me notice, is there any mods that I can do like upgrade or changing some capacitor or resistor so that I can still get a 12Khz boost WITHOUT the added hiss and noise? thanks, richard sven richard sven sound sculptist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 Well, I don't know of any mods to help with hiss, I just bought a brand new MM Stingray, and I notice a little hiss when I crank the treble. I think it's just a fact of the beast. Some preamps are quieter than others. Not intended to be a plug, but Carvin preamps are pretty damn quiet. Anyway, as I mentioned, I just bought a beautiful new MM Stingray which I detailed in other topics (GAS Attacks...) and already I'm going through what I deal with any time I have a bass with only one pickup. I want 2! Since all the P-Basses I've owned have been non-collectable, I always wind up putting in a J pickup in the bridge (if it didn't already have one). I actually did put a second pickup in an old Stingray I had back in the 80's. I bought another Stingray pickup (this was before they made replacements) and put it in the front. It was pretty cool. So, now I look at the brand new bass and think... Lakland setup? I know that cutting into it may be a dumb thing to do, but afterall, the Lakland setup is a standard now, everyone copied it (including Carvin). So why not me? I could put a single stack humbucker or a Barto Quad or something in there. My problem with MMs has always been that they only have one basic sound. It's a GREAT sound, that's why I've bought 5 of them over the years, but that's also why I've sold them all! So maybe doing the mod will make this more practical and make me keep this one. The bass is wonderful, it has a purity of tone that's a joy to play. I've been practing my Sturm Etudes and Bach Cello Suites on it and it's a great sounding instrument. And of course the slap sound is to die for. So, my question is, should I leave it alone and keep it classic? Will adding a new pickup destroy it's instrinsic value? If I do add a pickup, which one? Where should I put it? I notice on Laklands the front pickup seems further apart from the humbucker than if it were in the classic J bass position (between the third and fifth harmonics above the 24th fret location). But notice on the Esh bass profiled in this month's BP the placement of the J pickup in relation to the MM. They put it closer than Lakland, I'd guess that's the J bass position. Should I leave it alone, or cut it and make it the do everything bass I think it could be? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zvenx Posted February 26, 2001 Author Share Posted February 26, 2001 thanks Ed, you response gave me an answer I needed. I was in contact with Ernie Ball and they suggested that I need a new preamp and that I send my bass all the way from jamaica for them to take a look at it. I only have one Bass, so my productions would be on hold whilst I did this, and if at the end of all this, it turns out that this is simply how EB ball's high end behave, I wouldn't be too impressed. I did suspect that it is naturally noisy, cause I had noticed it years ago and ignored it and forgot about it. Re; placement of the J pickup I have no idea. I love the sounds of the Lakland and would buy one now if I could afford it...for the versatility of the sound. the ones that I personally like the most is the ones that had Seymour Duncan Bassline Pickups both humbucking and the J. Found them very versatile. thanks again, good luck with your mod. richard richard sven sound sculptist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Addicott Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 Originally posted by Ed Friedland: So, my question is, should I leave it alone and keep it classic? Will adding a new pickup destroy it's instrinsic value? If I do add a pickup, which one? Where should I put it? I've seen a couple of different Stingrays with a P pickup added (never tried one, though). It seems like it could be a good complement for the MM near the bridge. I'm still getting used to my new used Stingray 5, and like you, I find myself a bit confined with just one pickup. However, I want to give the single bridge-bound pickup concept a real thorough try. (Sounds like you already have 5 times, and are still restless...) At least I have that 3-way switch to keep me distracted. What I might very well consider doing at some point is upgrading the preamp (& who knows, maybe even the pickup) with a Seymour Duncan or a Bartolini unit. I wouldn't know for sure until I tried it, but I suspect that both of these preamps would be somewhat quieter and more musical than the stock one. (Reviews in BP and on Matt Schmill's review site seem to confirm this.) Jeff Addicott http://www.jeffnet.org/~addicott/bass.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 28, 2001 Share Posted February 28, 2001 I'm very close to doing the added pickup, but now I'm faced with P or J? The J is a standard now so people won't think it's weird (if I ever want to sell it) but I'd like to have another totally distinct voice to the axe like a P pickup. Let's face it, a single J pickup up front is close, but not quite as punchy as a P. (See Dude's recent post in Gas Attack). Well, the standard P-bass position would put the G string coil right next tothe MM pickup, it's very close. I'd want them a little further apart for looks, but then there's the sound.... When will this madness end???? www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted February 28, 2001 Share Posted February 28, 2001 Originally posted by Ed Friedland: When will this madness end???? this may be ridiculous, but perhaps you could plan on keeping it. then you'd have the MM sound everyone loves and the versatility that you seem to require (though if i owned more than two basses, i think versatility would be a moot point...). http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif to resurrect a topic, my essential list: P J stingray rickenbacker fretless with a solid preamp into my K2, that is all the versatility i would need. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspangle Posted February 28, 2001 Share Posted February 28, 2001 Ed, you're old enough to have lived through this phenomenom: A bass that you have bought new or near new years ago is NOW considered "vintage" or "desirable". I'm a little older than you and I've experienced this. For example, I have a mid 70's Jazz that was an only OK instrument when I bought it in the mid 70's. I modified it by replacing the thin sounding noisy PU's, the stock bridge, which was so sloppily machined that adjustment screws never worked correctly, and I lost the pick guard. It's a much better instrument now, but I unwittingly threw away hundreds of dollars. Your new MM could be "vintage" 20 years from now. If it has one great sound now, why cut and past? You have plenty of other basses to carry with you if you need a different timbre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 Originally posted by bspangle: Ed, you're old enough to have lived through this phenomenom: A bass that you have bought new or near new years ago is NOW considered "vintage" or "desirable". I'm a little older than you and I've experienced this. For example, I have a mid 70's Jazz that was an only OK instrument when I bought it in the mid 70's. I modified it by replacing the thin sounding noisy PU's, the stock bridge, which was so sloppily machined that adjustment screws never worked correctly, and I lost the pick guard. It's a much better instrument now, but I unwittingly threw away hundreds of dollars. Your new MM could be "vintage" 20 years from now. If it has one great sound now, why cut and past? You have plenty of other basses to carry with you if you need a different timbre. Yeah, it's hard to imagine that one day people will be saying "Yeah man, those VInatge 2001 Ernie Ball's were the bomb!" But you're right. However, the other post about getting it the way I want it so I won't sell it makes sense to me too. I played it last night on my gig with my New Orleans R&B band "Lazy Ed & The Strat-O-Loungers www.lazy-ed.com and it really shined on a funk version of Iko Iko. But I used it for a whole set where I usually stick with the flat-wound P bass. It did okay, it was fun to play, and had more depth than I would have thought, but the soundman (also a bassist) mentioned he thought it was lacking out front. I love playing that bass though, so I'm pretty much sure I'm going to put a P bass pickup in front. I brought it in to the shop today, but he was too busy to take it in, so I have another week to obssess about! My idea is to put a P bass in reverse setup (G and D coil toward the neck and E and A coil toward the bridge). The stock P position puts the G coil overlapping the HB that's already there. Moving the thing up to where the G coil is in the J position puts the E coil too close to the neck, it could be too boomy. Reversing the coils allows m to put the E coil in the standard P spot and the G coil a little closer to the neck to get a fatter sound. It seems like a good idea. If it sucks, I can always put a new pickguard on it and you'd never know (unless you take it off). So, that's my plan. Jeff, you said you've seen some MMs withthe P bass up front, any memories about the positioning? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leond Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 This is my first post here but seeing that Stingrays are near and dear to my heart, I thought it'd be a good place to jump in. I started off playing guitar years ago. After a couple of stops and starts I decided to give the bass a try. I took right to it; seems like the roll of a bass player just felt more natural to me. These days I play both guitar and bass (although it seems like all my playing out situations are on the bass). Regarding Richards question about the hiss, I have a '93 Stingray and I notice that when I boost the highs on the bass, I get a lot of hiss. In a music store the other day, I tried a Stingray, boosted the highs, and got no hiss. Then I noticed, the cabinet in the store was a 1 x 15. At home, I have a 2x10 with a horn. At ear level no less. When I turned down the horn, the hiss went away. Even with the highs boosted all the way. Could this be your situation? To Ed, don't cut it! It's a great instrument. Every bass has a signature sound. There's no denying that. But I think instruments are far more versatile than we think. Take the Stingray. I've had mine since 1993 and there hasn't been one situation for a four string, fretted bass that the Stingray hasn't been able to fill. People think, "one pickup, must be limited". Quite the opposite, one pickup give you (the player) a chance to be creative. Even though it only has one pickup, there's three bands of eq (on the bass), different picking locations along the string, different eq on the amp, different speaker cabinets, different strings, different picking techniques, etc. Assuming that something about the bass attracted you in the first place and realizing all the above ways to get different tones, how is adding another pickup going to help. It may make something different but I doubt it will make it better. And it won't be the bass that you were attracted to in the first place. Sorry for the ramble, but I like talking bass, LeonD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 < Even though it only has one pickup, there's three bands of eq (on the bass), different picking locations along the string, different eq on the amp, different speaker cabinets, different strings, different picking techniques, etc. Assuming that something about the bass attracted you in the first place and realizing all the above ways to get different tones, how is adding another pickup going to help. It may make something different but I doubt it will make it better. And it won't be the bass that you were attracted to in the first place.>> Well, I understand what you're saying, my experience with the Stingray has been different. The strings, cabs, eq, picking techniques, etc can not make up for the fact that the string is not being amplified at the same (wider) point of vibration as a P bass. Where you pickup the string has much to do with the characteristic tone of a bass. My goal is not to get rid of the MM signature sound, but to give myself an option for two other signature sounds as well. I'm not getting rid of the MM pickup in the back,I'm adding another pickup - it will sound exactly the same as always when I solo the bridge pickup. Yes, I do have several basses to choose from, and the idea of leaving this one alone also makes sense, but I'm generally a one bass per gig guy. I will bring a fretless sometimes if I need both. But switching axes on a gig is like having pedals, sometimes not worth the extra freight if I'm only going to use it once in the night. I like to know that any axe I have can cut any gig I do. The MM just won't do it for some things in my opinion. There are certain sounds that can only be had from a neck position pickup. Anyway, I've made up my mind (at least for tonight!)I think it will be cool to have a great Stingray that can also sound like a P bass, a unique hybrid OR a Stingray. Hey, maybe it will catch on like the Lakland setup! And like I said before, if I really don't like it I can take it out, put a new pickguard on it and no one will ever know! (Except you guys!) ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 My '99 Stingray had some noise/hiss as well. Enough that I talked to EB tech support (great guys) and took it into the shop and compared it to other Stingrays. I came to the conclusion that it was a "feature" - and maybe I was being to sensitive to noise that I could hear in isolation but was completely unnoticeable in a band situation. Ed - how are you going to have the controls modded for the P-pickup? Blend, 2 vols, switch? I'm really curious and you've got me jonesing for a Stingray again (which I would have to add a P-pickup to, I could call it my "Ed Friedland" signature Stingray). Adding a P pickup (the traditional P-bass sound was what I missed/couldn't get from my Stingray) was one of the options I considered when I traded mine in. At the time I didn't realize I should have modded it and if it didn't give me everything I wanted that's just a good reason to buy another bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 3, 2001 Share Posted March 3, 2001 Well, as far as controls for the P bass mod, I plan on adding a mini 3 way toggle in between the volume and first tone pot. There's already 4 knobs and I don't want to squeez a blend pot in there. Plus, having talked with BP tech Guru Terry Buddingh, I was introduced to the concept of blend knobs "loading" the pickups and deteriorating the tonal purity. I never really thought of that. So, I'd just have a switch for front, mix or bridge. Not a bad way to go considering I'm happy with either pickup by itself, the mix may or may not sound good to me, but I'll still have two good sounds, maybe 3. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted March 4, 2001 Share Posted March 4, 2001 The mini-toggle sounds like the best way to go - the preamp and control plate can be left almost untouched. My G&L L2000 is set up that way for pickup selection and while it does reduce the overall choices on how to blend the pickups it seems to do well enough. I hope you get it done soon so we can read the report. I'm waiting with baited breath to hear how it works and how close you find the P through the MM preamp to sound to a real P (unless you have some kind of bypass done to allow the P to be in full passive mode). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 4, 2001 Share Posted March 4, 2001 Well, I actually considered having a preamp bypass installed too. Never seen that on a MM. Not a bad idea just in case. I'm admitting the patient for surgery next weekend. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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