Sterling Stingray too hot for Rumble 800

[Ryan Kohler]

So, I have a rumble 800 combo with matching 210 cabinet. I recently picked up a cheap sterling stingray bass with active electronics. For a 250 dollar bass, holy smokes it sounds incredible! I think im hooked on stingray basses now!

However, when i went to turn up the volume i got a NASTY cracking/popping/farting gross sound. Everything was set to 12 o’clock on my amp. Gain at 9 oclock and volume at only 9 oclock too and still it happened. I turned the gain all the way down completely and it still happened. The treble and bass on my amp were set neutral as well. The tone was not overly bassy at all. I thought it might be a dying battery so i replaced it with a fresh one and still had the same results. Also, I am going straight into the amp from my bass. The cab is hooked up properly and both horns are on and working well.

The ONLY way i could get the cracking to stop was to turn the volume knob on my bass so far down its ridiculous. Like 2 or 3 out of ten. Then i could turn up the amp a decent amount without issues.

The only conclusion i can draw is that the rumble’s preamp just hates active basses and how hot they are. I dont think its my speakers. I took the front grill off and inspected everything and it looks great. My passive bass does not cause any cracking/farting/overloading. I repeat, it is a NASTY sound. Not musical in any way. Not like normal breakup or anything like that.

any suggestions for ways to make this work somehow? Without having to play with my bass volume knob at 2? I LOVE the tone of the stingray. I don’t want to give it up. But i need to find a way to tame it with my rumble. A new amp is not an option. I read in an older post you can get an eq pedal, and use it to lessen the signal strength before it reaches the amplifier. Would that work?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[IronLung1986]

Ok I have to ask - is the overdrive turned on? Cabs can sometimes make overdrives sound bad, namely those with a tweeter engaged. I guess you said it didn't happen with a passive bass but still.

With that ruled out you'll want to also try it with a different amp to make sure it's not the preamp on the bass.

That amp should be able to handle a Stingray. There's no way you should have to do any workarounds with EQ pedals just to get a good sound out of that setup. Something's wrong somewhere.

 

[Seth DuSith]

How much of the active preamp do you have boosted?

 

[steveinohio]

That’s a pretty common thing with those basses. Lower the pickup. That should solve your problem.

 

[bigtone23]

That’s a pretty common thing with those basses. Lower the pickup. That should solve your problem.

Came in to say this.
Also, start with your bass's EQ set to the center detents and not cranked up. Also a common thing with those basses...

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

How much of the active preamp do you have boosted?

That’s a pretty common thing with those basses. Lower the pickup. That should solve your problem.

Came in to say this.
Also, start with your bass's EQ set to the center detents and not cranked up. Also a common thing with those basses...

Yep, yes, and exactly !!!

Also, I loved my Fender Rumble with my passive Fenders , but once I switched to my Stingrays, I preferred MarkBass then I went on to Aguilar .
If you like what the Rumble gives you , no worries. I just think there are better amps more suited to StingRay basses.

 

[Mastermold]

I don't know, I've got a little Rumble 100 and it handles my Sterling Ray5, I just turn the volume down on the bass. Those Sterling pickups are really hot, so as others mentioned you need to be mindful of unleashing too much.

 

[bigtone23]

Yeah, if pickup height and settings don't fix it, a trick is that some Sterling SUBs have the pickup wired in series. Wiring it parallel not only lowers the output, but can result in a more authentic Stingray tone.

 

[ok-djmiller]

However, when i went to turn up the volume i got a NASTY cracking/popping/farting gross sound. Everything was set to 12 o’clock on my amp. Gain at 9 oclock and volume at only 9 oclock too and still it happened. I turned the gain all the way down completely and it still happened.

This does not sound normal to me. Active basses will have a hotter signal but not *that* much hotter. Can you plug the Sterling into a different amp and see if the same thing still happens?

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I had this issue when I played StingRays. Often times they would overdrive the input no matter what the EQ settings. When I lowered the pickup, the tone suffered. I put it through a TECH21 sansamp bass driver DI/pre. This helped, but I ultimately decided StingRays (and all active basses) weren’t for me.

 

[Baker69]

The pickups and the preamps on Sterling Ray 5 SUBS are very hot and you will be lucky to run it through anything with the volume on full.

Try the bass’s volume at 50%, plus you could drop the Gain volume on the Rumble right down.

 

[Old Blastard]

I have a SUB HH and it's hot as heck. Adjusted pick ups and keep volume lower and it works fine in my Rumble 40 and GBenz 500

 

[G-Dog]

Apparently the Sting Ray's hotness is a known issue!

Welcome to TalkBass, Ryan.

Other than that, try turning the Rumble's Gain fully counter-clockwise. It won't affect the volume, it's more of a pad to increase your bass signal, which you obviously don't need. Also, there is no "neutral" settings of EQ on the Rumble, 12 o'clock is not flat, they are all active. So turn down the Bass and Treble settings, at least, perhaps the Mids as well. Also, turn off the horns in the combo and cab. Lots of Rumblers do that, just because.

Come discuss in the Fender Rumble Club and get a free membership. See what the Rumblers there with active basses do.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

 

[Hounddog409]

The pickups and the preamps on Sterling Ray 5 SUBS are very hot and you will be lucky to run it through anything with the volume on full.

Try the bass’s volume at 50%, plus you could drop the Gain volume on the Rumble right down.

You know Sterling produces non-SUB bases.....right? OP did not mention new or used.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

My SUB 4 has a Duncan Blackouts preamp and works great with my Rumble 500. Even got a little crazy with it during a bass interlude on "Shaky Ground". Overdriven, raw, dare I say angry sound! I call my SUB 4 "Green Meany" for good reason, and it sounds great with my Rumble.

The Bar Band Bassman

 

[bigdaddybass12]

,,,,, holy smokes it sounds incredible! I think im hooked on stingray basses now!

Glad to hear another happy Sterling owner!

 

[Clarky Tee]

I had an active bass that behaved precisely that way when the battery was on the way out. Lower volume on the bass was fine, but full on would distort and make nasty sounds. My 2 cents.

 

[bigtone23]

I had an active bass that behaved precisely that way when the battery was on the way out. Lower volume on the bass was fine, but full on would distort and make nasty sounds. My 2 cents.

Good point!

 

[Ryan Kohler]

Ok I have to ask - is the overdrive turned on? Cabs can sometimes make overdrives sound bad, namely those with a tweeter engaged. I guess you said it didn't happen with a passive bass but still.

With that ruled out you'll want to also try it with a different amp to make sure it's not the preamp on the bass.

the overdrive channel is on, yes, but with the drive knob fully counterclockwise (for just a tiny amount of grit), and the od volume knob set to be the same volume as clean tone. The nasty sound occurs no matter what channel its on. I haven’t tried this bass through another amp yet but that will be next for me.

 

[Gluvhand]

Have you tried it without the additional 210 connected?