Sterling Stingray too hot for Rumble 800

[IronLung1986]

For me and my Ray4, lowering the pickup was not enough. Re-wiring the pickup to parallel completely solved this for me. In my testing, it was the preamp in the bass itself that was clipping and distorting before I re-wired (so outboard solutions won't do any good). Not all Ray4 stock pickups are 4-wire (can be re-wired). IMO, once wired correctly in parallel, the stock pickup and pre is fine . . . sounds like a Ray.

This seems like the most likely thing to me. The pickup is too strong for the onboard preamp. And apparently according to people in this thread it's a known thing and they come that way from the factory? I know it's a cheap bass but that's less than minimum viable product in my mind.

 

[tadawson]

Maybe it's the engineer in me, but it amazes me that nobody has suggested the cheap, quick, and simple solution: Simply make an output pad for the bass pre using two $.03 resistors and be done with it. (Someone suggested a trim pot, which is essentially the same thing, but harder to find space for.)

This assumes that the signal off the bass truly is clean and that the amp is being overdriven. If the instrument pre is overdriven, then lower the pickups (an output pad won't help). (A good tech may also be able to reduce the gain of the pre, or pad it's input)

Oh, and rewiring series/parallel/whatever is a solution I would never suggest, since that will likely change the sound of the instrument.

 

[S.F.Sorrow]

I had a similar problem with my Ray 4 (from 2018, if I remember correctly). The pickup actually made the preamp inside the bass distort. I had to lower the pickup so far it sounded anemic. Pure garbage. I ripped out both the pickup and the preamp. Got a new pickup+preamp from Nordstrand. Cost me more than the bass. I could have gotten a far better bass for what I ended up paying to make my Ray 4 into a useable instrument. At least I had some fun modding it. Out of the box it was one of the worst basses I've ever owned.

 

[BazzaBass]

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.

I was wondering the same thing if OP knows about the Rumble gain

 

[MtManiac]

It seems a little odd that you’re blaming the $800 amp instead of the $250 used starter bass. Also, how are you sold on Stingrays based on this experience, if you can’t get a clean tone out of it?

That being said, I had a Ray5 and had zero issues in any amp I own. Same with my Stingray Special, either of my two active Dimensions, or my Charvel active PJ.

Batteries can be dead right out of the package. Active EQs can cut as well as boost frequency bands. Since you’re certain the fresh battery isn’t the problem despite so many suggesting it’s likely the problem, play around with your EQ a bit. If that doesn’t resolve the issue in an acceptable way, I wouldn’t be blaming the amp. The amp is fine. Sometimes preamps are just f**ked. It may be why it was for sale.

 

[Sub-Frequency]

Ok cool that’s good to know. I’ve always liked emg’s. Did you still like the tone after the pup swap?

Yes. It fixed all of the issues, and sounded great IMHO.

That said, I ended up not keeping the bass because it was too heavy. Picked up an identical one (much lighter) a few years later and it didn’t have the problem, (unless the battery gets low) so apparently it was resolved. There’s a thread up here that verifies my suspicion that the newer SUBs have had the issue corrected.

 

[Baker69]

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

The OP said they'd bought a cheap $250 Sterling Stingray bass so I would take it from this that it's a new or nearly new SUB Series bass?

 

[Stylee Mousse]

That’s the problem though. It’s hard to find a sweet spot on my volume knob every practice/show. That seems like a finicky solution to me. I wish there was a way to play my bass at full volume and not explode my preamp. If there was a way to control the signal somewhere between my bass and my amp i would be interested.

I sympathize. I am a “all knobs on the bass up” guy and play a high output but passive G&L bass. It would bug me to hunt a vol setting all the time.

Years ago I ended up playing guitar in a band with my wife on bass. She has an L2000 and plays hard with a pick. Very high output that drives vintage amps like my v-4b that she uses into not nice distortion. So she turns the vol knob where it needs to be reliably and with no problem. So solution for her….

in-line eq pedal is a good suggestion as is a simple L-pad (could even be built into a cable end if it is the right plug and you can solder). The parallel pu wiring idea is also super solid, and recommended by certified bass nerds and stingray fetishists.

 

[Baker69]

On my SUB Ray 5 initially I got away with just reducing the volume on the bass itself but I wasn't satisfied with that situation.

On these basses both the preamp and pickup are very hot, best solution is to swap them both, I fitted a Nordstrand MM5.2 in mine plus a John East 3 band preamp. I only did this (and both items combined cost a fair bit) because I think it is a superb bass with a great neck, this is now my go to bass and I prefer it to the EBMM Stingray 5 that I used to own.

It's a shame they ship the SUB's with such poor preamps & pickups, for only a reasonable extra cost they could have fitted them with slightly better (and more usable) ones and they would be brilliant right out of the box.

Build quality I find really good on these (especially the necks) and it is worth pursuing in modd'ing the electrics and you will end up with a really nice sounding and very playable instrument.

As has been said it is worth watching Low End Lobster's video's on the SUB upgrades, I think on the RAY 4 SUB basses the Aguilar pickup seems to be a good choice, you have to look out for the pickup poles lining up with the strings though due to the narrow string spacing on SUBs, on the RAY 5 the string spacing on the Nordstrand MM5.2 is spot on.

 

[Ryan Kohler]

It seems a little odd that you’re blaming the $800 amp instead of the $250 used starter bass. Also, how are you sold on Stingrays based on this experience, if you can’t get a clean tone out of it?

That being said, I had a Ray5 and had zero issues in any amp I own. Same with my Stingray Special, either of my two active Dimensions, or my Charvel active PJ.

Batteries can be dead right out of the package. Active EQs can cut as well as boost frequency bands. Since you’re certain the fresh battery isn’t the problem despite so many suggesting it’s likely the problem, play around with your EQ a bit. If that doesn’t resolve the issue in an acceptable way, I wouldn’t be blaming the amp. The amp is fine. Sometimes preamps are just f**ked. It may be why it was for sale.

Maybe “sold” isn’t the right word, but i can say that i like it’s tone and playability MUCH more than my passive g&l indonesian jazz bass which costs twice as much. At lower volumes it sounds incredible. Makes me want to invest in a higher end stingray, thus the comment that i’m now kinda hooked on stingrays. Just not necessarily this one. I guess i could pop another fresh battery in there to confirm that it’s not that, but it seems highly unlikely to me. The eq settings on my bass and amp are not even close to full and the tone is not extreme in any way. Ive played with the eq a lot. Like i said, The problem seems to be when i turn the volume up on my bass, my amp hates how strong the signal is and clips. I’m just wondering what i can do about it. Gain on my amp is fully counterclockwise. I cant turn it down any further. I dont have an input for active basses. Some good suggestions were made about changing the wiring structure in the bass. I am learning that Apparently this is a known issue with these sterling stingrays.

 

[Mike Hixx]

I had this issue with a brand new Rumble 500 this week. Using a passive Precision Bass. I have been reading up and I have seen bad solder connections and the "ICE board" blamed. Regardless, it's been happening in Rumbles since at least 2016. I exchanged it for a new one. Hopefully that solves it. My Rumble 100 has been stellar. Pretty bummed the 500 had an issue... Fingers crossed.