Pete B Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Hi everyone, Just started on the double bass - bought an instrument i'm happy with and am loving it! But...in preparation for playing live I bough myself a [email="K@K"]K@K[/email] bass master pro (pick up, wing tranducer, preamp - the whole she-bang) and after carefully painstakingly fixing it to my upright, I plugged in and it sounds like an old beat up vinyl recording! Popping and crackling etc. I'm plugging straight into my old Peavy TNT 115 BW electric bass amp and it doesn't have these problems with the electric bass. I hear that it is possible to damage the wing tranducer, but I was exceptionally careful with this (didn't force it in any way) and the crackling is still there when I completely mute this channel through the preamp. Next week i'm going to a practice room with the lads and will try playing straight through a pa and start isolating things to see where the issue is, but i'd really appreciate any advice from anyone in the know or who has had similar problems. I'm feeling very much like a lost novice at the minute... thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Sutcliffe Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 What happens if you plug the pickups straight into your amp without the preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 (edited) I had the same problem with a bassmax, turns out it was damaged. But in my case it was crackling all the time. Many apologies for stating the obvious but firstly make sure it's nothing to do with the leads, the preamp or the amp. After that, check that the transducer is not picking up rattles from your bass, strings or other fittings and amplifying them. If all this fails, and the pickup is fitted properly, then I'm afraid the pickup is broken. Hopefully other people may have more illuminating ideas. Hope you get it sorted. Edited August 22, 2013 by Rabbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Thanks for the advice guys, especially for stating the obvious Rabbie, as the obvious bits are the ones I was worried I was getting wrong! Lots of good ideas to chase up here... I put the stereo lead from the pickups direct into my amp and all the popping and crackling completely disappeared (thanks Alistair ). This seemingly cuts out a lot of possibilities - especially the more scary ones. As a result I'm confident that the pickups are working correctly and are fitted well and that there is no issue with my amp. This leaves the possibility of the lead from pre amp to the amp or the preamp itself. The pre amp has internal trim pots for EQ which I can have a twiddle of and the practice room adjoins a studio with a plethora of fine jack leads to try. I'm feeling much better about isolating the problem now and the bottom line is the preamp is new and under warranty if it is faulty. Thanks again for the help fellas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Sutcliffe Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 One quick thing to check Pete: I think those preamps have a little screwdriver inside that should be fixed to some velcro on the chassis. If it's come loose it might be touching something it shouldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.