Curtis_Bass Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Hey there guys, I've got a weird ringing/rattling coming from Musicman Sterling Sub bass one of the budget series (Under £300) models. The ringing/ratting only happens when I play the low E open, I've adjusted the neck, bridge and made sure the machine heads are fully tightened e.g. the screws but the ringing/rattling is still there? I've read other forums and it seems like it's a trust rod fault but I'd like to get some more knowledge on this. Also the low E makes the pickup clip and distorted no matter how low the pickup is there, I'm thinking of throwing in a Seymour Duncan SMB4D to solve this hopefully but that pickup is for a 3 band EQ preamp but the Sub is 2 band is there a way to wiring it into a 2 band instead of a 3 band? Sorry for rambling and such but I bought the bass new a few days ago I tried it out in the shop I didn't notice these faults in store only since I've tried it out at home, maybe because there was other musicians about trying stuff so I wasn't able to hear the faults? The shop is 2 hours a way so just simple popping back isn't easy for me, seeing as I can't travel easily due to health. So any advice would be awesome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 [quote name='Curtis_Bass' timestamp='1481200763' post='3190427'] Hey there guys, I've got a weird ringing/rattling coming from Musicman Sterling Sub bass one of the budget series (Under £300) models. The ringing/ratting only happens when I play the low E open, I've adjusted the neck, bridge and made sure the machine heads are fully tightened e.g. the screws but the ringing/rattling is still there? I've read other forums and it seems like it's a trust rod fault but I'd like to get some more knowledge on this. Also the low E makes the pickup clip and distorted no matter how low the pickup is there, I'm thinking of throwing in a Seymour Duncan SMB4D to solve this hopefully but that pickup is for a 3 band EQ preamp but the Sub is 2 band is there a way to wiring it into a 2 band instead of a 3 band? Sorry for rambling and such but I bought the bass new a few days ago I tried it out in the shop I didn't notice these faults in store only since I've tried it out at home, maybe because there was other musicians about trying stuff so I wasn't able to hear the faults? The shop is 2 hours a way so just simple popping back isn't easy for me, seeing as I can't travel easily due to health. So any advice would be awesome!! [/quote] If it's new I would ring the shop first, they may be able to replace it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 (edited) If you google 'sub ray preamp clipping' you should get a few links to various threads on Talkbass and others discussing the hot preamp issue. It's a well known phenomenon with these basses and there's also a few solutions discussed. The string rattle is a separate problem and could be caused by anything from the nut to the bridge and everything in between, including uneven frets or a truss rod issue. Edited December 8, 2016 by Cato Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Check that it's not a loose machine head rattling - i.e. the shaft, not the baseplate. I had this problem on a bass & I took ages to track it down. Like you, I thought it was all sorts of other things. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr zed Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 (edited) The nut may be cut too deep on the E string- worth checking. Edited December 9, 2016 by mr zed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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