Guest MoJo Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Before I throw myself to the lions on the Ernie Ball forums and get burned alive for suggesting such a thing, has anyone here removed the pre-amp and converted an SBMM SUB to passive electronics? If so, how did it go and how did it sound? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 I've done a few kits for - and I'm sure the owners were well pleased. Must be some mention of in my feedback😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 9 minutes ago, KiOgon said: I've done a few kits for - and I'm sure the owners were well pleased. Must be some mention of in my feedback😎 I have a look later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 I found one from Tom - can't believe how long ago! tom1946 Senior member of old..err..forgot.. Members 184 3,024 posts Location: Guisborough Report post Posted April 25, 2015 Just received a kit and pickup from John and it's transformed my MM SUB, can't believe the difference this has made, thanks so much for a superb loom too. The quality of John's kits is exemplary, very fast delivery too. rock on John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Last week, I converted a customer's active Squier Jag to passive. Completely transformed it, from an horrid boomy mush to clear articulate Fendery goodness. Sorry a bit of a thread hijack but just making the point that sometimes the manufacturers don't get it right and that simple can be best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy515 Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 I owned an active USA Sub and a passive USA SUB version at the same time. Now only own the passive version and use it for every gig. Really growly without being over-harsh. Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 I have an EBMM Sterling 5 and had it converted to passive, much prefer it now. Plus it is lighter with the guts out, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 16 hours ago, Paul S said: I have an EBMM Sterling 5 and had it converted to passive, much prefer it now. Plus it is lighter with the guts out, too PM’d you Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Nothing in my inbox, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassalarky Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 The one in my avatar pic is passive (wired parallel) and I think it sounds great.p It's not actually a MM bass, but very similar. I like simplicity so it has only a volume control, couldn't be happier with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 On 05/11/2019 at 15:06, Paul S said: I have an EBMM Sterling 5 and had it converted to passive, much prefer it now. Plus it is lighter with the guts out, too That's going back a bit now, Paul @MoJoI spotted this because I had a vague recollection of there being an output strength issue with the EBMM pickup when converting the bass to passive. Now - I must say - the Ernie Ball and Music Man sites are very, very light on the technical (I suppose they don't want people fiddling with their admittedly excellent products) so I have no idea if this also applies to the SBMM version. If you want the full blow by blow, the thread is here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/294193-paul-ss-sterling-5/#comments The issue was compounded by Paul's request to add a powerful Aguilar P-pickup into the equation but the MM pickup had an exceptionally low resistance (from memory less than 3kohm). I believe that it is basically a noiseless single coil and has a dummy coil to counteract the hum but that is only going from a hint on their website. Nevertheless, I had to wire the MM in series (it is in parallel when running through the active EQ) and that got the output to a level where a blend arrangement could be used to balance the two pickups in the middle position of the three way switch. I'm sure it was a bit of an offense against the original EBMM pickup design concept but, I have to say, it sounded brilliant! The SBMM might be completely different in all respects but the wiring convention to put the EBMM into series turned out to be: Red is hot White and black joined Green to ground Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 34 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: That's going back a bit now, Paul @MoJoI spotted this because I had a vague recollection of there being an output strength issue with the EBMM pickup when converting the bass to passive. Now - I must say - the Ernie Ball and Music Man sites are very, very light on the technical (I suppose they don't want people fiddling with their admittedly excellent products) so I have no idea if this also applies to the SBMM version. If you want the full blow by blow, the thread is here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/294193-paul-ss-sterling-5/#comments The issue was compounded by Paul's request to add a powerful Aguilar P-pickup into the equation but the MM pickup had an exceptionally low resistance (from memory less than 3kohm). I believe that it is basically a noiseless single coil and has a dummy coil to counteract the hum but that is only going from a hint on their website. Nevertheless, I had to wire the MM in series (it is in parallel when running through the active EQ) and that got the output to a level where a blend arrangement could be used to balance the two pickups in the middle position of the three way switch. I'm sure it was a bit of an offense against the original EBMM pickup design concept but, I have to say, it sounded brilliant! The SBMM might be completely different in all respects but the wiring convention to put the EBMM into series turned out to be: Red is hot White and black joined Green to ground Hope this helps Thanks for that Andy. 3k is exceptionally low for a bass humbucker IMO. I think you have to retain the parallel wiring option to get the classic 'Ray' sound. From what I can recall when I owned a full fat US Stingray 5, the series wired tone is darker with less attack. Food for thought, I may leave well alone, for the time being Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 28 minutes ago, MoJo said: Thanks for that Andy. 3k is exceptionally low for a bass humbucker IMO. I think you have to retain the parallel wiring option to get the classic 'Ray' sound. From what I can recall when I owned a full fat US Stingray 5, the series wired tone is darker with less attack. Food for thought, I may leave well alone, for the time being As Paul says in the original thread, it produced a really good sound in this instance but yes - probably, in general. Trouble is, presumably the concept is very low output with the EQ amplifying the sound to give the classic MM tones. If so, going passive is going to be a bit of a compromise whatever. But - and it's a big but - the SBMM might be completely different. I fitted a MM lookalike for someone another time and that was pretty high output - more like 10k. I suppose you really can't make assumptions. Let us know how you get on. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 5 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: That's going back a bit now, Paul Isn't it! 3 years ago, seems like yesterday. I was hoping you'd chime in, I couldn't find the original thread! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 Sorry for a bit of a hijack but @Andyjr1515 I’m looking to do this to my 6 string bass the pickups outputs are around 12k each so do you think I could just scrap the preamp and convert to passive without any problems??........😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 54 minutes ago, Jimothey said: Sorry for a bit of a hijack but @Andyjr1515 I’m looking to do this to my 6 string bass the pickups outputs are around 12k each so do you think I could just scrap the preamp and convert to passive without any problems??........😀 I'm no expert, but I would have thought so. What's the bass? In most/many cases with basses, the pre-amp is actually just a powered EQ and the pickups themselves are passive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 38 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: I'm no expert, but I would have thought so. What's the bass? In most/many cases with basses, the pre-amp is actually just a powered EQ and the pickups themselves are passive. It’s a Washburn XB600 (the one I did the build thread about) my plan is just to replace the existing electrics with 2V and 2T pots instead I’ll just give it a go and see what happens........👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 44 minutes ago, Jimothey said: It’s a Washburn XB600 (the one I did the build thread about) my plan is just to replace the existing electrics with 2V and 2T pots instead I’ll just give it a go and see what happens........👍 I'm pretty sure that will work just fine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 48 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: I'm pretty sure that will work just fine Cheers mate..........👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 (edited) The Joe Dart signature bass is basically a passive Stingray/Sterling. I also very much like my Sandberg Basic in passive mode. Especially with flatwounds! Edited November 8, 2019 by dannybuoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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