The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!

[BabyBlueSound]

Here's some comparison, the first recording is the Sterling, the 2nd is the Ibanez. The Ibanez is clearly much louder (-22dB on Sterling VS -15dB on Ibanez) but there's absolutely no distortion.

 

[BabyBlueSound]

7 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Maybe it is a pickup issue then if it has changed, or something between the pickup and output. Does the tone affect it, ie, has the capacitor gone funny somehow. For me the first thing would be to disconnect the pickup hot output and connect it straight to a jack plug to see what that sounded like.

 

The tone is something I have checked briefly but not in detail, did not hear any weirdness going on over there... I think I'll talk to my tech about it at this point and get this checked, hoping it's just some loose capacitor or the like (I checked that too the best I could, everything seems soldered properly, nothing seems loose)...  Thanks for all the assistance, Everyone!

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, BabyBlueSound said:

 

The tone is something I have checked briefly but not in detail, did not hear any weirdness going on over there... I think I'll talk to my tech about it at this point and get this checked, hoping it's just some loose capacitor or the like (I checked that too the best I could, everything seems soldered properly, nothing seems loose)...  Thanks for all the assistance, Everyone!

IIRC there is a push/push switch on the volume control, on the SS ‘Ray, that engages a volume cut cap, it could be that there is something amiss with this.

[BabyBlueSound]

5 minutes ago, ezbass said:

IIRC there is a push/push switch on the volume control, on the SS ‘Ray, that engages a volume cut cap, it could be that there is something amiss with this.

 

Yep there's a switch, and it might be problematic, but nothing indicates that directly. It should not be very worn, I barely used it, sounds and feels right.

 

If I push it, it does the same kind of distortion, just on a different volume  

[MJJS]

Perhaps try reviewing the wiring to see if there are any loose or dry joints. High impedance points can cause sound issues & distortions.

[BabyBlueSound]

I have a very esoteric theory, hope someone can clarify this  

 

I got a new ABY switch recently, it's passive, and there's definitely some slight signal bleeding inbetween the channels.

Recently I hooked up the Sterling through this ABY to both my amp, and my audio device. But I noticed that even if I use A for Amp and B for the device, and switch it to purely A, there's still a very faint, quiet signal being recorded by the interface on B, so some A bleeds over to B and vice versa.

 

If that's the case, I suppose the very slight bleeding goes all directions, so maybe my pickup was getting some input signal it did not expect?

I really don't think this should destroy a pickup by any means, but this is literally the only new thing I have done since recording the same bass successfully in early October, when it sounded all fine.

 

3 minutes ago, MJJS said:

Perhaps try reviewing the wiring to see if there are any loose or dry joints. High impedance points can cause sound issues & distortions.

 

I checked the cabling and pots and they all seem fine and sturdy, but then again I'm no expert, and I definitely don't feel confident enough to rewire/solder myself. So I asked my tech about this whole issue and will see how he gets on  

[grayn]

Just acquired this lovely Sandberg California V Short Scale.

 

[ezbass]

I can’t help thinking that a Lionel is probably the bass for me these days.

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, grayn said:

Just acquired this lovely Sandberg California V Short Scale.

 

 

 

 

 

Love the finish on that, it is almost identical to my Maruszczyk 

[martthebass]

5 hours ago, ezbass said:

I can’t help thinking that a Lionel is probably the bass for me these days.

They are awesome. I’ll be gigging my gold one tomorrow.

[Adee]

I’ll be gigging my Larry tomorrow too!

I put a clear scratchplate on cos that grain is too pretty to hide and popped in a EMG GZR too …

 

[msb]

beauty!

[scrumpymike]

On 15/11/2024 at 10:12, BabyBlueSound said:

Something happened to my Sterling shortie, anyone has any idea what's going on? Example attached.

 

The E-string (Elixir, not very old) is ridiculously distorted, no matter what settings I use (serial, parallel, etc). The same settings work absolutely fine with my Ibanez. I have done some recording on this Sterling not that long ago and I did not have any of these issues.

All pedal settings (sansamp, compressor and HPF) are the usual, and again, the Ibanez does not distort, and I recorded both many times with the same settings, never having problems with one of them.

 

I even thought maybe it's the pickup height (which was unchanged since I last recorded myself), so I lowered it to the very bottom, but the E string still farts.

 

EDIT: It's important to note the gain IS set up correctly, there's absolutely no peaks, nothing's even close, I even halved the gain I usually record on, monitored it on both the Focusrite and the DAW, etc.

 

 

 

Could it be a mechanical rather than an electrical issue, i.e. the string itself or poor contact with the nut/bridge saddle?

[tayste_2000]

My Serek and Pawn Shop Mustang are now with Bass Bros as I move back to exclusively playing Rickenbackers (and 1 hofner 😬😇)

[Obrienp]

On 15/11/2024 at 22:44, Adee said:

I’ll be gigging my Larry tomorrow too!

I put a clear scratchplate on cos that grain is too pretty to hide and popped in a EMG GZR too …

 

Is the original pickup set that bad? I think I would be a bit miffed paying that sort of money for a bass and then having to change the pickups. However, I know taste in tone is highly individual. 
 

P.S. Just heard that my mate, who recently acquired a used Lionel, is having the pickups rewound by a local luthier. Is this is a Sandberg/Lionel weakness, or just coincidence?

Edited 23 hours ago by Obrienp

[martthebass]

5 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

Is the original pickup set that bad? I think I would be a bit miffed paying that sort of money for a bass and then having to change the pickups. However, I know taste in tone is highly individual. 
 

P.S. Just heard that my mate, who recently acquired a used Lionel, is having the pickups rewound by a local luthier. Is this is a Sandberg/Lionel weakness, or just coincidence?

I think a number of people buy the Lionel VS4 expecting a sort of vintage precision like tone.  It's actually quite a punchy modern tone, not hard and brittle though - but the pickup is quite hot (It's louder than my EBMM Darkray) even though it's passive.  I actually like the tone of the stock pickup and won't be looking to change it. So I personally don't consider it a weakness but I guess some people expect a different sound based on the looks.

[Merton]

28 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

 

P.S. Just heard that my mate, who recently acquired a used Lionel, is having the pickups rewound by a local luthier. Is this is a Sandberg/Lionel weakness, or just coincidence?

I take full responsibility for his actions. Except he knew the luthier already 😅

[scrumpymike]

I was very sceptical about the Sandy pickups before ordering my Cali ll SL TM 4 SHORT - almost to the point of deciding against buying it. 12 months down the line, I can say that it's the best thing I ever did and I and my band-mates are completely happy with what the pickups bring to our classic rock/pop covers party. Of course, I completely accept the point that others have made about what a subjective thing bass sounds are. I just wanted to speak against the notion that Sandy pickups might not be fit for purpose.

[JohnDaBass]

3 hours ago, scrumpymike said:

I was very sceptical about the Sandy pickups before ordering my Cali ll SL TM 4 SHORT - almost to the point of deciding against buying it. 12 months down the line, I can say that it's the best thing I ever did and I and my band-mates are completely happy with what the pickups bring to our classic rock/pop covers party. Of course, I completely accept the point that others have made about what a subjective thing bass sounds are. I just wanted to speak against the notion that Sandy pickups might not be fit for purpose

Mmmmm,

Could this be an opportunity to have a Sandy Pup shoot out at the next Basschat Bass Bash😁.

 

[LeftyJ]

I quite like the tone of my Lionel's stock pickup. Ironically, the previous owner sold it because he thought it sounded too modern - even after replacing the stock pickup with a Fender Custom Shop '64 P pickup. So he put the stock pickup back in and put both the bass and the replacement pickup up for sale. I have to add mine has a heavy ash body, I'd imagine the alder version (which is basically all the glossy and aged finish versions) may sound somewhat less bright. 

 

I do feel the stock pickups are fairly cheaply made, with non-magnetic slugs for pole pieces and a big ceramic bar magnet glued to the bottom. I don't associate that construction with a high-end German-made instrument. But I'm happy with the sound so I guess it doesn't really matter. 

Edited 3 hours ago by LeftyJ

[Osiris]

I also replaced the pickup in my Lionel, not that there was anything wrong with the stock pickup and I really like the staggered pole piece arrangement of it too. But as has been said, it's a very modern and clean sounding pickup, not bad characteristics in themselves but it lacks that warmth and low mid thump of the classic Precision sound which is what I was expecting from a bass with a pickup like this. So it might look like a P but it doesn't sound like one. Like the lovely @Adee I swapped mine out for an EMG Geezer Butler and it now sounds more like I want it to, although compared to my JMJ Mustang the pickup in the Lionel is around 10-15mm closer to the bridge so it has a slightly different inherent tone due to its position. The JMJ sounds much more Precision-like whereas the Lionel has its own voice, a bit of the P flavour but not full fat.