I took one of these in on a trade the other day. Anyone own one and did you upgrade it? I will be upgrading the pickup with either a Seymour Duncan or an Aguilar because the stock pickup is too hot. I'll decide after installing a new pickup if I'm going to replace the preamp as well. Any recommendations and suggestions on parts are appreciated.
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Sterling by MusicMan sub series Stingray Ray4
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Originally posted by ICTGoober View PostThe pickup is NOT hot. The preamp is.
Do you have more information ICTGoober? Thanks.Last edited by Explorer84; 05-02-2024, 04:10 PM.
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I have a 2020ish model Sub4 that is pretty great. The preamp is fine volume wise, but the thing was loud. Swapping the pickup on it's own should fix the problem purely because the factory pickup is wired in series, but Stingrays are traditionally wired in parallel. I replaced mine with a GFS model that made a pretty big improvement. The new GFS MM pickups with the quick connect system have a 3 wire system, so unless you tweak the internals, your only options with it are series/split.You will never understand How it feels to live your life With no meaning or control And with nowhere left to go You are amazed that they exist And they burn so bright
Whilst you can only wonder why
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Originally posted by Chistopher View PostI have a 2020ish model Sub4 that is pretty great. The preamp is fine volume wise, but the thing was loud. Swapping the pickup on it's own should fix the problem purely because the factory pickup is wired in series, but Stingrays are traditionally wired in parallel. I replaced mine with a GFS model that made a pretty big improvement. The new GFS MM pickups with the quick connect system have a 3 wire system, so unless you tweak the internals, your only options with it are series/split.
I’ll start with installing a new pickup and then decide if I need to replace the preamp. When I set the bass knob in afterburner (full) mode the signal does distort. I can back off on the volume to remedy this but I find it as a temporary solution.
I’ll check out the GFS pickup. I’m not familiar with the brand at all. I’m looking to keep things in parallel. Keep things standard. Parallel pickup, bass/treble cut/boost. Simple. Speaking of parallel. It was stated that some pickups did come with four wires so that you could wire it in parallel. I haven’t pulled the pickup to see if I happen to be one of the lucky ones. It’s odd that they would send some with this option and not all of them. Cost of production, I suppose.
Did you replace the tuners/bridge on your bass? If so, did you find drop-in replacements? I’m having a hard time finding tuners. Hipshot has/had tuners for this bass but I’ve read that they’re no longer produced or they’re a custom order item.
Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.
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Originally posted by jeremy View Postcouldnt ya just rewire the stock pup in parallel? when i made basses with mm pups, i always wired em for series/split/parallel to get more options
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there is a start and finish wire for each coil, connect each one of those to a longer wire. you can buy the little four color wire plus bare bundle that you typically see on four conductor humbuckers. im sure theres a youtube video out there
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Definitely rewire from series to parallel if your pickup has 4-wire leads. Don't know much about GFS but they are not known to have top of the line pickups/accessories. Maybe save money a bit longer and get a better pickup.
Lowendlobster made some videos on youtube about Sub pickups and preamps. Have a look before swapping anything.
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Originally posted by donaldr View PostDefinitely rewire from series to parallel if your pickup has 4-wire leads. Don't know much about GFS but they are not known to have top of the line pickups/accessories. Maybe save money a bit longer and get a better pickup.
Lowendlobster made some videos on youtube about Sub pickups and preamps. Have a look before swapping anything.
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What was the deal with the SUB series? Were they the same as Stirling or something else entirely?--------------------------------------------------------
1973 Aria 551
1984 Larrivee RS-4 w/ EMG SA/SA/89
1989 Charvel 750 XL w/ DMZ Tone Zone & Air Norton
1990's noname crap-o-caster plywood P/J Bass
1991 Heartfield Elan III w/ DMZ mystery pups
1995 Aria Pro II TA-65
2001 Gibson Les Paul Gothic w/ PG-1 & SH-8
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