Steinberger Spirit Pickups
Stumpy Johnson
anyone has had an experience similar to mine. I just got an XT Standard 5
(5-string model) from MusicYo.com. It sounds and plays great except for one
thing. It has way too much magnetic field hum as far as I'm concerned, in
spite of the fact that it is supposed to have EMG Select humbucking pickups.
I know the problem is with magnetic fields because the hum changes as I move
my bass around or bring it near anything with a power transformer, such as
an amp. My Fender Jazz bass with Seymor Duncan humbucking pickups has no
problem with this.
One thing that bothers me is that the pickups don't have the Select EMG logo
on them, even though it is clearly shown on MusicYo's website. MusicYo told
me that some of the pickups were made without the Select EMG logo on them
(although internally they were supposed to be the same), and that I was the
only person who had complained about the hum issue (yeah, right). I
photographed these pickups and sent the picture to EMG, along with the
dimensions, and EMG flatly told me that they are not EMG pickups. I then
presented this evidence to MusicYo, and they said that I could exchange the
bass and see how I did with another one. I agreed and sent the bass in. I
asked several times if they could please send me a bass with pickups that
had the Select EMG logo on them.
Of course when I got the new bass (I did check the serial #'s), it had
pickups without the logo. On top of that, there was a gooey, greenish-black
substance all over the gig bag, on part of the bass, and on and in one of
the pickups. It smelled a little like creosote. It took me 3 hours to get
all the stuff off, and I had to completely disassemble one of the pickup
assemblies and clean all the screws, the mounting ring, the pickup, and the
cavity. When I told MusicYo about it, they said, of course, that they had
no idea what the stuff was or where it had come from. Regarding the
pickups, they said that if I sent the bass back they would make sure the
warehouse sent a bass with the logo on the pickups. I said that I was
hoping that they would have done that in the first place as I requested.
However, at this point, I was so sick of the whole mess and just wanted the
bass so I could play it that I just told them to forget it, and that I would
fix it myself in the near future. I didn't feel like pursuing it any
further.
I left out a lot in this post for the sake of keeping it as brief as
possible, but it has been a total nightmare dealing with these people. As
you probably know, the only way to contact them is by email, which isn't a
big problem for me if the company has good service. However, it takes a
minimum of 2 emails before they even respond. Then when they do, it seems
that everything I say goes in one ear and out the other. They have by far
the worst customer service I have ever seen. The only consolation is that I
know they are a branch of Gibson (The address is almost identical, and when
I called Gibson, they confirmed this), so I know they probably won't
"disappear".
At any rate, my question is this: Has anyone else had similar problems with
MusicYo or with the pickups? If so, what are some good choices for
replacement pickups for an XT Standard 5? Has anyone actually done this? I
would prefer active, but passive is fine if that's all that's out there.
When I checked with EMG, The closest model I was able to find has no
mounting ring and is a little larger than the pickup cavities and I don't
want to have to route out the cavities and alter the body. I've worked on a
lot of guitars, so I don't have a problem with wiring or electronics. I
know pickup evaluation can be subjective, but I'm just trying to find
something that will more-or-less keep the Steinberger sound, and that will
fit physically. Thanks.
Stumpy
Rob Kloka
all, but you'd want to replace them anyway.
--
-rob
O>
/(\)
^^
"Stumpy Johnson" <stu...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:mPWo7.1125$Md5.1...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Hambone
flight gigs, I bought a Spirit 5 string too. I have the same problem with
the pickups... but was told it was a shielding problem. My main bass is a
Jazz Bass 5 string, and with the smaller body, the Steinberger doesn't carry
as much sound. I had considered replacing the pickups anyway, but never
considered the hum was the fault of the pickups. Mine have no EMG logo
either, and when I talked to my contact at Epi, she said most of the Spirits
didn't have the Select pickups in them. I don't feel, however, for the
price that I paid for the bass, and as great as the action and feel are,
that getting some higher end pickups (I've been considering some
Bartolini's) is too bad a deal. I feel the same way you do about getting
slighted on the bass upon purchase though.
Just my two cents.
Jeff Hamby
"Stumpy Johnson" <stu...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:mPWo7.1125$Md5.1...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Stumpy Johnson
were you (or anyone else) told specifically what type of shielding problem
it was? E.G.: lack of shielded wiring, lack of conductive paint in the
cavities, grounding of the pickup shells, etc. Perhaps it does have to do
with shielding, as interference can be strange stuff, but the reason I was
wondering was the fact that they did use shielded wiring on everything
except the wiring going to the output jack, and there is a ground wire
running to the bridge. The pickup shells are also grounded. On the first
bass, I replaced the wiring going to the output jack with shielded wire, but
it made no difference. About the only thing left to do as far as
interference protection that I can see to do is to paint all the cavities
with nickel or copper paint, but I don't see what good that would do since
all the wiring is shielded anyway. If I get new pickups, though, it may be
beside the point anyway. If I still have interference, I can do the paint
bit. As you mentioned, since I got such a good deal on the bass, I don't
mind spending a little extra money for decent pickups (if I can find any).
Stumpy
"Hambone" <ham...@hambone.com> wrote in message
news:tq9ro7n...@corp.supernews.com...
Harrie Dechering
shielding etc, but if someone
can recommend better pickups, I'm all ears!
HD.
Stumpy Johnson <stu...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:Bovp7.14601$lE3.1...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Randy Wardak
control (9v active bass and treble). The HZs aren't the top of the line,
but they are a step up from the Selects. If you're interested in the HZs
and the BTS, send me an E-mail. RANDY
"Harrie Dechering" <dech...@xs4all.nl> wrote in message
news:9o7ub8$fqk$1...@news1.xs4all.nl...