Graham A

After selling my Stingray a couple of years ago, i'm now back in the Musicman fold with this recent addition 😊

Posted in the lefties gallery, so thought i'd post here as well. My recent addition to the fold 😊

Here's my recent purchase, a Musicman Sterling with a lovely roasted maple neck 😊

I'm coming around to the same conclusion to be honest. Even if could find someone to do it why should i pay seeing it's a brand new instrument, hence the email to Thomann's. I'm looking at e-mailing S&T in the morning & seeing whether their tech would sort if for me under warranty, or if they had anyone closer to home. If i was to send it to S&T it would have to be couriered again, but at least it would be in the UK. I'll go down route of not wanting to void the warranty on a brand new instrument. You might as well, at least you know whether there's anything wrong with it at the point of despatch. Thankfully i did take pictures of the boxes when it arrived, but there was nothing untoward, no marks on the case, or any other issues as far as i can see. EBMM were quick to say they would send a replacement pickup out, so perhaps looking at the picture i sent maybe they can see a fault with it.

I think it's soldering by the looks of it. I was thinking of a place up near me called "Nigel's Guitar Workshop" in Richmond, he's replaced a Stingray pickup for me before in the past. Depends if he's taking work on due to Covid though, i know he wasn't last Summer. The other option would be to email Strings & Things again, & see if it needs to be replaced by a licenced Musicman tech, & if they had any up near to where i lived. I've emailed Thomann's, so they are aware. They intially asked for photo's of the boxes etc & mentioned returning the item, as they couldn't replace it. Since then i discovered it was the phantom coil, i have sent a further email explaining this & that EBMM are going to send out a replacement. I have asked if they would be willing to refund me a small amount off the price i paid to reflect having this work carried out as a goodwill gesture. I'm still waiting for a reply.

They must have read your mind, just had an email from Strings & Things advising me that EBMM USA are sending out a replacement pickup 👍

I'll see what they come back with. They maybe of the view point that it could have possibly occured in transit, although no damage to boxes or case. Looking at the photo again, it does appear that the coil has a lot of glue on the left hand side, & hardly any on the right as you look at it, so has it been glued correctly in the factory?

Not sure what I could use to heat the old glue. Don't fancy using a heat gun, probably cause damage to the phantom coil.

Had a reply from Strings & Things. They have emailed Musicman in the USA including the photo's i forwarded to them to ask what type of glue is used as their inhouse tech is unsure. They're hoping to get a reply overnight & will let me know, so for now i'll just have to wait.

That's what i'm hoping for 👍

I've emailed Strings & Things as i believe that are the UK distributor for Musicman, & responsible for all things Musicman in the UK 👍 I suppose like everything in life glue fails, but looking at the serial number the bass was only manufactured in November 2020 so i had hoped it would have stayed stuck together a bit longer!

I've had the pickup out this morning, & like you suggested @warwickhunt the phantom coil was hanging loose, thankfully though all the wiring is still connected. As you can see there is brown residue which has hardened which i assume is the glue they used to attach it. To be honest I'm a bit suprised it's not attached by any screws. The next question, is can i used any type of adhesive to glue it back on? 😂

@FDC484950 That's probably not a bad idea mate, i've already sent them an email tonight just so it's logged. After having a noodle i love the bass, i just find it galling that i paid around £2000, waited over three weeks for it to be delivered then find that there's an issue with it. I'm sure you'll be fine, i've just think i've been unlucky....whatever the issue turns out to be!!

Thanks @warwickhunt I've had a quick look at the phantom coil on the internet. On the pictures i've seen It looks like it's soldered to the bottom of the pickup, so could be a possibility.

I'm tempted to do that, but i'm going to give Thomann's a call tomorrow & see what they advise as it's a brand new bass. I don't want to start poking around with it until i've spoken to them in case it's invalidates any claim.