goonieman

This has been super-helpful guys - it reassures me it does not need opening up, or even a trip to the tech! Muchos gracias

Good grief... that is a thing of great beauty. I thought they had slab boards in those days though? EDIT: my bad [color=#242424][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Rosewood fingerboard, "Veneer", 1962-1980: from August 1962 till 1980, Fender used a curved bottom rosewood fingerboard that was much thinner than the slab 'board. The veneer of rosewood got even thinner by mid 1963."[/font][/color]

erm... ok, I get that, but surely i'd be able to hear this 'decrease distortion' dynamic when turnign the knob and using headphones, right?

Thanks guys...In that way, it makes sense, but from the manual: [i]Varies the power amp output from 20 watts to 150 watts. When using the limiter, start with the adjustment knob turned fully clockwise. Turn the knob counterclockwise to decrease distortion.[/i] [i]When the upper level of an amplifier’s usable dynamic range is exceeded, audible signal distortion will occur which can damage speakers. Reducing the volume would create more headroom, but also increases the signal to noise ratio. It is therefore necessary to keep the volume level as high as possible. This is accomplished by using a limiter. A limiter sets a ceiling called the ‘threshold’, which restricts peak signals from exceeding the threshold point, allowing you to play at a higher overall volume level with less noise and less risk of distortion. While more limiting means increased headroom, it can also rob the dynamic range from your signal. Be careful not to overdo it.[/i] I'm playing at bedroom levels, and I do get the amp to distort by driving the front end and keeping the overall master toned down. However, the limiter does not affect this in any way. Maybe I am not getting any power distortion at all... only preamp?

Hi All, I have a GK 150 MBE-III that i'm fiddling with, trying to get some different tones. In doing so, i've just gone back to the limiter for the first time in ages. What the heck does it do? I can't get it to do anything! Zero tone change as far as I can tell... and i turned it up very load for a brief moment. Is it bust, (not sure how that would happen) or am i doing something wrong? Anyone know? cheers

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1465327346' post='3067253'] Why not? It's a 1X12 with a tweeter, isn't it? [/quote] yes, but its a 200w cab...?!

ooh, tempting. But I don't suppose I could use with a TC RS112?!

yeah, based on the above i'd like to provide an addendum to my comment: If you call an absolutely obssessively focused detailed setup (truss, relief, intonation, strings selection, etc.) 'babying' then i'm 200% guilty. I don't really care what happens to the paint work - either way. Playability and tone are everything to me

Couldn't agree more - but the challenge for some folks is that they buy this super high end bass - or other gear for that matter - then get all concerned with resale value. My way of doing things is to buy relatively beat-up, well worn, or even totally battered (sometimes broken) basses - then not concern myself with babying at all. I bought an absolutely lush EBMM Sterling last year. It was pristine. I loved it! However, I knew it was not a 'lifetimer' - and babied it all the time. I hated the way I had to be so careful with it. Hence, I will not be doing that again,

Hi All, I love a nice deep low-mid growl tone. I have a Sterling SB14 - which is a wonderful piece of kit. Covers the low-mids very well, and loads of growl. However, my Gallien Krueger 150 MBE-III head seems a little lacklustre to me on that front (i'm not greatly experienced in heads - I had a small Eden combo before this). Maybe i'm just over-familiar with it... but anyway, I've tweaked the boost knob, and adjusted the gain to where it juuuust starts to breakup (AKA 'hitting the rails' on a GK amp?). It sounds good, but I'd like to know if there is another way i'm missing. Let me define MY idea of growl (YMMV): low-mids grind, not affecting the low bass or highs, especially not the highs. So we are not talking overdrive or distortion here. Of course I know it is also about playing dynamics and strings - but let's please exclude those for now. I'm concentrating on the amp. It does not need to be mega gigworthy. My little GK 150 is about the right ballpark. Any thoughts on a little amp head? - maybe MB200, or Aguilar, or Ampeg? cheers

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1463846731' post='3054549'] Not that human ears can perceive. Bassists' ears, possibly (but doubtful for most...); human ears, definitely not. [/quote] I must disagree - but only if your action is super-low. I prefer mucho mucho mwah, which often means VERY low action. At this level, the base material is critical. Wood gives a more sombre effect, less zingy and metallic. If you go to plastic or eopxy or anything, the effect is significantly more pronounced. So, in fact, it's not really about 'tone' but timbre of the note, and attach transients on the mwah effect.

Wow! Man... all my ideas, always already taken.

For sure - but even non-musicians would buy them. You gotta think - it's a GLOBAL market. The strings could be given to an independent charity to run. Overheads would be low.

I was just tinkering about with my bass thinking, I wonder what Flea's tech does with all his strings after a night's worth of gigging... The way I see it, he has around 5-10 gigging bass's. That's easily 5-10 replacement sets each day (the tech does put a fresh set on for each gig). Which leads me to think: why doesn't he auction-off these sets as part of his music academy charity? For that matter, why don't all 'famous' musicians do this, for whatever cause? Imagine a set of 'gigged-on-this-date, 'at-this-venue' set of strings, guaranteed by some middleman agency or music label? They'd be worth £50 a set for sure, right? All that money could be going to charity, rather than down the drain.

Yeah, regarding the retainer - spotted that this afternoon! Such a shame about the Stingray being the only game in town. I think under-exposure is a good point - but as discussed recently on this forum, there is something about big names not using Sterling bass's as their 'go to' or 'flagship' bass which has implications too...

Hi All, This originally came in the form of towel rail/ radiator from the courier. They have since fixed this problem (see previous thread last week). Well...well...well. I have had time to tinker: have done the standard fret job and polish, new bone nut cut and polished, oiled fretboard, new strings and associated de-muckification. Scratches and bumps on it - makes me relax as I don't have to baby it. Now with most previous traces of DNA removed, I can say that this is definitely an excellent approximation of the USA Sterling I had! In fact, I swear the EQ is a touch more user friendly. The highs don't fly over the top into a zingy zippiness like on the USA (i'm using the same strings as I used on the USA, for sake of comparison). Very solid electronics. The body-neck pocket fit is tight as a duck's behind. I'm really impressed. Ok, the rosewood isn't QUITE as unblemished and greasy smooth, and then there is no gun oil finish (some 2000 grit sandpaper fixes this close enough). Also, they don't come in glitter finishes. But hey... they're a lot cheaper too! These are now discontinued. Such a darn shame. What is the general population thinking? These should be selling. They're are going to get more and more sought after now I think. Shame that a new mint pickguard is going to set me back 40 quid!!! (Anyone got one lying around?!) [URL=http://s723.photobucket.com/user/bassfiend3000/media/IMG_0585_zpspw4kxrod.jpg.html][IMG]http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww234/bassfiend3000/IMG_0585_zpspw4kxrod.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s723.photobucket.com/user/bassfiend3000/media/IMG_0586_zpsmzx4pql3.jpg.html][IMG]http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww234/bassfiend3000/IMG_0586_zpsmzx4pql3.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s723.photobucket.com/user/bassfiend3000/media/IMG_0587_zpsivkhuhp2.jpg.html][IMG]http://i723.photobucket.com/albums/ww234/bassfiend3000/IMG_0587_zpsivkhuhp2.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Glad we can all laugh about it. Good news is they found it in the end: a wonderful SB14 sterling! The radiator has been returned. All is good again in SE London,

LOL. Yeah, Can't imagine drying oneself with a mildy rusty, gene-encrusted piece of stainless steel and polyurethane is going to be satisfying. I shan't reveal the courier co., but I will say it won the 2015 Which? best delivery company in the UK. You do the math. To their credit, the updates and service (up until that point) was probably the best I ever received.

Came home from work looking forward to playing my lovely Sterling SB14, delivered by a certain courier company. ...turned out to be a chrome heated towel rack / radiator. New Radiator Day. Can't figure out where or how to plug it in, but it sure doesn't look like the SB14 I ordered. Courier co. have no idea what's going on. Good times. TBC...

What a car crash... da dum...tsh.

Flats on a Sterling!? I bet that'll be interesting. I've just bought some d'addario balanced tension 45 rounds for it, but I bet you get some chunky tones from flats. They've been discontinued because they're either not marketable (people above keep saying 'on accasion' or 'from time to time' x or y plays a sterling) - or just too quirky. Of course, the whole branding thing didn't help. I needed to be taught the different 'sterling' varieties and SUB-groupings before I was happy I knew the market. Such a basic advertising error.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1462215027' post='3041201'] cracking basses, dunno why they didn't sell more. [/quote] Yes - kinda strange, but basically the Sterling has always been in the 'shadow' of the big bro Stingray. The sterling has quite a unique feature set, and I guess there are few (if any?) famous players of EBMM sterlings, which has an impact on advertising. I guess the colours didn't help either: metallic blue, candy apple red, and black. Not the best selection. Also, at retail price, most sensible people just say to themselves, 'I'd rather buy a second hand EBMM Sterling or Stingray, than pay 650 GBP for a new SB14'. I know I would.

I really miss my EBMM Sterling, so i've just bought a Sterling SB14 in black - being delivered from a music store in Ireland! Looking forward to that ol' familiar musicman click and zing... i'm just hoping it can at least provide some semblance to the full-bloodied sterling I had last year. Anyone have experience? They seem to be held in good repute in general, but apart from 1 or 2 half-decent reviews on youtube, they seem quite rare.