Help! Emergency!!!

[Eric Garcia]

So last night I show up 2 rehearsal with my BSRMW6, go to plug in and all of a sudden I have EXTREMELY LOW OUTPUT VOLUME, 1st thing I do is swap the 9volts, and NOTHING, next I blow some air into the input jack thinking maybe some dust or junk got inside again NOTHING!! I don't know what 2 do, my "gain" internally by the dip switches is at factory setting, I tried raising all the way that didn't do anything.
I did notice that my bass eq on the outside has all of a sudden become slightly loose, but I've given up, I don't know if anybody else has experienced this issue, it's come at the most in-opportune time.....thnx in advance!

[Ronen Tat]

Did you try switching to passive?

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Eric Garcia

So last night I show up 2 rehearsal with my BSRMW6, go to plug in and all of a sudden I have EXTREMELY LOW OUTPUT VOLUME, 1st thing I do is swap the 9volts, and NOTHING, next I blow some air into the input jack thinking maybe some dust or junk got inside again NOTHING!! I don't know what 2 do, my "gain" internally by the dip switches is at factory setting, I tried raising all the way that didn't do anything.
I did notice that my bass eq on the outside has all of a sudden become slightly loose, but I've given up, I don't know if anybody else has experienced this issue, it's come at the most in-opportune time.....thnx in advance!

Not sure what you mean by "swap the 9volts"....So, a couple things:

1. Make certain your battery (for 9V Pre) or batteries (for 18V Pre) are fresh.

2. Clean ALL your contact points with a Contact/Control Cleaner (i.e. this includes your cable ends, your input jack on bass, amp, or whatever other piece of gear you use that requires a connection.

3. Are you sure your cables are good?

4. Are you playing through an amp and if so, how do you know it's not your amp that's the issue?

If 1 - 4 above doesn't lead you to a solution, it could be a number of other things.

Also, as Ronen points out (assuming the issue resides in the pre-amp of the bass which has yet to be determined), a workable solution: Pull upward on your Volume Control for Passive Mode. This will bypass the bass' pre-amp Tone Controls only giving you control of your Volume, Pan and S/P Switches (if you have them). Because you will be in Passive Mode, you will need to increase the Gain/Volume and make necessary tone control adjustments from your amp. This will get you by until you determine what the issue is.

Let us know your progress.

[Eric Garcia]

Hey Tim thanks for the reply, I put new 9volts and the push pull knob doesn't help, I actaully lose more volume, Im fearing the worse, I've actually changed cables tried different amps etc ....

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Eric Garcia

Hey Tim thanks for the reply, I put new 9volts and the push pull knob doesn't help, I actaully lose more volume, Im fearing the worse, I've actually changed cables tried different amps etc ....

By going into Passive Mode you will lose some volume. This is why you would have to compensate from the amp.

Did you purchase this bass new or used? Has there been any tampering within the pre-amp section that you are aware of? Was that bass upgraded with S/P Switches? Hard to believe the pre-amp would be the source of the issue unless someone somehow damaged it.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Tim Bishop

Not sure what you mean by "swap the 9volts"....So, a couple things:

1. Make certain your battery (for 9V Pre) or batteries (for 18V Pre) are fresh.

2. Clean ALL your contact points with a Contact/Control Cleaner (i.e. this includes your cable ends, your input jack on bass, amp, or whatever other piece of gear you use that requires a connection.

3. Are you sure your cables are good?

4. Are you playing through an amp and if so, how do you know it's not your amp that's the issue?

If 1 - 4 above doesn't lead you to a solution, it could be a number of other things.

Also, as Ronen points out (assuming the issue resides in the pre-amp of the bass which has yet to be determined), a workable solution: Pull upward on your Volume Control for Passive Mode. This will bypass the bass' pre-amp Tone Controls only giving you control of your Volume, Pan and S/P Switches (if you have them). Because you will be in Passive Mode, you will need to increase the Gain/Volume and make necessary tone control adjustments from your amp. This will get you by until you determine what the issue is.

Let us know your progress.

Be Careful spraying anything in there but clean air. If the cleaner has any silicon in the spray, it can KILL the entire circuit and contaminate the entire cavity and shielding. If this was done already, you need a new circuit, the cavity de-contaminated and re-shielded. Those sprays are not all compatable with printed circuit boards.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Be Careful spraying anything in there but clean air. If the cleaner has any silicon in the spray, it can KILL the entire circuit and contaminate the entire cavity and shielding. If this was done already, you need a new circuit, the cavity de-contaminated and re-shielded. Those sprays are not all compatable with printed circuit boards.

Agreed. What I use is a Q-Tip with the Contact/Control Cleaner applied and then carefully swab the input jacks only.