# PROBLEMS with my bassguitar! Sound is dissapearing!



## KaLeVaLA (Nov 4, 2008)

Well....yesterday i was in the mood to do some recording.

And when starting to record my basstrack the sound of my bassguitar suddenly went away...it just lowered the volume extremely and there was allmost no sound at all,just some crackling...like...just some of the sound came thru...and sometimes NO sound at all.

I restarted Cubase, i restarted my soundcard, i restarted my Pod, and i also tried to record with my guitar (and that was no problem).

I have a Schecter Stiletto Custom 5string. It has EMG HZ pickups, so i assume they are passive, so its not a matter of changing batteries either.

PLEASE HELP!!!!


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## darren (Nov 4, 2008)

Does the bass make sound when you plug it into an amp? Crackling and then no sound seems like a bad cable, a bad output jack or a bad pot somewhere in the chain.


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## KaLeVaLA (Nov 4, 2008)

yeah...well...when i plug the cable in it, there is def. some action going on, as usual. The i start playing , and then the sound just dissapears.
Especially if i hit alittle too hard on the strings..then it goes away at the first stroke.


but it doesnt seem to be the cable either, because when i plug in my guitars everything works just fine.


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## F1Filter (Nov 4, 2008)

KaLeVaLA said:


> I have a Schecter Stiletto Custom 5string. It has EMG HZ pickups, so i assume they are passive, so its not a matter of changing batteries either.




While the pickups themselves are passive. There's still a preamp in that bass, as the tone controls are active. So a dead battery would definitely cause the problem you're describing.

http://www.schecterguitars.com/schematic/schecter_Basses,Ultra,SCustoms,SElites,C-4-5.pdf


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## Naren (Nov 4, 2008)

I've had a problem like this on both of my basses, but I have always been able to fix it by turning one of the knobs. Like, the last time, my bass suddenly went really quiet and messing with the cord didn't do anything. None of the knobs fixed it, except the bass knob (or maybe it was the treble knob), but just moving that at all instantly returned the bass to its normal volume with a little bit of crackling while I touched the knob.

With the bass I used to own, the problem was with the volume knob, I think...


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## KaLeVaLA (Nov 4, 2008)

Ok, so it might be a battery issue afterall then?
Ive never done that before, but i guess its no problem changing the battery!?

If that doesnt work you guys think its a problem with the wires or something inside of the guitar?


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## MF_Kitten (Nov 4, 2008)

open the control cavity cover, and have a look at the wires. if nothing seems to be snapped off, then you just replace the battery and see if there&#180;s any change. i had my bass lose volume, and eventually die out, but there was ground noise that went away when i touched the knobs.

turned out the wire going to the jack had snapped... weird!


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## KaLeVaLA (Nov 4, 2008)

hmmm...i plugged it in my Pod just now to check if the problem was still there....NOPE, it wasnt..haha...weird, but verry happy that its back to its good old self 
But at least now i know what can be the problem if it happens again in more serious matter.

So thanx alot guys


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## Randomist (Nov 21, 2008)

i've had this problem twice with one of my guitars and a similar one with my bass, on my guitar i had the exact same problem, cause: rubbish jack connection=>snapped jack connection. on the bass i just got crap sound quality and crackling, signal breaking up too easily, that was just the battery, maybe your preamp will die completely without power, mine did continue to struggle on.

i'd say it was a dodgy connection.


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## KaLeVaLA (Nov 28, 2008)

well...the problem returned yesterday!

Randomist: it sounds like that might be the case!

I plugged my guitar to my Pod for recording, and it worked just fine...so it gotta be the bass! Damn it...lets hope its just the battery or something.


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## damigu (Nov 28, 2008)

i'm thinking it's just the battery, too--what you described is pretty typical of a dying battery.

when the battery starts dying, you get strong attenuation of the signal and some distortion (like crackling/fuzz) in what little does come through.

one of these is a great investment for people who have active electronics in their instrument:
LoBat Low Battery Indicator


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## KaLeVaLA (Dec 4, 2008)

it looks like it was just the battery  I changed the battery , and now the sound is back...so..yay 

Thanx guys!


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