Hi guys, 

 

Hoping someone might be able to shed a little light on my issue.....

Recently when starting up Rocksmith, my bass hasn't been getting fully detected. I can hear it, but its like its struggling to come through.   So i got a new wire, but the same issue was happening.  

I noticed that in the back of my bass there is a 9v battery (don't know what its actually for)  This was loose and old so have since changed the battery.     Would this have been the reason it wasn't working 100% or do you think it could be the actual input port itself? 

 

 

Also, when playing just now, my bass was working (thank god) but SUPER quiet.   I went into settings, and my input gain override as reset itself to -1.2 db.   What Input gain override to you guys use for your bass?    

Its well frustrating, as it just makes me not want to play. 

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  

 

Cheers 

 

TinMan

2 hours ago, TinMan86 said:

I noticed that in the back of my bass there is a 9v battery (don't know what its actually for)  This was loose and old so have since changed the battery.     Would this have been the reason it wasn't working 100%

The battery is for either active pickups or preamp /eq. depending on your particular bass (there is a difference). A lot of modern basses have built in preamps where most guitars do not have on board active controls. Some guitars do, overwhelmingly most guitars do not, and most guitarists do not like the idea of a battery that can die mid performance.

As far as not working properly, a dead or unplugged battery will render the instrument doa unless you have a by-pass switch as my Ibanez 805 has. Turning the by-pass on will be quite a bit more dulled, less bright, and less volume sounding lacking the active controls adding any boost. But the bass will work with a dead battery.

IF this is what your situation is, then yes it could be 100% to blame. However since you have replaced the battery and it has not returned to full volume, you can say that it was not 100% the reason for it not working. Obviously something else is in play.

IF your bass went from full volume output / detection and you are/ were letting the game control the input gain override, with active preamp /active pickups, the override very well could have been set to a negative number. As far as to your question what I have mine set at, I do not have the over ride turned on, I let the game do that when it is calibrated in tuning, which should be done often. Switching between a bass which has on board controls and a guitar that has passive pickups there is an output difference and no help to you. Different basses / guitars will need different adjustments.

 

Without seeing your instrument / setup I personally am unable to diagnose your particular problem. Answering the battery question, I can do. Maybe someone else will be able to give you an idea as to what, but even then I am guessing with no offense intended this is probably better to more qualified help.

The first thing I would do is plug into a regular amplifier or 2 and see what the output is like there. If it is indeed weak, you have cut the problem in half. You said the battery was loose. This can be read a couple ways. If it is a metal tab that can be temporarily bent and readjusted until replaced, or a PP# snap connector that is not making a full connection, it too may need to be replaced. These are all guesses. Your volume pot or another pot might be or has failed and need replaced. I can not guess or offer actual assistance without having both in hand.

 

Unless someone else here has insight into what is going on, in my opinion and all it is an opinion, given presumed skill level, take it to a skilled professional and get a professional diagnosis. If it is something that needs soldered  because is loose or needs to be replaced, best left to someone with experience. It could be something else simple.

If the bass is fine then we can figure out the game side of it. Just my 2 cents.

23 minutes ago, Sniper Reload3d said:

The battery is for either active pickups or preamp /eq. depending on your particular bass (there is a difference). A lot of modern basses have built in preamps where most guitars do not have on board active controls. Some guitars do, overwhelmingly most guitars do not, and most guitarists do not like the idea of a battery that can die mid performance.

As far as not working properly, a dead or unplugged battery will render the instrument doa unless you have a by-pass switch as my Ibanez 805 has. Turning the by-pass on will be quite a bit more dulled, less bright, and less volume sounding lacking the active controls adding any boost. But the bass will work with a dead battery.

IF this is what your situation is, then yes it could be 100% to blame. However since you have replaced the battery and it has not returned to full volume, you can say that it was not 100% the reason for it not working. Obviously something else is in play.

IF your bass went from full volume output / detection and you are/ were letting the game control the input gain override, with active preamp /active pickups, the override very well could have been set to a negative number. As far as to your question what I have mine set at, I do not have the over ride turned on, I let the game do that when it is calibrated in tuning, which should be done often. Switching between a bass which has on board controls and a guitar that has passive pickups there is an output difference and no help to you. Different basses / guitars will need different adjustments.

Without seeing your instrument / setup I personally am unable to diagnose your particular problem. Answering the battery question, I can do. Maybe someone else will be able to give you an idea as to what, but even then I am guessing with no offense intended this is probably better to more qualified help.

The first thing I would do is plug into a regular amplifier or 2 and see what the output is like there. If it is indeed weak, you have cut the problem in half. You said the battery was loose. This can be read a couple ways. If it is a metal tab that can be temporarily bent and readjusted until replaced, or a PP# snap connector that is not making a full connection, it too may need to be replaced. These are all guesses. Your volume pot or another pot might be or has failed and need replaced. I can not guess or offer actual assistance without having both in hand.

Unless someone else here has insight into what is going on, in my opinion and all it is an opinion, given presumed skill level, take it to a skilled professional and get a professional diagnosis. If it is something that needs soldered  because is loose or needs to be replaced, best left to someone with experience. It could be something else simple.

If the bass is fine then we can figure out the game side of it. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you for your advice dude.  The bass does now seem to be working much better now that ive changed the battery and upped the gain. 

Its just more frustrating that a) i dont 100% the precise problem b) makes me unmotivated to play. 

 

Ill add a apic of my bass shortly, as that might at least help

 

To me, nothing is more frustrating than something not working the way it was or should be and not knowing.

Wish I could be of more help other than saying what the battery is for, but again, that is really all I can currently do. Again, someone else may see something blatantly obvious I am not or have forgotten.

34 minutes ago, Sniper Reload3d said:

To me, nothing is more frustrating than something not working the way it was or should be and not knowing.

Wish I could be of more help other than saying what the battery is for, but again, that is really all I can currently do. Again, someone else may see something blatantly obvious I am not or have forgotten.

Thanks again mate.  
I’ve added pics of my bass if that might make it easier. 

I am not a professional anything, other than a pro-crastinator. I have replaced pickups on 3 guitars, and on the TMB35. I have replaced the eq on my SR405QM, and one acoustic bass. I had a professional electronics guy rebuild the preamp on the other acoustic bass. I have built a couple Stew Mac pedals for kicks and giggles. One turned out great, the other only half worked. I modified 2 of the the guitars to have a series / parallel switch like a Charvel pro mod DK24.

Again, I am not a professional anything, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Anything I say is meant as constructive and not a personal attack of any sort.

I looked up the BTB200, Wiki say that you have "Components include a pair of Ibanez DX-4 passive pickups with a Phat II EQ ..." https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/BTB200 and is supported by the 2006 EU catalog page 58, the BTB200 is a 35" scale bass. https://www.hoshinogakki.co.jp/pdf/ibanez/catalog/2006EU.pdf. 

Me personally, I would not have posted the serial number, but by doing so I know that the guitar was manufactured in 2006.

The Phat II eg is a "basic" "inexpensive" one band boost according to my quick and non-thorough search. That means it is basically 18, going on 19 years old, and electronics wear out.

I am not saying that this is the cause of your problem, but is highly possible. Again, I am not there to test things out. Even if I was, and had my voltmeter, being a simple hobbiest, I lack the ability to test the board. Again, could be other things IF the problem is guitar side. Also with me not having a before and now experience, I have no reference to natural volume of that particular instrument.

I again recommend an actual guitar tech and not internet guesses. Pots wear out, electronics wear out, output jacks wear out, etc.

From my vantage point, the bass has a unique shape to it, and if the rest of the bass is fine, it is worth repairing, replacing with a new preamp, or by-passing the preamp (if source of the problem) all together. All of which have both advantages and disadvantages. It might be as simple as checking the PP3 connections.

You stated above that with a fresh 9v that it is working better. In that regard you will have to decide if worth messing with the guitar or living with it how it is.

Looked at the bass, it is essentially an active bass. Passive pickups, yes, but the EQ in it requires power. There's likely nothing wrong with your guitar, just needed a fresh battery. My active bass behaves weird when the batteries are dying as well. Very quiet, barely audible, sometimes notes sound bent or out of tune when they are not. First time it happened to me I had no idea what was happening either. Knowing more about your bass I am certain the battery was the issue though. Happy playing!