I've been using my NS Stick exclusively in my band as a bass and Stick since I got it. I love it but I've come to realize that the sound has a type of distortion to it when played finger style. I originally thought it was because of going through a line6 basspod but last weekend I ran directly into my sound board ... no effects what so ever. I wasn't clipping the channel on the sound board and put in fresh batteries. It didn't sound "bad" but did have a slight over driven sound. I don't notice this when tapping but it's definitely there when playing finger style. AND I don't believe it's fret buzz. I get it when playig very softly as well as loudly.

Have any of you NS Stick players experienced this?

That's a bit strange as I haven't had anything like that happen to me. Have you run direct into a smaller amp? Have you used different pickup and tone combinations?

Does the battery need changing? That distortion happened to me when I had an NS/Stick and the battery was low.

Hi Ray,

It sounds like it could be a dud battery. I've had plenty of new ones over the years that weren't any good. Check your pickup to see if there are any little metal filings sticking to it, and maybe rubbing against the strings.

And I just looked at my post count...hey look behind you....

The batteries are new ... but I guess they could be duds ... I'll try a different set.

I played my NS this evening through my Ampeg SVT PRO5 rig which I haven't used in months and it was rich and warm ... no distortion. Although the sound board wasn't "clipping" I think when i run the NS Stick directly into the Mackie sound board it overloads the channels. Tonight (Friday the 20th) at the "Budwiser" Rock & Rib Fest I'll be running my Ampeg SVT rig through a HUGE sound system but Saturday the band will be running ampless again at a private function. I'll try to lower the inputs on the two NS Stick soundboard channels or even lower the instrument volume itself and see if it clears up the problem.

PS. GREG .... I can see you catching up in my rear view!

Sometimes the simplest explanation.... who knows... Have you checked the cables and/or the connecting plugs in your stick? Sometime the cables (or bad connections or dirty jacks or dirty potentiometers) filter the sound and you get a "distorted" quality, particularly when the amplitude of the signal is higher, that would be when you are playing "finger style". Hope it helps...