Bad tone

[twin2ad2000]

I have too much treble in my tone. I bought a cheap student bass that cost me 575 bucks. I am barely learning the double bass because my university does not accept electric as a primary instrument. Is it my bass or is it more likely that it is me? I am talking a lot of treble.

[Bill Bentgen]

What's your teacher say?

[pianodan]

What do you have for a bass? Have you had any set-up work done on it? (bridge, strings, fingerboard etc.) What are you using for a bow?

[farmerdude]

wheres the soundpost?

[Andrew McGregor]

And are you aware that double bass does not sound like the bass section of an orchestra when you're right up close? What you're describing might be perfectly normal. The bass should sound like a big, bright 'cello up close... if it doesn't, you're in big trouble when you play in an orchestra, because you can't hear yourself to play in tune.

Or you might be getting a bit of falsing with the bow, which is purely down to rosin and technique. Practice to get the right bow stroke; experiment with placement along the string, weight, and bow speed. It's a dynamic thing, you're effectively plucking the string with the initial sticktion of the bow and then keeping it alive with the rest of the stroke, so the 'shape' of your stroke matters a lot.

[PaulKing]

Cheap steel strings ... tinny trebly tone.
Sound post too tight / wrong place ... lack of bass tone
Cheap plywood ... weak trebly tone. (NB .. GOOD plywood basses CAN have excellent tone for student / jazz playing, whatever people tell you)

Could be any of these. You can fix the first two, but not the last, if that's the problem.
Buy some darker strings. Get a luthier to set up the sound post.

You mainly pizz, or pizz and arco?

[pathdoc2]

Bass will benefit from a pro setup. Probably came with horrible strings. Take it to someone who works on uprights, a professional and see what he or she thinks.

[Mike Goodbar]

Originally Posted by pathdoc2

Bass will benefit from a pro setup. Probably came with horrible strings. Take it to someone who works on uprights, a professional and see what he or she thinks.

And be prepared to spend at least as much as you laid out on the bass initially, if new bridge, strings, soundpost, nut work, fingerboard dressing and tailpiece wire are necessary to achieve the effect you're after.