Chousey A-string

ptolemny · #1 03-02-2010, 05:23 AM

This is weird. I had some Seymour Duncans put in my MIA P-bass 2 weeks ago; sounded fine. Next practice I plug in (SVT-Pro & 810E) and my A string has a chousey-phasey sound. It's most noticeable on the open note. Thought it might be acoustical, but no matter how I angled the cab it was there. I tried my other P-Bass and it sounded fine. Then I noticed that the chorusey-phasey effect was acoustic. Even when the bass wasn't plugged in you could still hear it. I'm wondering if the string is bad or there might be something amiss with the neck or intonation (I had the bass intonated 1/2 step down [D#] when I had the p/ups installed). Anyone wanna take a stab at this?

jasper383 · #2 03-02-2010, 05:44 AM

The angle of the string over the nut is my guess. That A string on Fenders can be trouble.

Try pushing the A string down past the nut, and play the string. It will probably go away.

Check the wraps of the A string on the post, and make sure the string winds down hard to the base of the post.

Jim Nazium · #3 03-02-2010, 09:27 AM

This is a fairly common phenomenon. There is no consensus on what causes it, but two of the usual suspects are bad strings and pickups that are too high. I'm leaning toward the "bad string" theory myself. Here are some threads on the subject:

E string problem - CHORUSING AGAIN!!!
Weird Problem: Chorus-y sound from DR Fatbeams
Chorusy Sound on E String Above the 12th Fret
Slight chorus sound
Funny D'Addario E-string

rez · #4 03-02-2010, 09:56 AM

I just folded some note paper between the A and the nut while putting off installing a three-string string-tree.

ptolemny · #5 03-02-2010, 11:51 AM

JN, Thanks for the links. I should have done a search before posting. I think I'll try throwing a fresh set of strings on (the bad string theory makes the most sense, since initially there was no problem). If that doesn't work I'll have to take it back to the guy who did the install/setup.

ptolemny · #6 03-05-2010, 02:18 AM

Follow-Up: It was the strings. Actually all the strings were twisted, so I guess the chorusey sound doesn't happen every time you hand-wind the strings around the pegs, but rather creates the potential for the windings to loosen up and become a problem. Last time I take my business to that guy. Thanks again to everyone who replied.