A, D & G strings...any way to get more sustain and fatness

[quadrogong]

I know it's just normal for the low E string on my 4-banger to be thicker sounding, and I use the low E for most of my thick,supportive tones.. and tend to use my thinner strings for first verses, lighter sounding parts..
and as the song builds, I gradually use the E string for everything..

But....

THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN VOLUME,SUSTAIN AND GENERAL THICKNESS..i feel like those thinner strings should be a bit closer in relation to the E string.
Will increasing the gauge for those thin strings solve the problem?

I'm afraid that it'll make my tension too heavy,on the E and A,where I do most of my playing.

I usually use a typical 45-105 set, and I picked up a set of those sets with the heavier thin strings..i think it's a 50-105 set.. not sure, kind of scared to try it at a session,so they're still unused.

but is this the only way? perhaps raising the height of the pu on the treble side of the neck?
any advice?

[Ostinato]

You HAVE to raise the pickup height for the treble side, that's one of the setup commandments

"Thou shalt raise the pickup height on the thinner strings so that ye may acheive better string to string volume."

a mixed set would also help, .045 - .100 is quite popular

[bassist 4 life]

P-Bass

[One Drop]

Old flats: for when every string just has to sound like the E string.

[Basshole]

Originally Posted by One Drop

Old flats: for when every string just has to sound like the E string.

Lol.

[hockey_head]

raise pup on treble side, possibly adjust pup poles if you got em, re-eq possibly even compress slightly..............in that order..........

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by One Drop

Old flats: for when every string just has to sound like the E string.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of uneven strings, my flats comfort me. They stay by my side, and lo, they sound even and full.

And the fullness of old flats shalt set thee free.

[pickles]

Adjust the pickup heights, for sure. Then change the way you EQ, you're probably boosting @ 40hz (E string fundamental). Try boosing around 100hz instead (thats somewhere around the G string's fundamental), with a broad bandwidth.

[Nedmundo]

Lots of good suggestions. I've found that GHS Precision flatwounds deliver the fattest D and G string tone of any string set I've tried. And some string sets are inherently unbalanced, so it's worth experimenting. For example, I tried Dean Markley Nickel Plated Steels on my P-bass, I think in .045-.105 gauge. The E and A sounded rich and full, but the D and G were pathetically weak, so I dumped them quickly. Believe it or not, even the supposedly ultra-bright Blue Steels sound vastly more balanced on my P-bass.

Some effects can even out response as well. An Aphex Bass Xciter works wonders on my G&L L-1500, whose D and G strings can sound weak through some rigs. It preserves the inherent tone of the bass too.

[ljazz]

Don't use D'Addarios

That usually does the trick for me.

Ljazz