G String and Balance Woes

[The Opher]

Has anyone else here always felt that the G string always seems to sound thin on their bass? Have you found a solution? I can always seem to balance E-A-D out but no matter how I EQ the G always ends up way thinner. It never seems to show up as an issue in slap but that never fits my music style and I end up doing a lot of scales up and down the bass. I have a jag pushing Antiquites II pups if that matters (heavily modded with a John East preamp among other things, which I owe many thanks to TB for help during mods). Is anyone else similarly anal about string balance. I have tried everything. If I remember right, some DR's seemed to do the trick once a couple years back, but they had that tapered end and sounded really wierd above the 12th fret. I have actually thought about trying some roundwounds/half rounds on the bottom and maybe a flatwound on the top, but I really don't want to go through the expensive string experimentation dept again without some suggestions. I don't know, it always seems like the G never has as well rounded of a sound. Am I crazy? I probably am, but if anyone else has had a similar experience, let me know what your solutions were.

[Marton]

I use Precision Flats light, and found the G string to be more present than usual. The 45-60-75-95 gauge probably help.

[cassius987]

Flats almost always are better about this than rounds. Chromes have never done it to me.

[LowB-ing]

You're not alone. Fanned fret basses where invented to deal with this very problem.

If a new Dingwall bass isn't an option, use a heavier G string and boost low mids. Scooped tone tends to emphasize the thin G. I use a .050 in situations where a .045 is considered normal (ie when using .065 D and .085 A). Also experiment with different brands and models of strings.

Can't comment on flats being better as I only play rounds.

[craig.p]

Yes, I've found it's a problem for me, too. The DRIVE knob on my BDDI can mitigate it somewhat by adding some fatness, and fiddling with EQ in the midbass can help, as others have said. Also helps to use strings that aren't that bright-sounding to begin with. And then much of it is instrument-dependent because each one imposes its own harmonic structure.

I know nothing about Jaguar basses but you might want to experiment with pickup selection. I've seen cases where using the bridge pickup exclusively and boosting the bass controls will bring the G closer in line with the other strings in terms of harmonic content. Yes, you do shift the whole mess up a bit, but sometimes the string-to-string tone matching comes out better.

Also play around with pickup height. I won't go to the wall on what I'm about to say, but I've found that increasing the pickup-to-string spacing can help consistency and may help you get the G-string tone you're looking for. I tend to run both my instruments with maximum possible spacing. Seems to cut back on harmonic content, though I admit I can not scientifically defend this opinion, which is the long way 'round of saying it could be all in my head. You don't want your strings to leave the pickups' magnetic fields, of course, but you'll know when that happens because the E and G will begin to sound weak, or distant.

Like you, I do what I can to stay off the G, preferring to make sudden deep runs down the neck on the D instead. I consider this an acceptable burden to get the exact (full-bodied) sound I want for a particular note. Others may not think it is.

Not trying to say any of this is the best way to do it, just saying what's always worked for me. I know some of it qualifies as highly-atypical.

[Muaguana]

In addition to the suggestions above, try a compressor with a medium-low threshold, 4:1 ratio (at least,) short attack and long release, then boost gain as necessary. Or just play around with the settings until you find one that gives you the balance without losing all dynamic variation.

[Mastermold]

This sounds to me like more a pickup or string height issue than an issue with string selection. Have you tried adjusting the pickups? Adjusting the G saddle?

[The Opher]

I am currently using chromes, but the g is still thin, but it is a little better, which is part of the reason I have switched to flats (again). I may try the GHS, but I tend to need medium strings because the vintage frets buzz more easily, but I may need to make some truss adjustments, it has been awhile since I have done so.

Do the fan frets actually sound that much better? I would consider gettting the combustion and bastardizing it - I hate EMG pups though - they sound fine live but I don't like the way they record.

I'll double check pup height and string height later this week - but it has been a recurring problem for me and not isolated to my current bass. It has always bothered me. And, yeah, I do the same thing where I will pick what strings I play to adjust timbre and fullness accordingly. I do the same thing on guitar. My (much better) guitar playing cousin does not understand why I think the A chord here for this song sounds better than the A there - or why I think sometimes it sounds better to play something on the upper frets than in the open position to get a better tone. I swear, it makes a difference to my ears. Anyone else play the same note or chord in a row but in two different spots just because the different positions makes it feel like the song is moving? Yeah, I'm weird.