Too much bass from Flatwound?

[badboy1984]

I've install a set of Chrome on my jazz bass for awhile now. The string settle pretty well on my bass.

I feel i getting too much bass now on my setup.

Consider my jazz bass use Dimarzio DP123 which is very bassy, J-Retro preamp on my jazz that color the tone to have more bass and i strung the bass with flats. I also use ashdown amp and cab.

I feel my bass getting too much bass and thump. This is normal right when using flatwound? This is kinda my first bass with flatwound.

Maybe i need to reconfig the EQ for the bass that strung with flatwound.

[Mastermold]

No such thing as too much bass and thump!

[walknbluez]

I just strung my Fender Jazz with chrome flats and played it for the first time last night and I really liked the warm, fat bottom end it gave me. However I do know what you mean as many of the mids were also the same way and I'd rather have more clarity there. Tweaking my EQ and tone controls on my bass at rehearsal last night helped some but I still haven't dialed it in 100% and hoping that there is still room for me to do that. But I liked it because I could really shake the ground

What type of music are you playing?

[maxgrant]

I'm of the opinion that most of the time what people hear as the "notes" of bass are really the overtones in the midrange and highs.

When you set up your rig to actually project real low notes, it can be a surprise to find those fundamentals roaring out of your cabinet.

[walknbluez]

Originally Posted by maxgrant

I'm of the opinion that most of the time what people hear as the "notes" of bass are really the overtones in the midrange and highs.

When you set up your rig to actually project real low notes, it can be a surprise to find those fundamentals roaring out of your cabinet.

I didn't quite get what you are saying here. Do you mean if you set your rig up to get real low bottome end and low notes that the overtones of the midrange and highs project better (roaring out of cabinet)?

[badboy1984]

I got to admit the warm low end sound is great and i do like it. Some more mid on the tone would be much better in live situation. I guess its just matter of messing around with the EQ and the preamp on my bass to get the balance between the two.

I mainly play Classic Rock and Gospel stuff.

[walknbluez]

Originally Posted by badboy1984

I got to admit the warm low end sound is great and i do like it. Some more mid on the tone would be much better in live situation. I guess its just matter of messing around with the EQ and the preamp on my bass to get the balance between the two.

I mainly play Classic Rock and Gospel stuff.

The strange thing is that I had trouble hearing the mids when we were rehearsing but then I listened to the recording (a crude one on tape by the way) and I could hear them. So I'm wondering if it was because I was so close to the amp and if playing live if the audience would be able to hear them better...I don't know why that would be but like I said it was strange when I heard the tape.

[badboy1984]

I'm like that most of the time. I can barely hear myself during live but people keep telling me that they can hear the bass. So i guess is the audience that matter, so i just put up with that now lol

[walknbluez]

Originally Posted by badboy1984

I'm like that most of the time. I can barely hear myself during live but people keep telling me that they can hear the bass. So i guess is the audience that matter, so i just put up with that now lol

I'd like to hear the sonic theory behind this phenomenon

[mrufino1]

Bass waves are long, take time to develop. A lot of the time the bass sounds best about 10-15 feet away. That's why people started using smaller quicker drivers and tilting the amps up towards their heads, but it still sounds best a few feet away.

[7flat5]

Originally Posted by badboy1984

Maybe i need to reconfig the EQ for the bass that strung with flatwound.

Any change in string type requires a change, or at least a re-evaluation of the EQ, I think.

[walknbluez]

Originally Posted by mrufino1

Bass waves are long, take time to develop. A lot of the time the bass sounds best about 10-15 feet away. That's why people started using smaller quicker drivers and tilting the amps up towards their heads, but it still sounds best a few feet away.

Well thank you!

[JohnnyPustular]

Originally Posted by 7flat5

Any change in string type requires a change, or at least a re-evaluation of the EQ, I think.

And don't forget to check your intonation also.

[walknbluez]

Originally Posted by JohnnyPustular

And don't forget to check your intonation also.

Does the tech at the music store usually check this when they do a string change and "tune up"?

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by walknbluez

Does the tech at the music store usually check this when they do a string change and "tune up"?

Only if they're any good.

[Jazzdogg]

I've been running nuthin' but flats for decades, mostly because I like a solid bottom, dislike finger noise and fret clatter, and prefer the feeling of flats beneath my fingers. I EQ to create a midrange presence peak, turn my cab tweeters down a tidge, and use 3-way cabinets with midrange drivers.

If I'm having trouble hearing myself clearly in a muddy venue, I'll roll off the bass on my instrument, slide my right hand down toward the bridge pickup, and pluck in a more staccato fashion.

And, as always, I try to keep my cabinets out of corners and tilted back to direct the sound toward my ears when possible.

Hope this helps.

[D.Don]

Originally Posted by badboy1984

I got to admit the warm low end sound is great and i do like it. Some more mid on the tone would be much better in live situation. I guess its just matter of messing around with the EQ and the preamp on my bass to get the balance between the two.

I mainly play Classic Rock and Gospel stuff.

Try the half rounds, d'addario. I run chromes on my fretless, and halfs on my other axxes, turned out to be an excellent choice imho.

D.Don

[walknbluez]

Originally Posted by JohnnyPustular

And don't forget to check your intonation also.

How can I tell if the intonation is adjusted correctly?

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by walknbluez

How can I tell if the intonation is adjusted correctly?

Plug into a tuner and tune the string in question.

Play the string at the 12th fret and note what the tuner says.

If the note is flat, loosen the screw that holds that saddle so that it slides towards the pickup just a bit and recheck until the open string and the 12th fret note both play in tune.

If the note is sharp, tighten the screw so the saddle moves away from the pickups and check again.

Make sense?

[cicatrice]

I think the Model J combination and the flats may be a little bit on the overkill side. I tried a similar setup for a long time, but eventually, even after replacing the cap in the tone control to a pretty high value, I just ended up pulling out the Model J's since, for my taste, the amount of emphasis on the fundamental they reproduced (compared to mids and highs) was very nearly unreasonable amounts of bass. My drummer loved it when I rolled the tone all the way off and played right on the neck pickup, but since I wasn't really playing dub or hip-hop, I needed to change things up

The flats may accentuate the characteristic of that particular pickup, since the general attribute of flats, as I understand it, is generally to favor the fundamental over the higher overtones--which might start sounding like overkill with the Model J's.

If you want a little more clarity in the low end, you can dial way back on everything below 80-100Hz, flat around around 120-250, then boost above 500Hz to taste. Boosting 1kHz to 2kHz will get you a bit more clank/attack from the string.