What Would Cause One String to have Lower Volume / Output

j_rod · #1 12-06-2010, 08:43 AM

I have a new set of GHS Tapewounds on my five string and the A string's volume / output is lower than the others. I lowered the bridge saddle to get it closer to the pickup in order to get the volume to be almost equal to the others (but still has a lower output than the others). What can be causing this? The sound is fine, can it be a dead string or a pick-up problem. It is a split P style pick-up, I raised the inside of the pickups to get closer to the strings also.

knuckle_head · #2 12-06-2010, 09:37 AM

Is this consistent beyond the one set of strings you have on your bass or just on the set you have on it now?

Is the one particular string thicker/have more tension than the rest of your set?

j_rod · #3 12-06-2010, 01:32 PM

I didn't really notice it with the original set but that could be that I just didn't notice it. String tension and thickness is consistent.

j_rod · #4 12-08-2010, 08:38 PM

Ok I just stung up another string and the same thing is happening with that one. I've never experienced this on any of my other basses. It sound as if that string's output signal is weak.

Skitch it! · #5 12-08-2010, 08:54 PM

I've come across a couple of basses which have a particular string cancellation, one with a weak A string and one with a weak G, this should be evident with whatever string set you put on the bass though?

knuckle_head · #6 12-08-2010, 08:54 PM

'kay - what are the gauges in your set?

j_rod · #7 12-09-2010, 08:36 AM

.050 .070 .090 .105 .130

I have the same set on another bass without any problems.
Any idea how to fix the problem?? New pickups? or just deal with it?
When I am playing alone it's not that bad but with the band, the bass is pounding you in the chest with every note, then when i get to notes on the A String it sound as if I am playing nothing. It just sounds weak.
I'm not pumping 1000 watts into an 810 for weak.

tdub0199 · #8 12-09-2010, 08:39 AM

I had this same problem but luckily it was just a dead string...

knuckle_head · #9 12-09-2010, 01:21 PM

.050 - 55
.070 - 61
.090 - 56
.105 - 43
.130 - 36

These are pounds of tension - the higher the tension the less excursion the string has and the quieter it will be by comparison. That is a significant leap between your E and your A.

I suspect that is the issue.

j_rod · #10 12-09-2010, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knuckle_head

.050 - 55
.070 - 61
.090 - 56
.105 - 43
.130 - 36

These are pounds of tension - the higher the tension the less excursion the string has and the quieter it will be by comparison. That is a significant leap between your E and your A.

I suspect that is the issue.

With that being said, shouldn't the D be even quieter and the G roughly the same?

tangentmusic · #11 12-09-2010, 04:51 PM

Dead A string

knuckle_head · #12 12-09-2010, 11:03 PM

If you have an identical string on another bass then pull the good one from the one bass and put it on the other and see if it is indeed the string.

Your string set is still horribly imbalanced, none-the-less.

j_rod · #13 12-10-2010, 08:36 AM

So this is what I did.
1. Pulled the string in question and installed the same string from another set - no improvement
2. Took a different string from another bass and installed - no improvement

Thus far, three different strings with the same issue.
I can't really tell if the problem exist when the bass is unplugged. Do you think it could be a problem with the bass (nut, bridge, body, neck, etc.) or could it be the electronics?

Thanks for the help.

dmusic148 · #14 12-10-2010, 08:40 AM

I'd bet that you need to raise the pickup even more. And maybe raise the string back up a bit, because it may be so low that it's choking out on the fretboard.

j_rod · #15 12-10-2010, 08:45 AM

It's not that low, I raised it back up to the correct position. The pickup is as high as it can go.

Would a 0.094 be closer in tension?

mikezimmerman · #16 12-10-2010, 08:51 AM

I'm inclined to think it may be a pickup issue. Since it's a split pickup on a 5, does it have one coil that's longer than the other, or do the two coils overlap on the A string?

j_rod · #17 12-10-2010, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikezimmerman

I'm inclined to think it may be a pickup issue. Since it's a split pickup on a 5, does it have one coil that's longer than the other, or do the two coils overlap on the A string?

Two overlapping.
I don't think they are to best pickups, would a better set help this problem? I have the middle higher than the outsides, could that be magnifying the problem?

mikezimmerman · #18 12-10-2010, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j_rod

Two overlapping.
I don't think they are to best pickups, would a better set help this problem? I have the middle higher than the outsides, could that be magnifying the problem?

I'm just wondering if the two coils interfere with each other in some way, by being out of phase with each other or something like that. It wouldn't impact any of the other strings, since they only pass over one of the coils, but the A string passes over both coils so if they're out of phase with each other (for noise reduction) then the A-string signals from each coil would cancel each other out to some degree.

Just a wild guess, though.

One way you might test it is to lower one of the coils as far as it will go under the A-string side, to see if the problem lessens.

j_rod · #19 12-10-2010, 01:37 PM

I think I may have tried that and got the same result, didn't really pay to much mind if it got better or worse. I will try that again tonight. Thanks

j_rod · #20 12-11-2010, 07:59 PM

so lowering the one pickup did help a little. Would a different set of pickups help this or is it just the orientation of the bass?