E String pitch problem

[quiji]

Hi!

I've got a new student bass (the cheap kind) and got a serious problem with the E string. When played with the bow it keeps the pitch right, but when I stroke the string with the fingers it lowers the pitch for a little while and then moves to the right pitch!! it really disturbs me, because when I play anything in that string sounds out of tune. Any ideas why is this? or how can I fix it?

Thanks

[Francois Blais]

What brand is it?
Usually, a plucked string goes sharp, not flat.
Is your instrument properly setup?
Is the string height very high?

[quiji]

Is Cremona, is a really cheap one.
And you are right, it goes sharp, not flat, i said it wrong.
I think it is properly set up, and the string height is not high, at least thats the way i feel it.

[zeytoun]

Funny, I was listening to an amateur bassist last month. She had been playing orchestral for years, and obviously had proper technique.

When she played arco, the pitch was flawless. But when she switched to pizz, I would cringe, because the intonation sounded really off to me. The acoustics were such that the greater feedback from playing arco, is just not a good enough explanation to me.

I wonder if the cause was similar.

[Francois Blais]

I meant, what brand of string is it?

[quiji]

Oh, the strings, i really don't know, they came with the bass. They are probably cheap strings.

[Francois Blais]

My guess is you'll solve your problem with getting new, and good, strings.
(if they have red silks at the tailpiece, I bet they are Super-Sensitive Red Labels, which is one of the worst string on the market)
Or they may be cheap chinese strings.

[quiji]

I see, thanks for the advice, the moment I get money on my hands I'll get new strings. Thanks!