E and B string are "warbly", less defined

Lorenzini · #1 09-23-2006, 10:03 AM

Hi guys,

I just got myself a Fender MB-5 bass pretty cheap and it has great tone.

However, the E string past the 6th fret begins to warble. The B string does it too, after 3rd fret. I guess that's the best way to describe it. It sort of warbles, and vibrates differently than the A, D, G strings.

This usually is a symptom of what? Bad bridge? Inconsistent neck pocket? Bad build quality?

Weird thing is - there are no spaces in the neck pocket, it has what looks like a nice Gotoh bridge on it, and the tension is medium, not loose or floppy.

There is plenty of space to add a string tree to the headstock, a la Lakland, Sadowsky, etc...

What else could I do?

62bass · #2 09-23-2006, 11:50 AM

The first thing I'd check is pickup height. If they're too close to the strings they can produce a sound like what you describe. There were a batch of Fender paisley Fender basses in a store here once and every one did this and on every one the pickup was too close to the strings. This showed up worse as you went higher on the neck.

Then look at your strings. Make sure the bass is set up as good as possible.

If I had your bass in front of me I could tell very quickly what the problem is. Pretty hard from just a verbal description and not actually hearing the sound.

Lorenzini · #3 09-23-2006, 03:11 PM

I can safely tell you it's not due to pickup height. The pickups are, for my preferences, actually too low. But I appreciate your suggestion!

It's true, it's hard to diagnose without actually seeing it.
Currently, the bass is wearing Ken Smith Rockmasters, which are round-core, taperwound strings. Very very much like Hi Beams, also round-core and could contribute to the lack of tightness and definition. I've noticed only some basses can easily wear Hi Beams without the E or B suffering..

hyp.spec · #4 09-23-2006, 04:10 PM

I had a set of Hi-Beams on my sr505 and the B string warbled from day one.

Lo-Riders dont have this problem

Lorenzini · #5 09-23-2006, 04:42 PM

I dig totally.

In my experience, Sadowsky SS or nickel strings are truly great for that solidity of note

Lorenzini · #6 09-25-2006, 07:21 PM

Any other suggestions?

Lorenzini · #7 09-30-2006, 11:50 AM

Help!

Basshole · #8 09-30-2006, 12:29 PM

Change strings, man. It's a relatively inexpensive way to rule this out as the problem.

Lorenzini · #9 09-30-2006, 12:46 PM

Doesn't handle the problem though. I put Lo Riders on and it thumbs more but is still very thunky and now less clear.