Trouble with Harmonics on my jazz bass

I didn't know in which section to put this thread.
First off, let me say that I am very comfortable with my harmonics and that I've never had a problem before. I recently acquired a Lakland USJO4, which I love, but I'm having a problem getting the 7th (at fret 2.7 or at the 6th fret) and basically any harmonic past the octave+fifth (3rd fret). I rely a lot on my harmonics and especially the harmonics between the 2nd and 3rd frets. On my custom warwick they sing out beautifully but on my USJO they don't really sound at all.
For your info, I run all of my basses passive and I roll back the neck pickup just a little bit. Usually with this setup I get my harmonics singing.
Help!

[jsingles]

i dont have a jazz.. but try rolling off the neck all the way.
what kind of strings are on the bass? are they new strings?
same amp settings?
is your lakland active or passive?
boosting the treble a bit on an active bass brings harmonics out for me.

they are brand new strings, EB Regular slinky. My settings are almost flat, I put up the treble a tiny bit and the mids up a very tiny bit.
My lakland JO is passive. I keep my amp settings for each bass so that the tonal characteristics of each bass comes out.

[jsingles]

hmm not sure.... I have a 10 band EQ and I find that certain High mids BLAST out the harmonics more than the highs... but I dont think your EQ is your problem, as you seem to understand how to use it better than I do probably. :\ Maybe it is due to the difference in pickups... tho OBVIOUSLY a jazz bass works well for harmonics.

edit: oh.. also.. The location of harmonics (particularly the 2nd, 3rd fret ones) are not the same on every bass! sometimes I play a bass and i get the 3rd fret sounding RIGHT on the fret.. other basses its more like the 3rd and 1/3 fret.. I am sure you know that already but that would be my guess..

yes, agreed. I'm practicing unplugged right now and it's nothing with the bass itself because this thing is blaring out the harmonics... It's probably the pickups, and i'm getting darkstars within the week so the new set will probably fix everything.

The pickups I have in there right now are Fralins, but they probably haven't been serviced in a long time (the bass is a 98). Thanks for your help

[jsingles]

ah! then yes I would bet on the pickups! Let me know how it goes!

[Audiophage]

Have you tried turning the neck pickup all the way off?

no, I'll try that later today and let you know how it goes. I've never had to do that before, which is why i'm thinking it is an issue with my pickups. My neck pickup has been giving me issues lately, but I'll have a new set soon.

[onlyclave]

Before you go out and spend a bunch of money on new pickups be sure that the current pickups' mounting position is what's causing your harmonic woes. It might be that they are sitting in a null point on the string or both are in a position where they cancel out the wave.

The harmonic content/lack thereof is what gives every instrument a unique sound. I would agree with the other posters here and say turn off one pickup or the other (I'd start with the bridge) an also try rotating your left finger slightly to the side of the string at the harmonic node instead of being directly over it. On double bass it's easier to get the harmonics to speak that way.

I already finger my harmonics with my finger on the side of the string. I had a masterclass with Mark Dresser (Contrabass Legend/Professor at UCSD) and he showed me how to perfectly articulate harmonics on the contrabass. Again, when I play unplugged I hear all of the harmonics, it's not my technique.
I'll try different levels with the pickups later today and report back. I don't have an amp with me right now.

[Cureswhatailsye]

I find that a parametric equalizer that focuses on the mids helps greatly with harmonics. Even with my old P-bass with flats, the Yamaha Nathan East NE1 EQ makes my harmonics ring like anything.

[broughton.22]

Do you have any sustain issues? Perhaps the harmonics are severely dampened because of inconsistencies with string gauge and nut gauges, or perhaps the same at the bridge. Minor things like this will make a major difference in harmonics.

there is a brand new set of EB Regular slinky strings. The nut is fine, and the bridge is fine.. the bass itself is fine as I can get the harmonics quite clearly.. they just aren't being picked up by the pickups. I still haven't been able to try some people's suggestions as I don't have access to my amp right now. Hopefully later today I can go over and try out a few things.
Also, it's not the eq. I tried a few different basses and they get fine response at the same eq settings.

[jsingles]

if you have tried that bass through other amps as well I would definitly say it would be worth getting different pickups

Well.. I dunno what was up. I had new strings on there, but I tried everything and finally just got a new set of strings.. Everything is dandy now, but I had brand new EB Slinky strings on there. I put on taper wound Ken Smiths and it did the trick. I really don't like the lighter gauge string, but I'll live with it for now. thanks for everyone's help.

That's just weird.

[cheesemonkey]

turn the neck pick up all the way down and max the bridge pick up
then play right over the bridge pick up
makes the harmonics clearer

[jsingles]

interesting, guess you had dud strings on there!

yea... I've never had problems with ernie balls before. Oh well, quality control ain't what it used to be.