A on E string; Is it louder than normal?

Longstreet · #1 03-08-2010, 04:49 PM

Let me 'splain. One of the guitar players at church has told me several times that, for reasons he can't explain, the A note, when played E string 5th fret, is abnormally louder than A open, or any other note played on the E string. He seems to think it has something to do with harmonics, that it's true of basses across the board, and that the only way to fix this is to get in the habit of hitting that particular note softer than I would any other.

I've never heard this from any one else. It makes no sense to me. I play in front of my amp, about 6 feet in front, and I've never noticed a difference. He's classically trained, plays several different instruments (including bass) and plays them very well. He's very knowledgeable, and very helpful, but this makes no sense to me.

Have any of you heard of this, or had any experience with it?

Marco A. Mayer · #2 03-08-2010, 04:58 PM

Dead spots.

Longstreet · #3 03-08-2010, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco A. Mayer

Dead spots.

On my bass, or in his head?

Seriously, I understand that all stringed instruments have the "dead spot" problem somewhere, to some degree, but he believes all basses play A on E string louder than any other note. I take it you don't agree?

Marco A. Mayer · #4 03-08-2010, 05:39 PM

Well, maybe the basses he got to play have dead spots on those areas.

He could be mental, though.

MalcolmAmos · #5 03-08-2010, 08:33 PM

Those that have perfect pitch hear things I do not. I think your friend is one of those.

tobie · #6 03-09-2010, 02:53 AM

Maybe he heard someone playing it a bit louder on the E string (the picking action might be different because the picking finger does not get stopped by another string) and now he believes that it's happening with all bassists?

Longstreet · #7 03-10-2010, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tobie

Maybe he heard someone playing it a bit louder on the E string (the picking action might be different because the picking finger does not get stopped by another string) and now he believes that it's happening with all bassists?

That makes sense.

Hmmm. Should I try to explain this to him, or next time he mentions it just nod my head like I'm paying attention?

megadan · #8 03-10-2010, 10:01 AM

Most likely what's happening is one of two things:

1: When you hit the A on the E string, your A string isn't fully muted, and it's resonating along with the played note, naturally making it sound louder

2: The room you're in or the amp you're using has a natural resonance at A which just happens to respond to the particular tone & harmonics of that note on that bass, which may be different due to warps/dead spots in the neck, pickup placement, bridge saddles, or any one of a million things.

It's probably definitely not just in his head, though he may be exaggerating based on his experience.

thesilence · #9 03-10-2010, 10:18 AM

It probably sounds "louder" but isnt really. Let me try to explain the higher you play on the neck the "cleaner" (pure) the note is. This is the reason a trumpet will be heard over a tuba and a flute will be able to be heard over everything (the flute is considered to produce the most pure notes) (assuming all instruments are playing at the same level). By pure i mean the least amount of overtones and the purer a note is the easier it is to hear making it sound louder. Of course it could also be due to the reasons already listed.

FunkMetalBass · #10 03-10-2010, 10:26 AM

Two things:

1) The A-string may not be tight at the saddle and nut. Probably half of the Fender basses I've played seem to have this issue. I can hear the string rattling either at the nut from a slot filed too wide, or at the bridge with a poor break angle. This would mean that the A played on your E-string doesn't die nearly as quickly and keeps its full ring for longer.

2) The A played on your E-string will have noticeably more fundamental and lower harmonic output because the string is thicker. Depending on your EQ, it's possible that you have these frequencies boosted and it sounds louder.

This is why zero frets are such a good idea.

dogbluedrummer · #11 03-10-2010, 06:01 PM

Room resonance! My weekly gig resonates on D (played on A string).
Another hall we play resonates on A (E string).

Try dropping your low eq setting a tad.