lower action = no more wolf tone?

[tww001]

I just lowered my bridge adjuster wheels 3/4 of a turn, and it seems as if it has made my Ab wolf tone no longer rear its ugly head! Has anybody else experienced this?

[Soloshchenko]

Cue a load of debates about low action basses with incredible tone.

The fact is, lowering action on any bass will affect tone in a negative way and likewise a higher action will give you a bigger sound. Hence why I prefer a slightly higher action, especially as I play quite hard generally.

[tww001]

I'm not talking about my instruments tone overall, though the lowered action seems to have made the tone a little more 'direct' sounding. And besides the point, there gets to a point where the tone is negatively affected if the action is too high. I was speaking of the slightly lower tension eliminating the wolf tone.

[salcott]

Every bass has a sweet spot where raising or lowering has a negative effect. I think you just found yours.

[bonaventura]

Originally Posted by tww001

I just lowered my bridge adjuster wheels 3/4 of a turn, and it seems as if it has made my Ab wolf tone no longer rear its ugly head! Has anybody else experienced this?

I haven't had any experience with what you describe, but I can see how reducing the volume of your instrument could keep the wolf at bay.

Wolf tones are in the wood, in the instrument. They say all fine mastered wooden instruments have them. Irregularities in the wood grain resonate. I've got one on a carved bass, also at Ab, and it was a real problem for a while. It was so strong the afterlength strings would howl on their own and feedback with a piezo pickup. Then I had a longer tailpiece made and shortened the string length below the bridge and it doesn't howl anymore. But the wolf is still there -- my bass still resonates strongly when I play Ab -- he just can't howl.

If what you have is a wolf, the wolf is still there. It could be that you've just changed the bass output sound -- lowered the volume, or changed the tension on the top -- so the vibration at Ab doesn't howl now at the lower string height. But if you take your bow now and play Ab loudly, is the resonance still there? If not, and if you gradually raise the string height, is there a point when the resonance starts to gain strength again? Me, I like having a little of that resonance there. A little wolf gives some punch...

[reedo35]

Originally Posted by tww001

I just lowered my bridge adjuster wheels 3/4 of a turn, and it seems as if it has made my Ab wolf tone no longer rear its ugly head! Has anybody else experienced this?

You released some of the pressure on the top table and the soundpost by lowering the bridge, and it probably changed some of the vibrations. Does it sound better or worse now?