EBS octabass tracking problems

[Yvon]

I just received an EBS octabass as a gift. Really nice gift I am happy!
But!
It doesn't track well at all with lecompte (passive) almost unplayable. But with my wife SX shortscale (passive) and my Lakland (active). It track well except one or two notes on the G string.
I read other thread about it and it seem to be a normal problem.

But I play my lecompte 90% of the time. If I play fast notes it alright but the notes won't sustain more then 1 or 2 seconds.
I tried to put the compressor before the pedal, it didn't help. I try to play with the tone (Bbox) and it didn't help.

Anything else I could try?

If not, I might try to trade it for something else!

[syciprider]

Apologize to the gift giver, sell the POS and get a Micro POG.

[figuredbass]

Originally Posted by Yvon

If I play fast notes it alright but the notes won't sustain more then 1 or 2 seconds.
I tried to put the compressor before the pedal, it didn't help. I try to play with the tone (Bbox) and it didn't help.

Very often tracking problems with octavers are due to the fact that the harmonics in a given note are louder than the fundamental, as strange as this sounds. These devices are not "smart" like our ears are and simply look for the loudest frequency to "octave." The G string is often where dead spots occur (notes whose sustain dies unusually fast.) On most Fenders and like instruments this is usually around the 5th to 7th fret on the G string. With dead notes on the G string, it's the fundamental frequency that dies quickly, leaving the harmonics sustaining longer, and more significantly, LOUDER. The octaver hears these harmonics as the loudest "note" and then jumps up to octave them instead of the dying fundamental. This is what causes the tracking problems or warbling you get. Try this experiment: take a note on the G string you have tracking problems with and play the same note on the D string. My bet is that the tracking will be fine. This is because the fundamental stays strong longer.

Remember that you want the octaver to track the fundamental, so there are several things you can do to help it do this better:
1. Pluck the string further towards the neck. This increases the proportion of fundamental to harmonics in the vibrating string itself. (This may not be much better if the problem is actually due to dead spots.)
2. Use more neck pickup than bridge pickup (if applicable), or blend the pickups more in this direction. The neck pickup tends to favor fundamentals, the bridge pickup favors harmonics.
3. Add some bass equalization prior to the octaver so it has more fundamental to "grab on" to.
4. Use alternate fingerings, playing the same notes on the D string or even A string. I do this myself and even observed Will Lee doing this through his Boss OC-2 in a recording session.

Admittedly, they may be a trade-off in some cases, but you really don't have much choice!

[saxnbass]

I've found that it tracks quite well with my Bongos, probably due to the hot output of the bass. The hotter the signal going in to the octave pedal, the better it will track. A compressor before the octave pedals helps too.