Help with Sustain on 4 string bass guitar

[Bob Smerko]

Hi all, i am a new guy here- i need some help--i play a 4 string fender bass, 64 body,new neck-- i like the style of Tim Bogert from vanilla fudge and cactus- BBA-- The sustain he gets when taking a ride is great to me-- i know he used a 1964 fender P bass with a 68 telecaster neck- i use a boss DS-1 distortion- it does'nt cut through-- can anyone help? I have an SVT ampeg classic amp, 8 -10inch speakers-- also a cerwin vega 18 inch cab. w/ a Pv head- and an ampeg Ba115HP thanks , give me a private email --Marblman1@optonline.net Bob

[Swimming Bird]

Most sustain is from the bass and your fingers -- how do you like the action and pickups?

It might be helped with amp settings, if you set it louder and played softer you can get more sustain. Otherwise, compressors can help sometimes, sometimes gain pedals help though they color the tone a lot.

[bigchiefbc]

You could try a compressor to lengthen the sustain as well. A very large percentage of recordings use compression, especially on bass. I personally use a Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone, which can give me tremendous amounts of sustain, but there are quite a few that can do this for you.

[MIJ-VI]

Does your bass sustain well enough when played acoustically?

If not, then the pickups' magnets may be dampening string vibrations to an excessive degree.

Try lowering the pickups slightly (1/4 turn of the height adjustment screws and test the bass without, and then with an amp. Repeat if needed).

Achieving good pickup height is a trade-off: far enough away from the strings to let them really ring out, yet close enough for the bass to sound well defined when played through an amp.

[bongomania]

^^^^ This, agreed. While a compressor can help, the real make-or-break deal is the natural sustain of the bass. This is affected by the construction, materials, setup, and strings. You can't really change the construction or materials without it being essentially a different bass, but you can easily change the setup and the strings--so start with those.

[billphreets]

Originally Posted by Bob Smerko

Hi all, i am a new guy here- i need some help--i play a 4 string fender bass, 64 body,new neck-- i like the style of Tim Bogert from vanilla fudge and cactus- BBA-- The sustain he gets when taking a ride is great to me-- i know he used a 1964 fender P bass with a 68 telecaster neck- i use a boss DS-1 distortion- it does'nt cut through-- can anyone help? I have an SVT ampeg classic amp, 8 -10inch speakers-- also a cerwin vega 18 inch cab. w/ a Pv head- and an ampeg Ba115HP thanks , give me a private email --Marblman1@optonline.net Bob

maybe fit a badass bass II bridge and a brass nut ??
helped with sustain on my jazz