Concerns arise in amplifying my bass

[bassbuddy]

I've experimented with three pickups over the past two years (Realist, Bass Max, Rev Solo), and discovered a couple of general things about my bass in doing so:

1. Wing pickups sound MUCH better in the treble side wing than the bass side, much rounder and with greater bass and output. In the bass side, they sound very nasal. The pickup fits tighter in the treble wing, but even shimming up the pickup in the bass side to relatively equal pressure didn't have much effect on the sound. I guess I really don't care where the thing goes as long as it sounds good, but I just wonder if this is an indicator of other problems, or potential problems.

2. No matter what pickup I use, the A string sounds extremely compressed - like a big "pop", with little definition, although it does have as much sustain as the others. It's the front end of the note that's affected. It sounds fine acoustically.

Any thoughts? You think there's something inherently funky in the bridge itself? Or do I just chalk it up to the inherant differences in any acoustic instrument?

[Ric Vice]

bassbuddy,
Sometimes it's really hard to pinpoint the problem, but if you have tried three different pickups and you have the same problem with the A string with all of them, then my first thought would be to take it to you're friendly repair guy and have him look at your bass. Hopefully it's just an adjustment problem that can be corrected. I quit using wing pickups because of a similar problem
with the A string.

Ric

Good Luck

PS Does this problem occur when you use a microphone and
amplify the bass?

[Nivaca]

Originally Posted by bassbuddy

1. Wing pickups sound MUCH better in the treble side wing than the bass side, much rounder and with greater bass and output. In the bass side, they sound very nasal. The pickup fits tighter in the treble wing, but even shimming up the pickup in the bass side to relatively equal pressure didn't have much effect on the sound. I guess I really don't care where the thing goes as long as it sounds good, but I just wonder if this is an indicator of other problems, or potential problems.

2. No matter what pickup I use, the A string sounds extremely compressed - like a big "pop", with little definition, although it does have as much sustain as the others. It's the front end of the note that's affected. It sounds fine acoustically.

Hey, Bassbuddy: I'm surprised by what you say. I've tried various bridge-wing pickups, and the results I get are quite different from yours. To begin with, the only place where the pickup gets a very nice sound is in the bass side; in the treble side, I get a very low signal and a poor sound.
As a result (I think), my A string sound very nice, as opposed to what you describe in your case.

To get the "sweet" spot of the pickup, I always have to search for it by moving it forward and backward at the bridge's wing. With the Revolution Solo, the "R" is exactly below the "wing cap" (I don't know how's it really called), facing upwards; it has be a little bit tight in order to get its best sound.