Strange sounds when bowing...

[EthanTheBassist]

So when I bow on the g-string and sometimes the d-string, I get a weird wah/phaser type sound when the first and last 4inches (about) of the bow is bowing the string. It is as if some of the undertones of the note are peaking and trough-ing. It happens on both my german and french bow. It is bowing fine (no slipping or anything) it just makes this noise underneath the main note sound. I've been playing since May-ish so I'm not really experienced in bass problems. Hope this all makes sense! Any help would be amazing! Thanks.

[Andrew McGregor]

That's called 'falsing', and its probably a combination of not enough rosin and bow technique issues. Might also be strings.

Edit: I should say, practice more, your strings will probably improve with time and so will your technique. Make a particular point of trying to find the right combination of speed, pressure, position relative to the bridge and the way you start the note. It may not be possible to completely eradicate it without changing the setup of the bass, but if so it should only be a little 'scratch' at the start of the note. Any more than that and you should be able to get it with practice.

[bassist14]

everytime i read the thread-title i think: what is so unusual with that...

[David Potts]

Make sure your bow is travelling at 90 degrees to the string with steady contact point. Check this out in front of a mirror. This guarantees best tone . Greater or less than 90 degrees introduces a distortion to the vibrations and sound.

Another check is to make sure that the angle of hair to the string leaves enough hair contact. I like the idea that if the hair is flat on the E string and you do not alter your bow grip as you roll around to the G string you end up with less hair contact in a very natural way. The heavy E string needs the extra grip and the G string, vibrating many times faster, needs less to keep sound clear. On the two middle strings all the hair contacts the string but the top of the hair ribbon bends and grips more than the bottom.

Yet another check is to ensure that your bow contact point stays a little closer to the bridge, definitely not near the fingerboard, on the G string to find a bit more resistance to the bow and support resonance and clarity.

Does your bass have a wolf note? Is it on G?

Happy hunting!

DP

[nfblackburn13]

my teacher tells me to bow at a little bit more than 90 degrees with the bow tipping forward a bit
but it is practically what David Potts just said
i am thinking it is your string
what kind do you have now?
have long have you had them?
and have you changed them with the same result?
good luck!

[EthanTheBassist]

Well, the strings...i don't really know. Here's the quick story of my bass. I've been playing electric bass for about 5 yrs. now and wanted to play upright. So I looked all over to find an affordable, lefty bass. Yes, I'm a lefty who just won't conform. So I got a laminate Prima 3/4 for $750 (lefty) so I know its not the best quality, but I wanted to make sure I like it before i dropped a lot of dough on a nice one (i'm 18 and have college and a girlfriend to pay for). I got it in May, and have been teaching myself ever since (teacher=$$$/hr.)
Long story short, I don't know what kind of strings they are and i'm not experienced in the upright world...so there it is.
One more thing-a wolf tone is when the part of the string past the bridge vibrates, right? Thanks for all of the help though! All of you guys!

[Andrew McGregor]

Ok, well, they're new, they haven't played in, and they're probably horrible anyway.

Really, you need someone to teach you. This is not BG, you'll damage yourself if you're not very careful... and it just isn't possible to figure out what not to do from scratch.

[JimGullen]

Originally Posted by EthanTheBassist

<snip>One more thing-a wolf tone is when the part of the string past the bridge vibrates, right? Thanks for all of the help though! All of you guys!

Hi EtB!

Well, when you play a double bass every part of it is vibrating....even if you don't have a wolftone. It is true that if a bass has a wolf, you can adjust it by adding a weight to the afterlength of the string. The afterlength refers to the portion of the string between the bridge and tailpiece, i.e. below the bridge when your playing the bass.

Technically, although these weights are referred to as wolf tone eliminators, you don't eliminate it...you simply move it's frequency to spot that doesn't impact your playing.

There are lots of ways to adjust a wolf. The eliminator is the cheapest. Set up and strings can also modify it. My bass has a very strong wolf with Original Flexocore strings if I don't use an eliminator. When I changed to Belcantos, it went almost completely away and I no longer use the eliminator.

There ya go...more on wolf tones than you wanted to know! :-)

If you fill out profile, perhaps someone would be willing to hook up with you and take a look at your bowing technique and offer some suggestions...pro bono! :-)

Best regards!

Jim

[slinkycheeseman]

My teacher says that to get the best sound you must press more with your wrist. This will allow the bigger muscles to relax more, and you can get a bigger sound. Also play over the finger board. My teacher says this produces the best sound. Also my teacher says to rosin the strings, this allows the best tone color in my and my teachers opinion. Also practising can help your sound (that's what my teacher says).

[EthanTheBassist]

How long does it take for strings to get broken in?
And rosining the strings? Do people do that?
Well, thank you all for your help again! I know I need a teacher, I'm not trying to do this all on my own, but a teacher just isn't in the mix right now. I'm glad you guys are taking the time to reply to my naive questions!
Godspeed.
Ethan.

[JimGullen]

Hi EtB!

It depends on what you mean by strings breaking in. I just put on a new set of Belcantos and they were stable with respect to tuning within 48 hours. If on the other hand you mean broken in as in "dead" that really depends on what you're looking for. I replace my strings once a year.

I don't know of anyone who rosins their strings. Rosining the hair of the bow is much more standard. In fact, I usually wipe my strings off about once an hour or so to get the accumulated rosin off.

Hope this helps and best regards!

Jim

[Andrew McGregor]

Strings can take anything from ten minutes to 3 months to play in, depending on what strings they are, how loud and how long you play, the weather, and any number of other factors. Since you're a beginner, you can expect it to take longer rather than shorter.