Dying in the mix

[Depth_Charge]

Not sure if this is technique, bass or amp related. Performance is good

At practice recently, my guitarist mentioned that I drop out a bit when playing high notes. I was running through my Nemesis 320W single 4x10 cab (200W).

I listened out for it across my 4 basses, and it seems like he might be right. Even at home, it drops a bit, especially when playing any notes on the D and G strings.

But for some reason I press and play those strings harder than E and A!! So I'm at a loss where to start troubleshooting this one.

Anyone else had similar issues? Thanks.

[BigOleBoogie]

Does your band do any drop tuning? Just a question, no matter if you guys do or not.

You may be creeping up into their sonic range and need more meat. Try playing the same notes but on the E and A strings to keep the boomph behind the pitch.

[*smb]

There is different ways you can go here. Next band practice experiment with your EQ and next time you change your strings try a different brand.

[Nedmundo]

What kind of bass, which strings are you using, and have you gotten it professionally set up? I've noticed this phenomenon on some modern active basses, including an Ibanez SRX 500 I used to have, other Ibanez models, and even a Lakland played through an EBS combo. I don't know what the deal is, but I've never heard the same thin, twangy tone up high on a good passive bass, though the D & G strings sometimes suffer a little of this below about the fifth fret. Thicker gauge strings or flatwounds might help.

[craigb]

I've run in to this any number of times on different basses. A couple of options to work on it:

- raise your pickup(s) under the D&G strings and/or lower them under the E&A until you get a balanced sound through your rig (I actually work this through a headphone amp with quality headphones until I'm happy with the balance)

- cut the bass on your bass (if active) and/or amp until things sound balanced and then turn up the master volume until it has the bass level you want

hopefully that will get you closer to where you want to be balance-wise. It is annoying to have upper string lines/fills drop out of the mix.

[Depth_Charge]

Thanks guys, thats golden!!

We play standard EADG tuning. The bass that was first noticed was my active ESP LTD F-104, which was setup on purchase (2 years ago). I keep it fitted with D'Addario ProSteel XL's, which I swap every 3-5 months.

I'm not sure of the gauge, but it is thicker - I've tuned it to CGCF in the past. 140 sticks in my mind...came with a cool CD too

Messing about tonight, I think it's an active/EQ thing. I've always noticed that when I swap my ESP in, it booms on the low strings compared to my other 3 basses. I loved it for it. And my other active is a neckthrough 5 string with a mellow tone, so it shared the same lower "volume" as my passives.

After rolling off some bass and boosting some mid and treble on the EQ, I hear a marked difference. At first it sounded bad but I've had them ring nicely once or twice and it's fun settling on a tone, per bass. And I've still got the pedalboard to sort out yet!