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Could use a little more sustain in my bass. Anyone heard of

E

Euclides

Sep 13, 2000
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#1
Saw an ad in an old Guitar Player; are they any good?
I was considering getting one if they're still available or making one myself.

I may be wrong but the strings on my old 4 string J bass rang longer than on my new 5 string. ( both from the same manufacturer; Washburn, Lyon series.)

That may be due to the body beeing made of very poor material. Would a new body help?

I was looking for a simpler solution.

Thank you.

PS; Great forum, by the way!
 
#3
Originally posted by Euclides

That may be due to the body beeing made of very poor material. Would a new body help?
Click to expand...

I've never heard of this particular item, but have heard of similar things mentioned as the solution to "dead spots" on the neck. It can apparently deal with this on Fender basses - don't know if it would work with yours. I'm not sure how it could improve the sustain though?

As to getting a new body - I think you might as well get a new bass if you're going this far!
 
#4
A friend of mine tried the Fat Head on his Fender P. I've played that bass before and afterwards.

It had an annoying deadspot near the Eb to E (8th-9th fret) on the G-string. That spot has moved some frets. Now it's near the 14th fret on that string. As he hardly ever play up there, HIS problem is solved.

As I see it, a Fat Head (that brass plate thing for the headstock) will only move a dead spot on your bass. If you're lucky, the dead spot will be beyond the 23rd fret on a 22-fret bass.

It will not improve the sustain in general (well, not too much.) It will affect the "resonating balance" between the body and the headstock of your bass, unsually consolidating the sound a little bit.
 
#5
Originally posted by Euclides
Saw an ad in an old Guitar Player; are they any good?
I was considering getting one if they're still available or making one myself.

I may be wrong but the strings on my old 4 string J bass rang longer than on my new 5 string. ( both from the same manufacturer; Washburn, Lyon series.)

That may be due to the body beeing made of very poor material. Would a new body help?

I was looking for a simpler solution.

Thank you.

PS; Great forum, by the way!
Click to expand...

==========================

Euclides, I don't believe the Fat-Head would increase the sustain enough to warrant the cost. Any sort of weight that you can attatch to the headstock will serve the same purpose as the Fat Head. IMHO the Fat Head would be more useful for correcting dead spots on the neck.

Your money may be better spent experimenting with different strings. I play a Washburn/Lyon also and the sustain is satisfactory.

By the way, you're the first person besides myself that I've came across that played the Lyon. I have been more than satisfied with mine. Since you own two Lyons, I assume you must like Lyon too.

By the way, welcome to T.B.

Pkr2
 
#6
Thanks Everybody!

Actually, I part exchanged the 4 string for the 5 string and paid the difference.Both were used instruments the 5 strings being as new.

Maybe I should have said a dead spot around the fifth fret but on the whole, it appears to me that the 4 string had a bit more sustain.

You may have read my post on defretting half my bass( the first 8 frets will remain); I was going to do it on the 4 string but I knew I would always regret not having done it on a 5 string so I got the one I have now.

I'm using D'addario XL strings.
 

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