Hi everyone- i posted a while back about having a weak/low g string (thanks for the responses) and have been reading a lot of the threads regarding string height-- I'm becoming more interested in the ratios between the strings themselves as well as to the fingerboard as a result of the problem i had-- curious if anyone has any thoughts/experiences with this:
i recently got a new bass which also has red spirocores on it like my previous plywood, in getting it setup i asked to bring the g string height up a bit and this does make a huge difference from how it initially was.. i feel i may have overdone it just a bit in that it actually feels a little stiffer with less sustain than the d (very slight), but i do notice a drastic change in terms of volume and low end response.. the string has a much fatter sound and it feels like part of the family whereas before, even when alone and experimenting with drastic differences in style and strength of attack i always felt the g lost a lot.
The Luthier only brought up the string 1mm and it's quite drastic.. this surprised me- there is now supposed to be a 2mm difference between the E and G- it seems like three is more common (ie E 8mm G 5mm) but has anyone played with this and seen similarly drastic results?i feel like if i split the difference .5 on the g, it will be perfect
The other question is about the fingerboard height- when i first got the bass it was if anything too easy to play, very low and easy to move around on.. could sound anote with the left hand without much effort, etc. When I brought it in the G was around 5mm at the time, now it's only supposed to be 6mm, but the difference is huge (on all strings), it feels like at least twice the effort is needed and i can pull almost exaggeratedly hard on them. Is the mm measurement really the most revealing thing about the playability / volume, or can 10mm on one bass feel like 6 on another, etc. (changes were made to the bass in terms of bridge placement and so on)
Also what is the best method for measuring the height? i'm doubting myself because it's supposed to be E 8mm G 6mm, but when i put a short mm ruler that 'begins' it's measuring at it's very edge so that 'zero' is flat against the end of the fingerboard, i don't hit the beginning of the strings until around 9mm on the G and 11mm on the E- it certainly feels like it's that much higher than it was.
I know how that sounds.. "if it looks that high, feels that high, then.." but i just got it back from him.. is there something you have to take into account and/or angle a certain way when measuring this, OR is it possible that the 6 and 8mm figures relate to a certain point on the adjusters (they've got a good bit of room to go down). i don't think it would have gone up more than 3mm overnight at my house one hour away from the shop. the bass really does sound amazing though..man
any ideas?
sorry for the long post..
i recently got a new bass which also has red spirocores on it like my previous plywood, in getting it setup i asked to bring the g string height up a bit and this does make a huge difference from how it initially was.. i feel i may have overdone it just a bit in that it actually feels a little stiffer with less sustain than the d (very slight), but i do notice a drastic change in terms of volume and low end response.. the string has a much fatter sound and it feels like part of the family whereas before, even when alone and experimenting with drastic differences in style and strength of attack i always felt the g lost a lot.
The Luthier only brought up the string 1mm and it's quite drastic.. this surprised me- there is now supposed to be a 2mm difference between the E and G- it seems like three is more common (ie E 8mm G 5mm) but has anyone played with this and seen similarly drastic results?i feel like if i split the difference .5 on the g, it will be perfect
The other question is about the fingerboard height- when i first got the bass it was if anything too easy to play, very low and easy to move around on.. could sound anote with the left hand without much effort, etc. When I brought it in the G was around 5mm at the time, now it's only supposed to be 6mm, but the difference is huge (on all strings), it feels like at least twice the effort is needed and i can pull almost exaggeratedly hard on them. Is the mm measurement really the most revealing thing about the playability / volume, or can 10mm on one bass feel like 6 on another, etc. (changes were made to the bass in terms of bridge placement and so on)
Also what is the best method for measuring the height? i'm doubting myself because it's supposed to be E 8mm G 6mm, but when i put a short mm ruler that 'begins' it's measuring at it's very edge so that 'zero' is flat against the end of the fingerboard, i don't hit the beginning of the strings until around 9mm on the G and 11mm on the E- it certainly feels like it's that much higher than it was.
I know how that sounds.. "if it looks that high, feels that high, then.." but i just got it back from him.. is there something you have to take into account and/or angle a certain way when measuring this, OR is it possible that the 6 and 8mm figures relate to a certain point on the adjusters (they've got a good bit of room to go down). i don't think it would have gone up more than 3mm overnight at my house one hour away from the shop. the bass really does sound amazing though..man
any ideas?
sorry for the long post..
