Bass tone not sounding right

[Curtbass]

If it is the strings, then playing the same basses through the SVT he uses elsewhere would have the same issue.

It may still be there but not as audible due to the different cabs. I had a twisted e string that had a chorusy effect to it that I didn’t notice through svt410hlf but heard it like crazy through single speaker combos and when run through pa.

 

[jbhaugh]

I'm only hearing problems likely to be caused by setup issues and failed or twisted strings. Do you hear similar weirdness in your sound when you play unplugged? That would tell us you have string issues or setup issues.

 

[Musicislife816]

Ok its not a string issue. The problem didn't start after I changed strings on all my basses. Like I said, I played one day, sounded fine. Came in literally the next day, sounded different.

 

[Musicislife816]

At this point trying to chase this problem down is exhausting so im just kinda done worrying about it right now. Thanks for everyone's suggestions and trying to help

 

[JimiLL]

Pick up height is worth a look.

 

[chadds]

He took the Tort off. Of course it will sound wonky.

 

[crazyBassClown]

Like I said, I played one day, sounded fine. Came in literally the next day, sounded different.

It is extremely unlikely that all your amps or all your basses failed in some obscure way overnight. If nothing in that room changed overnight then the problem is far more likely to be related to you than the equipment.

 

[Old Fart]

If your three basses and multiple amps and cabs all suddenly sounded muffled, then something changed. Find that thing. Stop looking at all the stuff that was the same before and after the change. Did I hear you say you changed strings on all three basses?

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Would it be in the electrical circuit. I have not Read all the replies but maybe checking your house circuit would be something you should do if it’s one single thing going out you can look at that if it’s everything I would check what your amps are plugged into? Just a suggestion. Maybe take an amp or two to another reliable circuit and see if the problems still exists. Good luck on tracing it down. When I suggested using deOxit I did not mean flooding your amp with it I usually just spray (very lightly) the tip of a quarter inch plug and work it in and out of the input/output jack. If you use any kind of pedal/pedals I would remove them from the signal chain. If you have done all that then definitely try another instrument cable. I believe it’s highly unlikely it’s the strings.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

ear wax????

Back in my early days of playing bass I lost all the higher frequencies on one ear becaus the earplugs I used for rehearsals (ironically to protect my hearing) had stuffed earwax back into my ear canal and blocked it completely. I noticed it when I could suddenly no longer hear cymbals on one of my ears.

The stuff they sell at pharmacies to flush it out yourself didn't help at all so I had see a specialist and he sucked it out using a long needle attached to some kind of MASSIVE vacuum suction device. The specialist decided to "service" both ears while he was at it. He hit something that hurt really badly in one of my ears. I couldn't open my jaw for three weeks and had to eat soup through a straw. At least I got my hearing back but almost 30 years later that ear still has a weird (but thankfully VERY low level) metallic "humming" from whatever he did in there. He was an old eccentric "mad professor" type ENT specialist who looked thirty years past his retirement age. Imagine an older version of "Doc" from Back to the future. I guess I should have walked right out of there and found someone else...

Still, I think we have established that hearing problem doesn't seem to be the problem here.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Back in my early days of playing bass I lost all the higher frequencies on one ear becaus the earplugs I used for rehearsals (ironically to protect my hearing) had stuffed earwax back into my ear canal and blocked it completely. I noticed it when I could suddenly no longer hear cymbals on one of my ears.

The stuff they sell at pharmacies to flush it out yourself didn't help at all so I had see a specialist and he sucked it out using a long needle attached to some kind of MASSIVE vacuum suction device. The specialist decided to "service" both ears while he was at it. He hit something that hurt really badly in one of my ears. I couldn't open my jaw for three weeks and had to eat soup through a straw. At least I got my hearing back but almost 30 years later that ear still has a weird (but thankfully VERY low level) metallic "humming" from whatever he did in there. He was an old eccentric "mad professor" type ENT specialist who looked thirty years past his retirement age. Imagine an older version of "Doc" from Back to the future. I guess I should have walked right out of there and found someone else...

Still, I think we have established that hearing problem doesn't seem to be the problem here.

 

[wysiwyg248]

I seem to have a special wax, that does not allow me to hear to my wife's comments LOL

 

[agedhorse]

I seem to have a special wax, that does not allow me to hear to my wife's comments LOL

Where did you buy it?

 

[Musicislife816]

So I played through my SVT and 2 Fender Rumble 4x10s on Saturday night. I stacked them back on top of each other to try someone's advice on phasing issues. Well the phasing issues I HAD noticed before weren't really happening but I still sounded like I was playing through a cardboard box. My brand new Spector Dimension 5 sounded like a muddy pile of crap on all settings and EQ tweaks. Sounds the same through my amp at home. This coming Friday I will be going over to a friends house and plugging into his recording setup to really test to my basses. I redid the strings on my P-bass just to eliminate the strings being done, even though I didn't think that was the case and it wasn't, still the same issue. I'm feeling like I'm going crazy. I don't think it's my house wiring b/c I feel like if it was, it would have always sounded like crap and I'm lived there for 4 years and had the same amp for all that time. It's not a blown speaker or anything b/c I feel like I would be able to recognize a blown speaker sound. It seems to me that sound would be more obvious than what I'm dealing with. Pickup height isn't the issue b/c I haven't messed with it at all, didn't need to b/c the sound was fine. I know it's not just me b/c my bandmates noticed when I was playing solo that it didn't sound right. Everything else in everyday life has not changed as far as how I hear it. Music and all that still sound how they always have. I just don't know what to do. It's enough to almost make me wanna quit.

 

[agedhorse]

Again, what happens when you play through only 1 cabinet?

 

[Musicislife816]

I can't use only one cab with the SVT but I still have my Fender Rumble head that I could use. What would be the reason for trying one cab?

 

[wysiwyg248]

Where did you buy it?

LOL, I think my Mom gave it to me long time ago.

 

[Troglodyte1911]

I seem to have a special wax, that does not allow me to hear to my wife's comments LOL

That is referred to as “selective hearing”. My wife swears I’m deaf.

 

[agedhorse]

I though you posted that the symptoms occurred when using 2 x Rumble 410’s?

 

[Musicislife816]

I though you posted that the symptoms occurred when using 2 x Rumble 410’s?

Yes they do and on my Fender Rumble 500 combo and when I went a bought a new amp that sounded fine in the store when I demoed it and I played on it for awhile there. I can't use just one of the 4x10s with my SVT b/c the cabs are 8 ohms each but I still have my Fender Rumble 800 head which I was also hearing the issue with.